The Eurovision Dance Contest was an international

ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially historic man ...

dancing competition that was held for the first time in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

on Saturday 1 September 2007. The contest was similar in format to the long-running

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

and was organized by both the Eurovision association and the

International DanceSport Federation The World DanceSport Federation (WDSF), formerly the International DanceSport Federation (IDSF), is the international governing body of DanceSport and Para DanceSport, as recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Interna ...

(IDSF). The IDSF credits the existence of the contest to

Richard Bunn Richard Bunn is managing director of rbi network, Geneva, a consulting firm for television, sport and marketing, established in 2000. During 1978-2000 he was Head of Television Programmes and Controller of Sport at European Broadcasting Union. He ...

of rbi network,

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

, former EBU controller of sport, who convinced the EBU to create the programme.

Format and general information

The competition consisted of pairs of dancers from each participating country, each pair performing one dance, a

freestyle dance Dance improvisation is the process of spontaneously creating movement. Development of movement material is facilitated through a variety of creative explorations including body mapping through levels, shape and dynamics schema. Improvisation is a f ...

in which the cultures of the individual countries could be showcased to the rest of Europe. In addition to being evaluated by a panel of dance experts, the routines were judged by European audiences who cast their vote for their favourite couple via

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to determine winner of the competition. The BBC was "host broadcaster" for the first two contests in 2007 and 2008, the only contests to date.

Contest history

2007

Eurovision Dance Contest 2007 was hosted in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, United Kingdom. In EDC 2007 each couple has performed two 1 minute 30 seconds dances: the first dance was a

Latin dance Latin dance is a general label, and a term in partner dance competition jargon. It refers to types of ballroom dance and folk dance that mainly originated in Latin America. The category of Latin dances in the international dancesport competi ...

while the second was a

. Professional dance couples were allowed to enter the competition. Finland won the competition.

2008

Several changes were introduced for Eurovision Dance Contest 2008 which was hosted in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, United Kingdom. Professional dance couples were no longer allowed, all pairs had to include one professional and one

celebrity Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

dancer. Only one, 2 minute dance, was performed by each couple. A professional jury was introduced to the competition having approximate weight of 20% of the outcome, while the remaining 80% came from televoting. Poland won the competition.Eurovision Dance Contest 2008 Glasgow Танцевальное Евровидение 2008 Глазго
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Cancellation

The cancelled third Eurovision Dance Contest was originally planned to be organised in

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

, Azerbaijan at the

Heydar Aliyev Sports and Exhibition Complex Heydar is a common male given name in Greater Iran, particularly in Iran and Azerbaijan. A variant of the Arabic name Haydar (also spelt Heidar, Haider, and other variants), it was a cognomen of Ali, who was known for his courage in battle. Heyda ...

on 26 September 2009. Host broadcaster

İctimai Television İctimai Television ( , “Public Television”), or İTV, is a public television channel in Azerbaijan. It officially began broadcasting on 29 August 2005 after being created by law in the beginning of 2004, as the first independent public bro ...

was planning to increase the number of participating countries as well as inviting a world-famous star to host the contest, listing

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...

and

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977), professionally known by the mononym Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the " Queen of Latin Music" and is ...

as candidates. An additional extravaganza

open-air concert A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or ho ...

was planned to be held, bringing together ex-participants of the

Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

Junior Eurovision The Junior Eurovision Song Contest (often shortened to JESC, Junior Eurovision or Junior EuroSong) is an international song competition which has been organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) annually since 2003. It is held in a dif ...

and Eurovision Dance contests on one stage. On 28 May 2009, the EBU announced that the contest was postponed at least until Autumn 2010 as "the number of broadcasters that signed up for participation had not reach the desired level". According to a preliminary calculations, at least five countries that were taking part in

Eurovision Dance Contest 2008 The Eurovision Dance Contest 2008 was the second and final edition of the Eurovision Dance Contest and was held in Glasgow, Scotland, hosted by the BBC on 6 September. The presenters were, as in the previous edition, Graham Norton and Claudia W ...

, namely , , , and had announced withdrawal from the contest, with only confirming its participation as a début country. According to contest coordinator on behalf of EBU Tal Barnea, "concrete plans for a 2010 autumn event were being developed, with considerable changes to introduce a new programme proposal". These plans were expected to be unveiled in the autumn of 2009. The EBU also praised "the commendable work on the next Eurovision Dance Contest already completed by our partners Ictimai Television and the Azerbaijani officials" stating that 2010 edition of the contest was planned to take place in Baku, Azerbaijan as well. In January 2010, EBU Eurovision coordinator, Svante Stockselius, announced that contest had been postponed again, and is now unlikely to happen at all, at least within the next couple of years. He explained this decision was the fact that the popularity of televised dance shows had calmed down recently.

Participation

When the competition was first planned, the aim was to begin with ten to twelve participating countries and expand in subsequent years. However, the response rate was greater than anticipated and it proved difficult to turn away the additional countries interested in participating in the event. For logistical reasons, a limitation on number of participants was established. In order to ensure the event was a success, the EBU invited participating broadcasters from member countries to take part. In several countries, where the EBU had more than one member, two broadcasters expressed interest. The final decision of which broadcaster would represent those countries was decided by either an internal accord by the two broadcasters, or by a draw, conducted by the EBU. Sixteen countries; Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine and the host country the United Kingdom all débuted in the very first Eurovision Dance Contest in 2007. The

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n broadcaster HRT had expressed an interest in taking part, but did not appear on the final list of participants. In June 2008, Switzerland announced their withdrawal from the 2008 contest without specifying a reason, while Germany withdrew from the 2008 event the same month, due to comparatively low ratings for the 2007 contest in the country. Spain was originally due to take part in 2008, but withdrew in late August 2008 just days before the event, reportedly due to a scheduling clash with the country competing in a qualifying match for the

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, which was taking place the same evening. In accordance with the rules, Spanish broadcaster TVE were obliged to broadcast the contest live due to their late withdrawal as an active participant. After Switzerland announced their non-participation, and with the format change meaning each couple would dance one one minute and forty five seconds dance each, new countries became eligible to join the event. Azerbaijan were the only country to join that year, but negotiations had taken place with broadcasters from

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

and

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

. Belarus intended on competing for the first time in 2009 but the contest was cancelled. Although the 2009 contest never happened, Austria, Finland, Lithuania, Sweden and the Netherlands had confirmed they would not compete in the third contest.

Hosting

Most of the expense of the contest is covered by commercial sponsors and contributions from the other participating nations. The contest is considered to be a unique opportunity for promoting the host country as a tourist destination. The table below shows a list of cities and venues that have hosted Eurovision Dance Contest, one or more times.

Winners

The contest differs from the Eurovision Song Contest in that the winning country does not automatically become host for the next contest. The Eurovision Dance Contest followed the same host selection process as the

Junior Eurovision Song Contest The Junior Eurovision Song Contest (often shortened to JESC, Junior Eurovision or Junior EuroSong) is an international song competition which has been organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) annually since 2003. It is held in a diff ...

Top three placings

References

External links

Official Eurovision Dance Contest website

EBU Press Release

International DanceSport Federation official website
{{European Broadcasting Union Dance competition television shows

Dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

Recurring events established in 2007 Recurring events disestablished in 2009