Actor to co-host Eurovision contest
“Ted Lasso” star Hannah Waddingham, Ukrainian musician Julia Sanina and British singer Alesha Dixon will host the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest, organizers announced Wednesday.
The pan-continental pop competition will take place in May in the English city of Liverpool after Britain was asked to stage the event on behalf of designated host country Ukraine.
Thirty-seven countries will compete for Europe’s pop crown, with semifinals held May 9 and 11 before a final on May 13. All three programs will be hosted by Waddingham, Sanina and Dixon, a TV presenter and former member of girl group Mis-Teeq.
Sanina, who fronts Ukrainian alternative rock band The Hardkiss, said she was “excited to showcase Ukrainian culture and creativity, and to help put on a show to make my country proud.”
Waddingham, an Emmy winner for her role as the owner of a struggling soccer team in the Apple TV+ comedy “Ted Lasso,” said it was “a great honor to be standing shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine, a country which has carried itself with such strength and unity.”
Ukraine won the right to host the pop extravaganza when its entry, folk-rap ensemble Kalush Orchestra, won the 2022 contest. British organizers say the event will be a celebration of Ukrainian culture and creativity, as well as Liverpool’s musical heritage.
Mathis moving to new home:
Judge Greg Mathis isn’t done presiding over courtroom-television cases just yet. Last week, Warner Bros. announced the cancellation of the Emmy-winning legal program “Judge Mathis”
after 24 seasons and more than 13,000 cases. Now, days later, Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group has announced that the judge is set to host a new one-hour show, “Mathis Court With Judge Mathis,” this fall.
Mathis, the longest running Black male television host and second longest reigning television courtroom judge (behind Judge Judy Sheindlin), also shared the favorable decision Tuesday in a Twitter video.
Latin Grammys to be held in Spain:
The next Latin Grammy Awards ceremony will be held in southern Spain, leaving the U.S. for the first time, the head of its organization said Wednesday. Latin Recording Academy CEO Manuel Abud and the regional president for Spain’s Andalusia region made the announcement in Seville.
“That the Latin Grammys
will leave the United States for the first time is reason for special celebration, and what better place to hold them than Andalusia,” Abud said.
Regional president Juan Manuel Moreno said the awards show would be held in November. Neither the specific dates nor the host city were given. Andalusia is home to tourist destinations such as Seville, Granada, Cordoba and Malaga.
The Latin Grammys were first held in Los Angeles in 2000.
Actor Patricia Richardson is
72. Guitarist Brad Whitford is 71. Actor Kristin Davis is 58. TV personality Daymond John is 54. Actor Niecy Nash is 53. Songwriter Robert Lopez is 48. Actor Kelly Macdonald is
47. Actor Josh Gad is 42. Actor Aziz Ansari is 40. Actor Emily Blunt is 40. Actor Dakota Fanning is 29.