Interview: Eurovision.tv talks to Miodio

San Marino will only be represented in the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time this year, in spite of being the oldest republic in the world. Why did we have to wait so long for the first Sammarinese representatives?

Miodio: "Because Miodio has not existed before! But since our band has been created, San Marino is ready to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest."

Alessandro Capicchioni: "It is, in fact, a result of the new foreign relations initiative of Sammarinese Radio and Television, which has been in place for the last four years. Our new director has opened our television to Europe, and we have cooperated with the European Broadcasting Union on a wider scale. The participation in the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest is just the final step of this initiative. It was not easy to decide to do this, as we had to make sure that the structure of our television supports such a huge project."

Population-wise, San Marino is the smallest country ever to take part in the Eurovision Song Contest, and the country is completely surrounded by Italy. How strong is the Sammarinese identity? Do you feel you are an own nation in every aspect, or do you feel fully or partly Italian?

Miodio: "Of course, we are proud to represent our own nation, San Marino. We share big parts of our culture with Italy, we speak Italian, but still, we are proud to be Sammarinese."

Can you explain us a bit more in detail how the national selection procedure worked in San Marino worked this year? Have you been contacted by the national TV, or did you apply there yourself?

Alessandro Capicchioni: "We formed a jury, consisting of nine people. In the jury, there were quite famous people, like the singer Little Tony, for example. Afterwards, we collected all the material which arrived from abroad, from Italy, and from San Marino. Then we just picked a song out of that - it was as easy as that."

Miodio: "San Marino is not a big nation, so the national TV already knew Miodio. We sent in our material, and after we were selected, the national TV supported us in every way possible."

The Eurovision Song Contest has not been broadcast in either Italy or San Marino for more than ten years. How much did you actually know about the contest before you entered the national selection? Did you watch the Eurovision Song Contest in the past years?

Miodio: "We had heard about it, but we could never imagine how big the event actually was. We found that the organisation is just fantastic, and we are more than happy to be here!"

Has any media from Italy actually covered your participation in the Eurovision Song Contest?

Miodio: "Of course, we are still a very young group. All the same, we have already been featured in two special programmes about young musicians on RAI, the Italian national television. Anyway, our stay in Belgrad is featured on the regular news broadcasts of Sammarinese national TV, but not on RAI, because, as far as we know, they do not have any representative here in Belgrade."

How satisfied are you with your two rehearsals for the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest? Do you want to change anything for the Semi-Final?

Miodio: "I want to change my jacket, because I don't like it! (laughs) We are happy about our rehearsal. Of course, you can always improve every performance, but we are satisfied with our presentation."

What is your main goal in your participation in the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest? What kind of result are you expecting or hoping for?

Miodio: "We want to win - absolutely! We want to have a world tour, get rich, and have a lot of beautiful girls around us."

How would you encourage other singers from your country to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest in the future?

Miodio: "There are no words to describe what's happening here at the Eurovision Song Contest - it's simply incredible. We will just show them a significant photograph from here to convince them that they have to experience all this themselves."

Can we expect to see San Marino back in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest?

Alessandro Capicchioni: "It all depends on the next new director of the Sammarinese national television. If you are asking me, I believe and I hope that we will be back next year, once we have started this adventure. It will not be our last time participating in the Eurovision Song Contest."

Eurovision.tv thanks Miodio and Alessandro Capicchioni for taking their time for this interview, and we wish Miodio the best of luck for their first participation in the Eurovision Song Contest!