Eurovision Young Musicians 2008

Eurovision Young Musicians 2008
Dates
Semi-final 14 May 2008
Semi-final 25 May 2008
Final9 May 2008
Host
VenueSemi-final: Theater an der Wien
Final: Rathausplatz, Vienna, Austria
Presenter(s)Lidia Baich [de]
Christoph Wagner-Trenkwitz [de]
Musical directorAleksandar Markovic
Directed byHeidelinde Haschek
Executive supervisorTal Barnea
Executive producerMichael Heinzl
Host broadcasterÖsterreichischer Rundfunk (ORF)
Websiteyoungmusicians.tv Edit this at Wikidata
Participants
Number of entries16
Number of finalists7
Debuting countries
Returning countries Germany
Non-returning countries
  • A coloured map of the countries of EuropeSpain in the Eurovision Young MusiciansGermany in the Eurovision Young MusiciansPoland in the Eurovision Young MusiciansSlovenia in the Eurovision Young MusiciansNorway in the Eurovision Young MusiciansNetherlands in the Eurovision Young MusiciansCzech Republic in the Eurovision Young MusiciansSweden in the Eurovision Young MusiciansUkraine in the Eurovision Young MusiciansPortugal in the Eurovision Young MusiciansFrance in the Eurovision Young MusiciansItaly in the Eurovision Young MusiciansBelgium in the Eurovision Young MusiciansUnited Kingdom in the Eurovision Young MusiciansDenmark in the Eurovision Young MusiciansSwitzerland in the Eurovision Young MusiciansAustria in the Eurovision Young MusiciansSlovakia in the Eurovision Young MusiciansCroatia in the Eurovision Young MusiciansRomania in the Eurovision Young MusiciansGreece in the Eurovision Young MusiciansBulgaria in the Eurovision Young MusiciansHungary in the Eurovision Young MusiciansCyprus in the Eurovision Young MusiciansRussia in the Eurovision Young MusiciansFinland in the Eurovision Young MusiciansLatvia in the Eurovision Young MusiciansEstonia in the Eurovision Young MusiciansMacedonia in the Eurovision Young MusiciansIreland in the Eurovision Young MusiciansLithuania in the Eurovision Young MusiciansSerbia in the Eurovision Young Musicians
         Finalist countries     Countries eliminated in the semi-final     Countries that participated in the past but not in 2008
Vote
Voting systemEach juror awarded a mark from 1–10 to each performer
Winning musician Greece
Dionysis Grammenos
2006 ← Eurovision Young Musicians → 2010

The Eurovision Young Musicians 2008 was the fourteenth edition of the Eurovision Young Musicians, held at the Rathausplatz in Vienna, Austria on 9 May 2008.[1] Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF), musicians from seven countries participated in the televised final. This was the second time that the competition was held on an open-air stage and was the beginning of the annual Vienna Festival. Austria and broadcaster ORF previously hosted the contest in 1990, 1998 and 2006.[1]

A total of sixteen countries took part in the competition therefore a semi-final was held at the Theater an der Wien on 4 and 5 May 2008. All participants performed a classical piece of their choice accompanied by the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Aleksandar Marković.[1] Serbia (as an independent nation) and Ukraine made their début while Germany returned. Five countries decided not to participate, they were Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, and Switzerland, while Serbia and Montenegro had ceased to exist since 2006.[1]

Dionysios Grammenos of Greece won the contest, with Finland and Norway placing second and third respectively. Grammenos is the first woodwind player to win the competition (previous winners have played piano, violin or cello). A new feature in 2008 was the audience prize, voted for by television viewers in the host country via SMS. The third prize winning Norwegian violinist Eldbjørg Hemsing was the winner of this public vote.[2]

  1. ^ a b c d "Eurovision Young Musicians 2008: About the show". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 5 August 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  2. ^ "Eurovision Young Musicians 2008: Participants". youngmusicians.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 5 August 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2014.