Graham Norton to co-host special UK Eurovision concert

British Eurovision fans are in for a treat with London’s Event Apollo Hammersmith set to roll out the red carpet for this special anniversary event to mark the 60th Eurovision Song Contest.

Graham Norton and ESC 2013 host, Sweden’s Petra Mede will co-host the show, which as well as featuring a number of both classic and contemporary acts will also feature surprise guests.

The first act confirmed to take part is reigning champion Conchita Wurst who will perform Austria’s winning song Rise Like a Phoenix. Also joining Conchita on the night will be Swedish pop Group Herreys, who won the 1984 competition with the song Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley and completing the first three confirmed acts is Natasha St-Pier, who represented France in the 2001 contest and will once again sing Je n’ai que mon âme. More names will be announced in the coming days.

Graham Norton says: “I love Eurovision and am honoured to be co-hosting this special show. I cannot think of a better way to celebrate 60 years of the greatest song contest in the world!”

Host Petra Mede added: “I am so looking forward to participating in this concert, this true celebration of a contest that has been a part of, not only my, but so many people´s lives. And it is an honour to co-host the show with Graham, who is fast becoming a Eurovision legend himself.”

SBS will screen the 60th Eurovision Song Contest in coming months.

UPDATE: Denmark’s Emmelie De Forest who came first in the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest is the first of the three acts confirmed today and she will be performing her winning song Only Teardrops. Upon victory, Emmelie became the third contestant from Denmark to win the competition.

Next to be confirmed is Lordi from Finland, who made history in 2006 by becoming the first, and to date, the only hard rock act to win the Eurovision Song Contest. Lordi will once again take to the stage to perform their winning song Hard Rock Hallelujah.

The final act confirmed today is 1982 Eurovision Song Contest winner Nicole from Germany. Nicole was just 17 years old when she led her country to victory in Harrogate, Yorkshire and she will once again perform her song Ein Bißchen Frieden (A Little Peace).

This will be broadcast on SBS but no date has been confirmed (I would tip May).

Johnny Logan, who is best known as ‘Mr Eurovision’ and the only performer to have won the Eurovision Song Contest three times – twice as a performer (1980 and 1987) and once as a songwriter in 1992 is the first of the three acts confirmed today. Johnny will perform a medley of the winning songs he performed at the competition – What’s Another Year from 1980 and Hold Me Now from 1987.

The second confirmed act today is Rosa López. Rosa finished in seventh position in 2002 and she will pay homage to some of Spain’s most successful Eurovision hits, including her own Eurovision entry, Europe’s Living A Celebration. Following the contest, Rosa released a self-titled album which went to number one and also gained a 5x Platinum status in Spain, selling over 500,000 units.

Also confirmed today is Anne-Marie David. Anne-Marie won the competition for Luxembourg in 1973 and will once again sing her winning song Tu Te Reconnaitras. Following the contest, Anne-Marie performed her winning song in eight languages – the English version Wonderful Dream reached Number 13 in the UK charts and the original version reached the Top 10 in Sweden, Netherlands among other countries.

The final former contestants confirmed today that will take to the stage once more in London are The Olsen Brothers (pictured). The Danish duo finished first in 2000 and will sing their winning entry Fly on the Wings of Love.

The first act confirmed today is Loreen, who won the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest with a total of 372 points. Loreen will be performing her song “Euphoria” which, following the competition, went on to reach No. 1 in the charts across Europe including Austria, Denmark, Germany, Poland and Loreen’s home country of Sweden.

The UK’s winning entry from 1976, Brotherhood Of Man, also join the line-up today, performing their famous song “Save Your Kisses For Me”. Following the Eurovision Song Contest, the song became a major hit around the world, selling six million copies and made No.1 in many countries and returned the group to the US Charts.

Also confirmed today is Dima Bilan who has represented Russia twice at in the competition. In 2006, Dima performed “Never Let You Go”, finishing second to Lordi, and he won the contest in 2008 in Belgrade with the song “Believe”. Dima will perform a medley of both songs at the London concert.