Thirteen regional broadcasters have joined forces for the Regional Song Contest. November 4 is the first edition. In Utrecht.
You can stay at home for it, because RTV Drenthe, Omrop Fryslân and RTV Noord broadcast the festival through their channels. With good reason, because ‘our broadcasters’ each send their own candidate to the Stadsschouwburg in Utrecht.
The one from Drenthe was found the fastest. Earlier this year, Lisa Harms won the Drents Liedtiesfestival as a barely experienced singer with the song written by Roy Keuter, Dennis Hendriks and Rowdy Prins Until the sun pours out , a ballad about loss and resilience. Earlier this month she gained stage experience – with her trumpet – during Suns Europe Festival for minor languages in Udine, Italy.
‘Where by the gain of the country/ much was lost’
To find a Groningen delegation, RTV Noord asked three artists to write a song in Groningen. The audience decided that the rappers of Wat Aans met Awake in Grunn were allowed to travel to Utrecht. Their entry is a party song with lyrics full of self-congratulations and a message for the rest of the country: ‘Welcome to Grunn/ Welcome to the North/ Where the country’s profits/ much was lost’.
The Frisian entry was announced after the final of Liet, the Frisian Eurovision Song Contest that took place in mid-October. Melissa Pander was met in the Rhino room Foarby designated as the winner by a professional jury and after counting public votes. Foarby an uptempo song about love at first sight, was performed by a band with seven members, including two backing singers, so that Pander could rent a large van.
A singer from Drenthe is participating on behalf of Overijssel, Leon Moorman. The self-proclaimed king of D-pop, or Drenthe-language pop music, born in Barger-Compascuum, lives in Zwolle and participates in That I’m alive a Lower Saxon sing-along song that could have been written by the people behind Robbie Williams.
The presentation of the final will be provided by Stefania Liberakakis, Riks Ozinga and Bernadette Keizer. Liberakakis represented Greece in 2021 when the Eurovision Song Contest was held in Rotterdam. Ozinga works for RTV Utrecht, just like Keizer, who will be seen in the greenroom the place where participants can bite their nails while waiting for the results.
Regional Eurovision Song Contest, November 4, starting at 8:30 PM. Can be seen and listened to via the regional broadcasters.