Andorra in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007

RTVA selected the Andorran entry for the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest through a selection process entitled Projecte Eurovisió. A submission period was open for artists and composers to separately submit their applications and entries between 15 September 2006 and 15 December 2006. Artists were required be aged at least 18 and have Andorran citizenship or residency, while those with musical experience and fluency in Catalan, English and French were given priority. Songwriters could be of any nationality and submit songs in any language, but songs in Catalan were given priority.^[4][5] 82 song submissions and 27 artist applications were received at the conclusion of the submission period.^[6]

On 15 January 2007, RTVA held a press conference where they announced that the band Anonymous had been selected based on the decision of a ten-member professional jury to represent Andorra in Helsinki with the song "Salvem el món", which was written by band members Guillem Gallego, Niki Francesca and Alejandro Martínez.^[7] The members of the jury panel were Gualbert Osorio (general director of RTVA), Pati Molné (Head of ATV programmes), Creu Rosell (Head of the Andorran Delegation at Eurovision Song Contest), Josep Lluís Trabal (project manager for RTVA), Meri Picart (music director of RTVA), Jordi Botey (singer), Jordi González de Alaiza (director of culture of Sant Julià de Lòria), Ferran Costa (director of Inlingua Andorra), Jesús Prieto (representative of OGAE Andorra) and Joan Antón Rechi (stage director).^[8] The song was presented to the public on 1 March 2007 during a special gala show entitled Som Anonymous, which took place at the Auditori Claror del Centre Cultural i de Congressos Lauredià in Sant Julià de Lòria, hosted by Meri Picart and broadcast on ATV as well as online via the broadcaster's website atv.ad. In addition to the presentation of the song, the gala show featured guest performances by the band Gossos and singers Joan Tena, Josep Thió, Lluís Cartes, Manuel Carrasco and Víctor.^[9]

Promotion

Anonymous specifically promoted "Salvem el món" as the Andorran Eurovision entry by taking part in promotional activities in Barcelona, Spain, which included a performance during the Emergenza Music Festival which was held at the Sala Mephisto venue on 24 March and a concert performance at the Sala Apolo venue on 1 April.^[10]

At Eurovision

According to the then Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country, the "Big 4" (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom) and the ten highest placed finishers in the 2004 contest were required to qualify from the semi-final in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from the semi-final progress to the final. As Andorra did not make the top 10 of the previous contest or was a member of the "Big 4", Anonymous were forced to compete in the semi-final. For 2007, a new feature allowed five wild-card countries from the semi-final to choose their starting position. The heads of delegation went on stage and chose the number they would take. In the semi-final, Austria, Andorra, Turkey, Slovenia and Latvia were able to choose their positions. It was later revealed that the Andorran delegation had chosen to perform in position 21, following the entry from Malta and before the entry from Hungary.

The semi-final and the final were broadcast in Andorra on ATV with commentary by Meri Picart and Josep Lluís Trabal. The Andorran spokesperson, who announced the Andorran votes during the final, was Marian van de Wal who previously represented Andorra in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005.^[11]

Semi-final

At Eurovision, Anonymous wore simple clothing styled in a typically punk rock theme. The staging included fast-paced flashing numbers and interactive translations of the song in English. The performance was likened to that of Green Day and Blink-182.

At the end of the show, Andorra was not announced among the top 10 entries in the semi-final and therefore failed to qualify to compete in the final.^[12] It was later revealed that Andorra placed twelfth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 80 points (just 11 points away from qualifying for the final). Anonymous remain a Eurovision fan favourite and the only ever male representatives for Andorra.^[13]

Voting

In 2005 the EBU introduced an undisclosed threshold number of televotes that would have to be registered in each voting country in order to make that country's votes valid. If that number was not reached, the country's backup jury would vote instead. In both the semi-final and final of the contest, this affected two countries: one of them being Andorra. Therefore, the country had to use a backup jury panel to calculate the Andorran results. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression of the act. In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently.

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Andorra and awarded by Andorra in the semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Portugal in the semi-final and Ukraine in the final of the contest. Andorra also notably gave 10 points to Poland in the semi-final of the contest and 10 points to Romania in the final. 2007 also marked the only year throughout Andorra's participation span between 2004 and 2009 that no points were awarded from Andorra to Spain.

Points awarded to Andorra

Points awarded to Andorra (Semi-final)^[14]

Score	Country
12 points	Spain
10 points
8 points
7 points	Czech Republic
6 points	Iceland  Poland  Portugal
5 points	Estonia  Finland
4 points	Belarus  Greece  Ireland  Russia  Slovenia
3 points
2 points	Croatia  Israel  Lithuania  Norway  Sweden  Turkey
1 point	Macedonia

Points awarded by Andorra

Points awarded by Andorra (Semi-final)[14] Score Country 12 points  Portugal 10 points  Poland 8 points  Slovenia 7 points  Turkey 6 points   Switzerland 5 points  Netherlands 4 points  Hungary 3 points  Norway 2 points  Denmark 1 point  Austria

Points awarded by Andorra (Final)[15] Score Country 12 points  Ukraine 10 points  Romania 8 points  France 7 points  Finland 6 points  Hungary 5 points  Germany 4 points  Moldova 3 points  Russia 2 points  Sweden 1 point  Lithuania

References