Palestinians seek to participate in Eurovision song contest

Palestinians launched an effort Thursday to be included in the extremely popular Eurovision song contest, which pits bands representing European nations against each other in a popularity contest.

In a news conference Thursday, Palestinian broadcasting officials explained the steps they were taking to try to qualify. The Danish government is giving US$180,000 to help upgrade Palestine Television's infrastructure. Getting the official station accepted into the European Broadcasting Union is the first step to getting into the contest. (AP)