Background
Prior to the 2008 contest, (DR) had participated in theBefore Eurovision
was the 38th edition of , the music competition organised by DR to select its entries for the Eurovision Song Contest. The event included two semi-finals held on 12 and 19 January 2008, a radio wildcard selection between 21 and 25 February 2008 followed by a final held on 2 February 2008. All shows in the competition were hosted by Camilla Ottesen and Adam Duvå Hall and televised on DR1 as well as streamed online at the official DR website.
Format
Sixteen songs competed in the competition which consisted of two semi-finals and a final. Eight songs competed in each semi-final and the top four as determined exclusively by a public televote qualified to the final. The remaining non-qualifying songs proceeded to a wildcard selection where they were split into two groups. A public vote by listeners ofCompeting entries
DR opened a submission period between 24 August 2007 and 10 October 2007 for composers to submit their entries. All composers and lyricists were required to be Danish citizens or have a strong connection to Denmark. The broadcaster received 443 entries during the submission period. A selection committee selected sixteen songs from the entries submitted to the broadcaster, while the artists of the selected entries were chosen by DR in consultation with their composers. DR held a press meet and greet at the DR Byen inShows
Semi-finals
The two semi-finals took place on 12 and 19 January 2008 at the DR Studio 5 in Copenhagen. The top four of each semi-final advanced to the final based on a public televote. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, Aura and The Loft performed as the interval acts during the first semi-final, while Hej Matematik and Juanes performed as the interval acts during the second semi-final.Wildcard selection
Listeners of DR P3 and DR P4 were able to vote for the songs competing in their respective groups via televoting between 21 and 25 January 2008. The song with the most votes in each group that advanced to the final were announced on 25 January 2008.Final
The final took place on 2 February 2008 at the Forum Horsens in Horsens. The running order was determined by DR and announced on 24 January 2008. The winner, "All Night Long" performed byRatings
At Eurovision
It was announced in September 2007 that the competition's format would be expanded to two semi-finals in 2008. According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the " Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top nine songs from each semi-final as determined by televoting progress to the final, and a tenth was determined by back-up juries. TheSemi-final
Simon Mathew took part in technical rehearsals on 14 and 18 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 21 and 22 May. The Danish performance featured Simon Mathew dressed in a white shirt, braces and a vintage hat and performing with two guitar players, a keyboard player, a drummer and a backing vocalist. The LED screens displayed fireworks in blue, white and purple colours. The musicians that joined Simon Mathew were: Anders Øhrstrøm, Kim Nowak-Zorde, Morten Hellmann and Oliver McEwan, while the backing vocalist was Mette Dahl Trudslev. At the end of the show, Denmark was announced as having finished in the top 10 and subsequently qualifying for the grand final. It was later revealed that Denmark placed third in the semi-final, receiving a total of 112 points.Final
Shortly after the second semi-final, a winners' press conference was held for the ten qualifying countries. As part of this press conference, the qualifying artists took part in a draw to determine the running order of the final. This draw was done in the order the countries appeared in the semi-final running order. Denmark was drawn to perform in position 16, following the entry from and before the entry from Georgia. Simon Mathew once again took part in dress rehearsals on 23 and 24 May before the final. Simon Mathew performed a repeat of his semi-final performance during the final on 24 May. At the conclusion of the voting, Denmark finished in fifteenth place with 60 points. The final of the contest was watched by a total of 965 thousand viewers in Denmark.Voting
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Denmark and awarded by Denmark in the second semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Sweden in the semi-final and to in the final of the contest.Points awarded to Denmark
Points awarded by Denmark
References
{{Eurovision Song Contest 2008