THIS YEAR'S ENTRY

For many years the Czech Republic seemed reluctant to join the Eurovision Song Contest family. While neighbours Poland and Slovakia first entered the competition in the mid 1990s, Czech television finally made their contest debut in Helsinki in 2007 having expressed interest and then withdrawing, a couple of years earlier. The Czechs have tried two very different types of music for their Eurovision entries, both both heavy metal band Kabat in 2007 and Tereza Kerndlová's pop dance song in 2008, failed to make it outof he semi-final.

For their third Eurovision entry, Czech broadcaster CT announced on January 30th that they had chosen, well known local group Gypsy.cz to go to Moscow. The group had lost out in the Czech national finals in both 2007 and 2008, but their growing local popularity and international success made them an unsurprising choice.

The group presented two potential Eurovision entries, both written by group founder and lead singer Radoslav 'Gipsy' Banga and the public chose their favourite over two weeks of text voting in March. The winner was "Aven Romale" (C'mon Roma) an usual mixture of folk and rap.

In just three years, Gipsy.cz has become one of the most famous Czech music representatives in the world and played at prestigious festivals and clubs in fifteen countries around the world, from Glastonbury to Ljubljana, from Lisbon through Kiev to Soul. The leader of the band is the Romani rapper, musician and singer Radoslav “Gipsy“ Banga who has been performing since the age of 13; Vojta Lavička, co-author of the project Gipsy.cz plays the violin and sings. The band is famous for its energetic live performances spiced with a good dose of distinct humour and self-irony.

The group's career includes winning the 2006 Anděl Award in the "Discovery of the Year" category, the "Chart Jumper of the Year" in the 2008 Český slavík contest, the Best Band of the Year award (2007) of the music magazine Filter, many live performances at the biggest Czech festivals, concerts and clubs, the Golden Album for the sales of the first album "Romano Hip Hop" and the success of the second album "Reprezent" among the fans and audience in the Czech Republic and aboard show the success of the band in the Czech Republic.

The great position of the band on the international scene is also proven by its participation at the legendary festival in Glastonbury, in the U.K., where it performed as the first Czech performers ever. People saw Gipsy.cz in the Netherlands - at the Dunya Festival in Rotterdam, the Mundial Festival in Tilburg and in the legendary Paradiso Hall in Amsterdam. The band also performed at the Couleur Café Festival in Brussels, at the Bestival on the Isle of Wight, Great Britain, the Pulse Festival in London and the Sziget Festival in Budapest. The unexpectedly enthusiastic reception brought the band twice to the World Music Festival in Ulsan, South Korea.

Czech and foreign reviewers highly praised both albums. The European journey of the most recent album "Reprezent" started with the biggest Czech success – the 3rd place in World Music Charts Europe (WMCE) in October 2008. The band’s albums are being also successfully sold in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Great Britain, Japan, Italy, Spain, Portugal, South Korea, etc. The songs from both albums are in many compilations dedicated to world music as well as Romani and modern music fusions. 

The band’s video clips were shown on MTV, on Nat Geo Music Fox Channel in Italy or on LinkTV in the USA. The songs of Gipsy.cz have been played by approximately 200 radio stations around the world, and their videos on YouTube viewed by approximately two million people, making them one of the most successful Czech acquisitions in this modern medium.

Gipsy.cz significantly helped the mutual understanding and better communication between the minorities and the majority society. In 2007 Radoslav Banga became the national ambassador of the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All.

While the band's international appeal has been proven, "Aven Romali" is one of the rank outsiders to win in Moscow, and is occupying the lower positions on most internet polls.

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