Eurovision in Sochi: ESC artists perform at the Winter Olympics

The Winter Olympics in Sochi and the Eurovision Song Contest have a lot more in common that large crowds and people speaking dozens of languages that you don’t understand. Wander around the Olympic Park and you’ll encounter plenty of sequin-clad former acts getting in on the Olympic action. Belgian correspondent Daphne Dee puts on her winter track suit and finds out what these ESC stars are up to in Russia…

SEREBRO

Yes, the ladies of SEREBRO are present in Sochi! On the 11th of February they let the speakers blow inside the Olympic Park. We hope the snowboaders, ski-jumpers and luge competitors are into this type of music, as the trio will continue to perform during the races and their vocals are expected to provide the unofficial soundtrack for the Olympic City. For those who need a quick trip down memory lane: they ended up 3rd in the 2007 contest in Helsinki, and recently won Best Pop Song at a big time Christmas gala in Russia. Here’s their performance from last night.

http://youtu.be/FzDsaMrdzBE

tATu

Rumours were that the fake lesbian band tAtu would perform at the opening ceremony. That was wishful thinking. But this appeared too much to bargain for. They did, however, give an ‘acte de presence’  before the opening ceremony. During the actual opening ceremony, the Russian DJ Rudenko did play a remix-version of ‘Not Gonna Get Us’.  So, in Putin’s police state there was no ‘Ne Ver Ne Boysia Ne Prosi’ and certainly no “shocking” kiss.

The Buranovskiye Babushki

The Buranovskiye Babushki are also likely to make an appearance in and around the Games. They have regrouped since the death of one of their members, and recently recorded a song for the Olympics called ‘Olympic’. They’ve also released a Sochi version of their Eurovision song “Party for Everybody”. And, as you have heard before from Wiwi correspondent Mario Saucedo, Galina Koneva carried the Olympic torch. Since the opening ceremony was a bit disappointing in terms of Eurovision content, they offer you some extra Eurovision sauce for your Olympic dining experience.

http://youtu.be/0tzzkdZzZLE

Kate Ryan

We’re still wondering whether Kate Ryan is one of the masked singers of ‘One Day’. What is certain is that she will perform at both the bobsled finals and the Alpine Skiing finals on the 18th of February. Kate—a huge snowboard fan—was invited by EuropaPlusTv to give an exclusive show in the Olympic stadium. Later that day she will also perform in the Olympic Village. Her presence surprises friend and foe, since she she is a gay icon and supporter. She has said that “she can support the LGB-community also from Sochi”.

Waylon

The male half of the duo The Common Linnets, who will hopefully get The Netherlands to the final again, is also expected in Sochi. Waylon will perform in the Holland Heineken House, one of the many national houses that pop up at every games. The date of his performance has not yet been decided, but you can check out his Olympic gig here.

Akcent

This Romanian Europap/house-band participated in the Romanian Selectia Nationala in 2007, forming the band ‘Akcent I Nico’ for the occasion. With their song ‘Jokero’ they failed to make it to first place, Mihai Traistariu was selected to present Romania. This former Romanian Eurosong-contestent will give a show in Sochi in the Olympic Park on the 22nd of February, shortly after the last bobsled heat.

Thomas Anders

The former lead singer of Modern Talking’ took his chances to represent Germany at Eurovision in 2006, but unfortunately ended second in the national final with his song ‘Songs That Live Forever’. Before that, he announced the results from Germany in 2004 and did this again in 2009. Ice hockey fans will want to run from the Bolshoy Ice Dome after the game between Finland and Canada: Thomas will perform in the Olympic Park right after this game, on the 16th of February.

Brainstorm

One of the better participants from Latvia, Brainstorm finished 3rd with their contagious song ‘My Star’. They have been asked by EuropaPlusTv to bring their music to Europe (and the rest of the world) in Sochi, by closing the ice hockey game between Canada and Norway.

Anna Rossinelli

She’s not present in Sochi just yet, but she is still close to the Olympic spirit. As wiwiblogger Padraige Jude told you before, Anna has released the official soundtrack for the Swiss TV during the Olympics. What bigger support can you ask for as an athlete than the music of Anna? If the voice of Anna can’t help the Swiss win gold, what can?! And, although not confirmed yet, rumours are that Anna will also visit the Swiss athletes in Sochi during the games.

OLA

Does this name ring a bell? We’ll help you a little bit: Ola Svensson. There you go. He participated in Melodifestivalen 2010, aiming to represent Sweden with his song ‘Unstoppable’. He ended up 7th in the final in Stockholm, five places after winner Anna Bergendahl. According to EuropaPlusTV he performed on the 10th of February, around the time of the last race for the freestyle skying finished.

Alexander Rybak

Yes, Alexander will be present as well! Norway’s channel TV2 has invited Alexander to be a guest on the popular Norwegian TV show ‘Senkveld’ presented by Harald Rønneberg and Thomas Numme. He will appear on the show several times until February 16. And there is more good news: he has invited his fans to come to the show as well!  If you can’t make it to Sochi you can still tune into ‘Senkveld I Sotsji’. It’s broadcast every evening during the week at 21:40 CET on Norway’s TV2.

Alexander performed in Moscow during the unveiling of the official Sochi 2014 logo. Alexander understands the value of sportsmanship. He recently congratulated not only the Norwegian athletes, but also the gold medal winners from the USA, Canada and the Netherlands.

Daphne Dee contributed this report from Belgium. Follow her on Twitter @JacinthaD1. You can also keep up-to-date with the latest Eurovision news and gossip by following the team on Twitter @wiwibloggs and by liking our Facebook page