Eurovision Song Contest 2013

The Eurovision Song Contest 2013 was the 58th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. The contest took place in Malmö, located on the west coast of Sweden, following Loreen's win in the 2012 contest with the song "Euphoria". It was the fifth time that Sweden had hosted the contest, the last time being in 2000. Sveriges Television (SVT) chose Malmö Arena as the venue following the consideration of several venues in Sweden. The host for the contest was Petra Mede. Thirty-nine countries participated, including Armenia, which was last represented in 2011. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Portugal, Slovakia and Turkey announced their withdrawal from the 2013 Contest.

The design of the contest was built around the theme "We Are One" – highlighting equality and unity of all the participating countries alongside the cultural diversity and influence of each participant. Compared to many of the previous contests in the history of Eurovision, rather than focusing on promoting its own country, Sweden chose to lay focus on the artists and their respective countries. The postcards presented before every song which have often been used to show the host country's nature, culture and social life, were changed to show the typical everyday life of each individual artist in their home countries scattered around Europe.

Hungary in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013

Hungary participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö, Sweden. The Hungarian entry was selected through a national selection format titled again "A Dal" (which means "The Song"), consisting of three heats, two semi-finals and a final, organised by the Hungarian broadcaster MTVA.ByeAlex represented Hungary with the song "Kedvesem", which qualified from the second semi-final of the competition and finished in 10th place in the final, scoring 84 points.

A Dal 2013 (The Song 2013)

On 24 October 2012, MTVA announced the rules and regulations for their selection procedure, A Dal, and opened the submission period for artists and composers to send in their entries. The deadline was set to expire on 20 December; however, MTVA granted an extension until 31 December.

On 4 January 2013, MTVA announced that the jury for the competition would comprise:

Hungary

Coordinates: 47°N 20°E / 47°N 20°E / 47; 20

Hungary (ⁱ/ˈhʌŋɡəri/; Hungarian: Magyarország [ˈmɒɟɒrorsaːɡ]) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Romania to the east, Serbia to the south, Croatia to the southwest, Slovenia to the west, Austria to the northwest, and Ukraine to the northeast. The country's capital and largest city is Budapest. Hungary is a member of the European Union, NATO, the OECD, the Visegrád Group, and the Schengen Area. The official language is Hungarian, which is the most widely spoken non-Indo-European language in Europe.

Following centuries of successive habitation by Celts, Romans, Huns, Slavs, Gepids, and Avars, the foundation of Hungary was laid in the late 9th century by the Hungarian grand prince Árpád in the Honfoglalás ("homeland-conquest"). His great-grandson Stephen I ascended to the throne in 1000 CE, converting the country to a Christian kingdom. By the 12th century, Hungary became a middle power within the Western world, reaching a golden age by the 15th century. Following the Battle of Mohács in 1526 and about 150 years of partial Ottoman occupation (1541–1699), Hungary came under Habsburg rule, and later formed a significant part of the Austro–Hungarian Empire (1867–1918).

Hungarian wine

Hungarian wine has a history dating back to at least Roman times. Outside of Hungary, the best-known wines are the white dessert wine Tokaji and the red wine Bull's Blood of Eger (Egri Bikavér).

Etymology

Only three European languages have words for wine that are not derived from Latin: Greek, Turkish and Hungarian. Records carved in a Runic alphabet used by ancient Hungarians have words for wine derived from Turkic. There are two hundred Hungarian words (including wine as well) that are of Bulgaro-Turkic origin, suggesting that the Magyars had contact with the first winemakers in the South Caucasus. Examples include :

History

The Romans brought vines to Pannonia, and by the 5th century AD, there are records of extensive vineyards in Hungary. Following the Magyar invasion of 896, Árpád rewarded his followers with vineyards in Tokaj. Over the following centuries, new grape varieties were brought in from Italy and France. Most of the production was of white wine.

Kingdom of Hungary (1920–46)

The Kingdom of Hungary (Hungarian: Magyar Királyság), also known as the Regency, existed from 1920 to 1946 as a de facto country under Regent Miklós Horthy. Horthy officially represented the Hungarian monarchy of Charles IV, Apostolic King of Hungary. Attempts by Charles IV to return to the throne were prevented by threats of war from neighbouring countries and by the lack of support from Horthy (see the conflict of Charles IV with Miklós Horthy).

The country has been regarded by some historians to have been a client state of Germany from 1938 to 1944. The Kingdom of Hungary under Horthy was an Axis Power during most of World War II. In 1944, after Horthy's government considered leaving the war, Hungary was occupied by Nazi Germany and Horthy was deposed. The Arrow Cross Party's leader Ferenc Szálasi established a new Nazi-backed government, effectively turning Hungary into a German puppet state.

After World War II, Hungary fell within the Soviet Union's sphere of interest. In 1946, the Second Hungarian Republic was established under Soviet influence. In 1949, the communist Hungarian People's Republic was founded.