Eurovision's other 'Terry Wogans'

Sir Terry Wogan's tongue-in-cheek commentary for the Eurovision Song Contest has become something of an institution in the UK.

But who provides the sardonic soundbites elsewhere in Europe? The BBC News website spoke to some of the other commentators to see how they approached the contest.

NORWAY Per Sudnes IRELAND Marty Whelan SLOVENIA Mojca Mavec

CYPRUS Vasso Kominou GERMANY Peter Urban BELGIUM Jean-Pierre Hautier

PER SUDNES - NORWAY

Sudnes says Eurovision is Norway's most popular and most hated show

How many times have you presented Eurovision?
I'm a Eurovision virgin so it's going to be fun! I'm entering a church and I'm not sure what kind of church it is. The religion takes years to get under the skin.

What are you known for in Norway?
The reason why they hired me is because of my background in serious music journalism - I've done Madonna and U2, all the TV portraits of big stars. They chose me because they thought I would hate it, but I love Eurovision!

Will you get nervous before the show starts?
How can you be? It's such a great honour. If I was nervous I would be ashamed.

What is your style?
The priest in my church of Eurovision is Terry Wogan but I'm not going to try to copy him. I'm just going to be excited and amazed and bemused. The days of sarcasm are over.

Do you bring any good luck charms into the studio?
I've heard Terry Wogan brings his own photograph, so I'll bring a photo of him as well. And my Terry Wogan slippers. And I'm sure that he wears Old Spice so I'm gonna wear that for good luck and then I'm gonna make sure that he blesses me before I enter the booth.

Who do you think will win?
Germany is going to stand out musically if he [Roger Cicero] pulls off his Robbie Williams and Frank Sinatra stunt.

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VASSO KOMINOU - CYPRUS

Kominou hopes to meet up with Terry Wogan in Helsinki

How many times have you presented Eurovision?
Five. My first was in Latvia.

What are you known for in Cyprus?
I have my radio show, a morning show and I am executive editor in a lifestyle magazine in Cyprus called Purple. We don't do any gossip but it's an easy-going lifestyle magazine.

Will you get nervous before the show starts?
Yes, of course! The rehearsals make it easier, but I'm always nervous and I want to do a great job for Cyprus.

What is your style?
I want to be correct, so I'm quite serious when I do my commentary. I usually make jokes on the voting when some neighbour countries vote for each other.

Like Cyprus and Greece?
Well, we usually give them 12 points and they give us 12 points - but they are the only neighbours we have! We cannot change the fact of Eurovision with this vote.

Do you bring any good luck charms into the studio?
I have all my notes with me - I won't be complete without my notes. I like to give statistical numbers, how many times people won, how many times they entered. And the flag is there, of course!

Who do you think will win?
I pray for Cyprus to win because I think we have a great song, but you never know. If you think that only one out of three countries will qualify from the semi-finals, it's very difficult to predict.

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MARTY WHELAN - IRELAND

Whelan has also hosted Ireland's prestigious Rose of Tralee festival

How many times have you presented Eurovision?
My first time was in 1987 when Johnny Logan won for the second time. They loved me so much they said: "Maybe you should wait a few years." I didn't come back until 2000. I've been presenting ever since then.

What are you known for in Ireland?
Hanging around, really, and refusing to leave.

Will you get nervous before the show starts?
It's three hours of live TV and that's hard going because people will tune in for 10 minutes and if they don't like it they're gone. If one song doesn't click and the next one doesn't click, I shout out: "Start the car, we're leaving!"

What is your style?
Some people sit in the box in a shirt and tie, but I don't think the idea of an accountant doing the commentary is what we want. I'm respectful for 10 minutes and then I lose it.

Do you bring any good luck charms into the studio?
I always bring an Irish flag lest anyone forgets who we are. And once Terry Wogan, God bless him, brought me down a glass of Bailey's, and ever since then I've brought the Bailey's too. We drink a few glasses during the voting because it's interminable.

Who do you think will win?
It's very hard to pinpoint because I'm generally wrong. Lordi proved there's no formula. The Bosnia and Herzegovina song is very good but it will be the first to be performed, which is not a good position.

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PETER URBAN - GERMANY

Urban is watched by more than 10 million in Germany on Eurovision night

How many times have you presented Eurovision?
Ten years it is now. I started in Dublin 1997 when Tony Blair had just won the elections and Katrina and the Waves won the Eurovision.

What are you known for in Germany?
Usually I do radio programmes. Eurovision is the only big TV show I do during the year.

Will you get nervous before the show starts?
All the preparation has become routine but I do still get quite a little bit nervous. I have 10 million people listening to me, which is different to my normal radio show.

What is your style?
My commentary is full of little ironical comments about the talent of the singing or the dresses. But it's not as sarcastic as maybe Terry does it on the BBC. If something is really rubbish, I don't hold back.

Such as?
Gemini [the UK's entry in 2003] were really terrible. Especially with Britain being mother country of pop culture. For everyone here it was sad to see this really, really average entry come up. We don't really understand this at all.

It looks to me like Scooch is in the same sort of category, honestly. It definitely won't fly, I can tell you that. It will stay right on the ground.

Who do you think will win?
There's a lot of good entries, and a lot of boring stuff. My top four are Greece, Russia, Bosnia and Finland.

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MOJCA MAVEC - SLOVENIA

Mavec has also announced the results of Slovenia's voting

How many times have you presented Eurovision?
This year it's going to be the third time as commentator. My friends tell me I should grow up and do something serious but, if I think of Wogan and some of my other colleagues, there's plenty of time for me to enjoy.

What are you known for in Slovenia?
I'm a TV presenter and journalist.

Will you get nervous before the show starts?
Three hours of television without peeing is tough! But it's 100% showtime and hopefully the Montenegro commentator will come around with a nice shot of home-made schnapps!

What is your style?
I try to be relaxed and especially transmit a bit of this amazing Eurovision energy to our homes.

Do you bring any good luck charms into the studio?
No, although I keep this nice tradition of kissing our representative before going up to my little studio for good luck, especially if he's tall, dark and handsome!

Who do you think will win?
No idea, it's never my favourite.

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JEAN-PIERRE HAUTIER - BELGIUM

Hautier says French and Flemish speakers treat the show differently

How many times have you presented Eurovision?
I think it's 14 years. I was chosen because the usual guy got a new job as the boss of Belgian radio. I was near his office when he found out and he said: "It's finished for me, the Eurovision commentary - are you interested?" and I said yes. So it was very easy. This is a true story.

What are you known for in Belgium?
I'm a DJ and the boss of La Premiere radio in Belgium.

Will you get nervous before the show starts?
I enjoy it. For me it's like a one-week holiday.

What is your style?
I'm not too nasty against the participants. In Belgium we don't like that. Some people in the North of France watch because they prefer my commentary and I'm very happy about that!

Do you bring any good luck charms into the studio?
No, no, no! The best time for me is before the start of the show they usually spin a video clip of the best bits of Eurovision - Waterloo from Abba - and the tension grows. This is the good part for me because I say: "Okay guys, it's time for the show... Let's go!"

Who do you think will win?
I don't know! It has been 14 years and everyone asks me this. But I love the English one because it's very funny. France are not very good. They have a very strange relation with Eurovision.

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