Italy

Denmark in semi-final one, Norway in semi-final two. That we already knew, but what about the remaining countries? Today the so-called allocation draw, which decides in which semi-final the various participating countries will perform, was held today.

Earlier today, Italian broadcaster, RAI, released the names of the fourteen singers and the songs they will perform in the 2013 Sanremo Festival. Among the names is Raphael Gualazzi, who represented Italy in the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest.

RAI, Italy’s national broadcaster finally confirmed that Italy will take part at the Eurovision Song Contest 2013. After the country's comeback in 2011 there have always been rumours that Italy might withdraw again. Now it is official that there will be an Italian entry in Malmö.

This is a return that comes from afar as that is a musical work done fourteen years ago, but never released. The songs range from pop to soft rock, bossa nova and reggae being mostly sung in English with one track in Italian language. The release is scheduled for the 9th of October.

Organizers behind his concert tour in Spain have announced the suspension of Umberto Tozzi's shows due to a sharp rise in VAT, which is applied to these kinds of cultural events, which has rocketed from 8% to 21%. They have based their decision on the inability to cope with the costs and the downturn in ticket sales.

Gianni Morandi, who represented Italy at the 1970 Eurovision Song Contest with Occhi Di Ragazza and hosted San Remo Festival in the last two years, stars in a new movie playing the role of a former popular singer. It will be screened in Italy from the 4th of October.

Alice, whose real name is Carla Bissi, represented Italy together with Franco Battiato at the 1984 Eurovision Song Contest. Her latest album, the nineteenth of her career, will be released on September 18 after fourteen years without new material. Dates have also been announced for her Italian tour.

It has been ten years since the release of their previous album Parla Col Cuore (Talk With The Heart) and now they are back to celebrate their long career with more than twenty million albums sold worldwide. They represented Italy at the 1978 Eurovision Song Contest with Questo Amore finishing 12th