It’s that time of the year where taste goes out the window, songs with odd key changes appear and the wildest bloc-voting goes into high gear.
Yes, it can be nothing other than the Eurovision Song contest. It’s where countries that are in the European Union or European Broadcasting Union get together and put on a show… which varies from camp, to odd, to downright awful, to excellent… and everything in between (See the Wiki Page for history, politics and everything in between) .
Lets get the tenuous flying link out-of-the-way first… with this unfortunate entry by the United Kingdom in 2007 (Scooch – Flying the Flag for you)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KAaOxPPilc
I can only apologise for this song…
The song has to under 3 minutes long, with the song not previously published, has to be sung like and really… anything goes. For example, this number from the semi-final of 2014 (which didn’t get through disappointingly).
Lativa with a Cake to Back (and yes, the #caketobake trended on Twitter in the UK)
Or this classic entry that received “nul points” by Jahn Teigan
Mil etter Mil – 1978
Some entries go for the shock tactic – which sometimes doesn’t go down well in the host country. One of the of the most memorable was Dana International who represented Israel in 1988 (and won it too). Why? She was Transgendered (which Orthodox Jews didn’t like).
Diva – Dana International
This year, Conchita Wurst representing Austria is drawing similar controversy with the Belarus Ministry of Information getting a petition to edit out her section claiming that the performance would turn Eurovision “into a hotbed of sodomy.”
Saying that, it makes for great James Bond theme tune.
Rise like a Phoenix – and one of the hot tips to win for this years Eurovision.
Then there’s always the political tensions… which this year played out between Ukraine and Russia in the Semi-Finals (and will play out in the final of this years Eurovision).
And who says this is just a song contest?
Whilst it is about the song, the performance matters to the viewing public – as they get to vote on the songs too. This accounts for 50% of the votes, whilst a panel decides the other 50%, with scores of 12, 10, and then 8 to 1
To the losers, it’s a case of try again next year. To the winner – they gain the right to host the contest the next year.
For host cities, it’s a chance to put themselves on the map, and drive tourism for both airlines and hotels – which a lot of them take advantage of the 10,000 people, plus acts, performances and entourages.
But don’t ignore Eurovision. It had a couple of big successes. Celine Dion performed for Switzerland (starting her career), whilst a band played a song about their relationship and how it compared to Napoleonic surrender.
That band? One of the most successful for the 70’s – Abba.
I’ll be filling my Twitter feed (@GhettoIFE) with a commentary from just before the kick off at 20:00BST which will be inspired by the great Terry Wogan . For those who prefer commentary with out the sarcasm look out for it on your TV networks from 15:00 US Eastern Daylight time, 20:00 British Daylight time, 21:00 Central European Time.
It isn’t that bad. Unlike X Factor, it’s over quickly, without the “journey” they’re on…
Something flying related later 😉
