It is that time again that makes me realise another year has passed like lightening (very much like the annual London Salute wargame show does), Eurovision is to be held this Saturday!
For those who do not live in Europe or if you do those of you who live under a rock and manage to miss this event each spring Eurovision is a talent show of massive proportions where a musical act from every nation in ‘Europe’ (the definition is rather loose with Russia and Israel taking part for example) takes part and then all the nations vote for a winner. The semi finals are underway now to whittle down the acts to the final group that will sing live in Baku 2012 this weekend.
I LOVE Eurovision and watch it every year but its not for the music. It is for the little party I have in the house and for guessing the winner and for laughing out loud at some of the frankly sublime and crazy acts from every corner of the continent and beyond. I have done this since the mid nineteen nineties and each year I sit up late for the telecast votes to come in. This time we in the UK are represented by musical legend and super heavy weight Engelbert Humperdink. You can see our entry from him below.
So my prediction for this year? Good fun, good laughs, a lot of not so good tunes and the winner…well unless there is a major upset it will be yet another Eastern European state courtesy of the ‘perhaps we should all block vote for each other’ mantra. Chances of it being the UK or any Western European nation…slim indeed.
GBS
Just watched the first qualifier on BBC three, and it was just as awful and awesome as ever! 🙂 Best taken with the assistance of a dram though, IMHO.
Indeed it was. Beautiful and Bemusing as always. In some ways the semi’s are better than the actual night, some real talent put out before the end game.
As I am at the mid point of my 5.00GBP week for food I did it ‘cold’ but I intend a beer or two at the weekend for the big event.
GBS
Well the Eurovision 2012 final is over and…Sweden won!
The usual block voting was all too much in evidence but one of the best songs (one of only three I could see doing well in the charts) did win with over 300 points. As for the UK, we came second last with only a dozen points.
Each year that passes I wonder a little more why the UK enters Eurovision we seem to have little idea what Europe likes as music or their idea of ‘culture’ since we sit bemused as everyone else cheers and claps. But more than that I think of the ‘Bucks Fizz’ days in the 80’s and think ‘would they have won if nations that used to be one are now four or five and all vote for each other?’.
Oh and final thought…well done Jedward! Miming in the final…awesome 🙂
GBS