To find 'Eurovision is rubbish' know-it-alls tedious in the extreme?

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Every single year, we get this - invariably from people who never even remotely think about the existence of Eurovision until May. What on earth do they get from it?

"It's all complete rubbish/farcical/a waste of time."
Absolutely fine, then ignore it, the same as you presumably do with other optional things that don't interest you at all.

"It's all political and nobody votes for the songs anyway."
Yes, there's always going to be an element of politics in something as big as that, but isn't it fascinating how the best songs almost always seem to win and dominate the top of the board, whilst the mediocre and nondescript ones often languish at the bottom?

"Everybody hates the UK - especially since Brexit."
We've won several times and we came second only a few years ago - 'coincidentally' when we sent a great singer, a great song, a great performance and great staging. Also, lots of the regular participants aren't and never were in the EU. Are you genuinely surprised that a lacklustre song and a poor performance isn't in most people's Top 10 favourites - especially considering that we're one of the two countries that dominate global pop music, and we have the native language advantage too?

"Australia isn't even in Europe - it's called EUROvision!!!!"
Gosh, you're the first person to ever have noticed that! Thanks so much for informing us!

"I don't even know who any of these artists are."
Some of them are young and up-and-coming talented singers; some of them are extremely well-known and very popular in their own and other continental countries; if you dislike international music so much and you "never watch this rubbish", why on earth would you expect to have deep knowledge of the artists?

"I DO know who some of these artists are - and it shouldn't be for established performers."
Make your mind up (see last point)! The contest requires a new SONG, but any artist is allowed to perform it, whether it's Adele or Colin from the Nag's Head in Wolverhampton, if they are approached by the national broadcaster and are willing.

"It's a huge waste of OUR money - it's time for us to stop participating and the BBC should save the cash." Do you understand that being a member of the EBU costs a lot and is about far, far more than just the ESC? That said, do you realise that a great many people DO like the ESC - and that they pay their licence fee just like you do - and that many of them will have no interest in things that you consider top-drawer essential events - and that the BBC is meant to represent everybody's interests and not just yours - and that, if they don't spend it on this programming, they'll only spend it on different programming that you may hate even more, not on ushering in world peace or ending famine?

"I fully understand that the music is just one part of it; a major driving force of the ESC is and has always been to cement friendly relations with other countries and to develop, advance and spread high-tech new groundbreaking filming and broadcasting capabilities which open up a great many wonderful new applications and possibilities throughout the world for the benefit of humanity."
Actually, scrap that one... for some reason, I've never heard any of the moaning nay-sayer 'experts' complain about - or even pay the slightest nod to that issue.

I have no interest whatsoever in football. I gather there were some big matches on yesterday from what I overheard and seeing the TV listings; but I instantly thought "not for me, thanks" and ignored them. What I didn't do was to tell everybody IRL and online why I hate it at length, and why I think it's all rubbish - giving them the 'benefit' of my amazing knowledge and insight as an outsider that I'm sure will never have occurred to them - and thus why it's a waste of everybody's time, and the TV companies shouldn't spend all that money to show it, and we should just pull out of it and stop engaging and nobody should watch it anymore.

Soaps, sport, cookery shows, Love Island, Traitors, Strictly, I'm A Celebrity etc. etc. None of these hold any interest for me at all... so I don't watch, engage or discuss them at length and tell the millions of people who do like them why they are wrong to do so. Instead, I focus on things that DO interest me and bring me joy. The government is never going to make watching specific entertainment shows on TV compulsory.

82 years' worth of content is uploaded to YouTube alone every single day - just one website, without taking into account the rest of TV, streaming and thousands and thousands of other hobbies and activities that are out there, many of them free and accessible with just a few clicks. If you can't find anything of interest to watch or do and, instead, choose to pick out, watch and complain about something that you absolutely don't like, that doesn't make you come across as all that bright.

Sorry for the extended rant... but it's every single year, predictable as clockwork. Whatever could motivate them? Why do people actively seek out optional things that they know they will hate and then be surprised to find that they hate them, and pontificate as though they personally are the supreme oracle of all knowledge about the subject?!

As a massive fan, what do you think about the Romanian entry ‘Choke me’? I could never support Eurovision again after they allowed this. Lyrics include:

"You are here to obey me
Are you not?
All I need is your love
I want it to choke me, choke me, choke me
Born for you to control
I want you to choke me
Choke me, choke me
Love me, make my lungs explode"

I think it's great.
I know each year the UK don't stand a chance of winning coz everyone hates us, but who cares. The songs are catchy and everyone is just having a great time.

I said I think it’s AI and you went all sarky asking if I’d used a laptop. If you don’t think it’s AI then say so, don’t be rude

Im not on both sides of the debate, I don’t think it’s AI based on using different formats - I’ve been very clear with you on that.

Have you not seen any pop music performances at all since the 1980s onwards?!

I’m not accusing anyone of lying. I am saying I think she used AI to write her post. I love Eurovision and watched it in glee

But people aren’t ’expressing themselves’. They’re doing the opposite. They’re typing in basic prompts and then sharing word after word of absolutely robotic waffle. What’s the point in a discussion board if it’s my AI responding to yours?
I think you need to get over yourself and look at the reality of that.

We help fund the European broadcasting union, it’s far bigger than just the Eurovision Song Contest, much is behind the scenes technical, legislative, support for and campaign for independent journalism etc. They produce the new year and summer concerts from Vienna (more my taste) and just read the overnight programming on radio 3 is funded by them and broadcast across Europe. I know regulatory framework doesn’t sound exciting but it’s important stuff!

I’m with you OP I’m a massive fan as well. Keep up to date with the rest of the countries delegates as they’re announced and watch a load of YouTubers pretty much all year round.

I thought last night was really competitive song wise. I actually liked our song, and I thought Sam did well with promoting it, and getting his personality out there, which seems almost as important as the songs these days. But there were so many better ones that deserved to place higher. Really pleased for Dara’s win, she totally sold that performance!

I love it every year.

I wanted to BE Sandie Shaw !!!

Eurovision SC used to be singers singing on stage and no frills needed.
Yes I know this is decades on from that but what I've seen of the competition lately is so far removed from live unenhanced singing that I don't like it one bit despite dipping in to see how silly and desperate they all look.

Save your kisses for me 👄💋

I 100% can. I may not even be a pale shadow of Jane Austen or Oscar Wilde, but I did go to school and English is my native language.

I absolutely detest AI when it's used for replacing human interaction or creativity. What on earth would be the point of that? I can maybe tolerate it if it's used to replace dull, repetitive background technical tasks; but it's still nothing that remotely interests me personally.

I was discussing with my DS the other day about the sheer extent of YT, and how much bigger it gets constantly - and he searched and found that statistic, which blows my mind. The sheer size of data centres that Google must need - and how they must be constantly having to acquire new land and building more and more to cope with it all. The fact that they never say "Sorry, we're full" - even with all the people adding 12-hour 4K HD versions of a song or short clip on an endless loop.

I don’t watch it because I find it boring.
I must admit though I find it odd to get so invested over a singing contest. But each to their own.

Maybe you're more familiar with AI-generated text because that's something that you use a lot? I wouldn't have much of a clue myself, as it's not something that I would think of using - maybe I'm just a luddite or a dinosaur!

All I know from reading and hearing about it is that it basically plagiarises existing content - all originally provided by humans - and summarises/plays with it.

Brevity isn't my strong point, and I accept that I can be naturally verbose. Just like with the ESC itself, anybody is free to look in on a thread and then decide it's not for them and not engage.

I clicked on this as I can't stand Eurovision for all sorts of reasons but despite that I found myself agreeing with large parts of your post.

But you are still being unreasonable in not expecting people to voice the opinion that they don't like something that other people like. That would take out at least 20% of my pub conversations for a start.

I thought it was utterly horrible. I loved the music and her voice and would have voted for it, had it not been objectionable. I also don't buy her protests that it's metaphorical and talking about the hold of mental illness, as if that were true, why ever would she be singing that she wants to be choked?

I find various songs objectionable for various reasons; but I accept that it's a massive contest and that there will always be some artistic input that I strongly dislike.

A bit like the BBC in general: there are many elements of it that I detest, but I can still enjoy a great deal of their top quality output, in their context as our 'state broadcaster'.

Fair enough, each to their own. For me normalising violent sex is a hill I will die on.

I find people with deeley boppers screaming at people who can't sing totally tedious in the extreme. Honestly, go listen to some proper music.

Absolutely. I’ve decided to engage.

What’s the point in a discussion board if it’s my AI responding to yours?
I think you need to get over yourself and look at the reality of that.

I couldn't agree more - which is why it would never occur to me to use it. I think I'm reasonably competent in using and expressing my own thoughts coherently in my own language (others may well strongly disagree that I am), so why would I want somebody/something else to do it for me?

If you genuinely typed your OP then I offer my apologies. It’s still robotic sounding waffle to me but fair play on your commitment to your cause.

I wouldn't mind at all if people came up with some original points, though - rather than just trotting out the same old thing every time (I'm not necessarily saying that you do) - and frequently presenting it with self-satisfied glee as though they think they've come up with something that nobody else has said thousands of times before.

So much if it seems to be "I never watch that rubbish... but I still consider myself an authority on it".

What do you consider proper music, then? They had a vast range last night, including classical, operatic, rock, pop, rap, dance, funk and just downright silly. Was none of that 'proper music'? Not even the Viennese ORF orchestra?

Thank you... I think