"Europe's Living a Celebration" is a song recorded by Spanish singer

Rosa Rosa or De Rosa may refer to: Plants and animals * ''Rosa'' (plant), the genus of roses * Rosa (sea otter), a sea otter that has become popular on the internet * Rosa (cow), a Spanish-born cow People * Rosa (given name) * Rosa (surname) * San ...

, with music composed by Toni Ten and lyrics written by Xasqui Ten. It in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2002 The Eurovision Song Contest 2002 was the 47th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Tallinn, Estonia, following the country's victory at the with the song Everybody (Tanel Padar and Dave Benton song), "Everybody" by Tanel Pada ...

, placing seventh.

Background

Conception

"Europe's Living a Celebration" was composed by Toni Ten with lyrics by Xasqui Ten. Despite the English-language title, the lyrics are in Spanish, with the exception of one verse of the chorus.

Eurovision

Between 25 February and 11 March 2002, (TVE) produced a to select its song and performer for the of the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

in which the top three finishers –

David Bisbal David Bisbal Ferre (born 5 June 1979) is a Spanish singer, songwriter, and actor. He gained his initial fame as the runner-up on the first edition of the reality television talent show '' Operación Triunfo''. He has since released five studi ...

, and

David Bustamante David Bustamante Hoyos (born 25 March 1982) is a Spanish pop singer and songwriter. He gained his initial fame in 2001 as a third-place winner on '' Operación Triunfo'', the interactive musical reality television show that went on to achiev ...

– from the first season of '' Operación Triunfo'' competed with three songs each. "Europe's Living a Celebration" won the competition so it became the , and Rosa the performer, for Eurovision. On 25 May 2002, the Eurovision Song Contest was held at the

Saku Suurhall Unibet Arena (named Saku Suurhall until 31 December 2022) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the Haabersti (subdistrict), Haabersti subdistrict of the Estonian capital, Tallinn. Opened in November 2001, it is the largest multi-purpose hall in th ...

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

hosted by

Eesti Televisioon Eesti Televisioon (ETV) () is an Estonian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by Estonian Public Broadcasting. It made its first broadcast on 19 July 1955. History Eesti Televisioon (''Estonian Television'') was launched on ...

(ETV), and broadcast live throughout the continent. In the introduction of the show, the hosts connected live via satellite –among others– to the Municipal Sports Palace of

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

–Rosa's hometown–, which was packed with a large audience cheering her on. Rosa performed "Europe's Living a Celebration" fifth on the night –accompanied by Bisbal, Bustamante,

Chenoa María Laura Corradini Falomir (born June 25, 1975), known professionally as Chenoa, is an Argentine-Spanish music artist who rose to fame as a contestant on reality television singing competition '' Operación Triunfo''. Her music style could b ...

, Gisela, and as backing singers–, preceded by 's " S.A.G.A.P.O." by

Michalis Rakintzis Mihalis Rakintzis (Greek: Μιχάλης Ρακιντζής; born on 3 April 1957) is a Greek singer. He was born in Athens and studied Mechanical Engineering in the United Kingdom.Everything I Want" by

Vesna Pisarović Vesna Pisarović (born 9 April 1978) is a Croatian pop and jazz singer. Life and career 1978–1999: Early life Pisarović was born in Brčko, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia and grew up in Požega, Croatia. From her earliest childhood s ...

. At the close of voting, it had received 81 points, placing seventh in a field of twenty-four. The voting sequence was followed in Spain by an average of 14.38 million viewers, which represented an 86.2% share, becoming the most watched space in the country of the entire decade. The entire show, with an average of 12.7 million viewers and an 80.4% share, is the most watched Eurovision in Spain since reliable audience measurements began to be made in 1992. The song was succeeded as Spanish entry at the 2003 contest by " Dime" by Beth.

Aftermath

Between 4 April and 4 June 2002, Rosa along with all the ''Operación Triunfo'' participants went on tour, giving twenty-eight concerts throughout Spain attended by more than half a million people, in which she sang "Europe's Living a Celebration" as one of the main numbers. The concert on 1 June in the

Santiago Bernabéu Stadium Santiago Bernabéu Stadium (, ) is a retractable roof association football, football stadium in Madrid, Spain. With a seating capacity of around 83,000 following its extensive renovation completed in late 2024, the stadium has the second-largest ...

in Madrid before more than sixty thousand people was broadcast nationwide by TVE the following day. "Europe's Living a Celebration" became a major hit in the summer of 2002 in Spain. The documentary film ', summarizing the lives of the participants during the tour, opened on 20 September in more than 300 movie theaters, and premiered on TVE on 30 December. On 31 March 2015, Rosa performed the song in the Eurovision sixtieth anniversary show ''

Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits ''Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits'' (also known as ''Eurovision's Greatest Hits'') was a live television concert programme organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and produced by the BBC, British Broadcasting Corporation (BB ...

'' held in London. On 31 October 2016, Rosa performed the song –accompanied again by Bisbal, Bustamante, Chenoa, Gisela, and Geno as backing singers– in the ''OT: El reencuentro'' anniversary concert held in the

Palau Sant Jordi Palau Sant Jordi (, ) is an indoor arena, indoor sporting arena and multi-purpose installation that is part of the Anella Olímpica, Olympic Ring complex located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Designed by the Japanese architect Arata Isozaki, i ...

in Barcelona, and broadcast live nationwide by TVE.

Chart history

The album ''Operación Triunfo: Eurovisión'' that included the studio versions of the nine songs of the national final, released on 22 February 2002 in Spain, was certified platinum (100,000 copies). The album ''Operación Triunfo: Gala Eurovisión'' that included the live versions of the nine songs recorded in the national final, released on 26 February 2002, was certified 4× platinum. "Europe's Living a Celebration" was also included in Rosa's first studio album ''Rosa'' was certified 5× platinum.

Legacy

Other performances

María Isabel María Isabel López Rodríguez (born 4 January 1995), known professionally as María Isabel, is a Spanish singer. She rose to prominence after she won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2004 for with the song " Antes muerta que sencilla". ...

performed the song in the show ''Europasión'', aired on La 1 of Televisión Española on 21 May 2008 to choose by popular vote the best song that Spain has sent to Eurovision.

Impersonations

* In the ninth episode of the second season of '' Tu cara me suena'' aired on 26 November 2012 on Antena 3, Daniel Diges impersonated Rosa singing "Europe's Living a Celebration" replicating her performance at Eurovision.

References

External links

* {{authority control Eurovision songs of Spain Eurovision songs of 2002 Songs in Spanish 2002 songs Sony BMG singles RCA Records singles 2002 singles