EUROVISION THREAD 3. THE UK ARE TOP OF THE LEADERBOARD (FOR NOW)

[RedToothBrush]

JUST THAT.

Just got it - Polish song - reminiscent of Wicked Games (Chris Isaac). That's why the UK public gave it dix points.

There's a huge Polish diaspora in the U.K., which also might have helped 😀

but what have we done to upset Australia?

The public opinion now in Ukraine, I think, is slightly inclined towards asking Poland to host, especially after the idiotic jury votes. At least it seems so from facebook groups.
There's no way Ukraine should be hosting next year, I think there's an internal consensus. Every euro in the country now should go towards other things.

@RedToothBrush - if Ukraine choose a host country like Poland (I.e. outside the big 5), what do you think would be the consequences for automatic qualification? Would we have 7 automatically qualified countries (Big 5 + Ukraine + host country)? Or would the host country have to go through the semis?

It's obvious - Channel 5 have decommissioned 'Neighbours'😁

Seriously?

It might be the whole colonial thing.

🤣🤣🤣

I think it would have to be decided by the ECB but I would argue that like the big 5, if you put in extra money then you should get automatic place in the final. It would be hard to argue against that given the reasons the big 5 get their spots.

The Netherlands hosted for Israel in 1980 but thats the days before the semi finals started:

Via Wiki:
Israel, the winner of the 1979 contest, declined to host it for the second time in a row, as the IBA could not fund another international production, and the Israeli government turned down a request to extend the IBA budget. The European Broadcasting Union also set the broadcast on the same day as the Yom HaZikaron holiday, which meant Israel decided not to participate at all, marking the first and only time that the previous year's winner did not even compete. After Spain, the 2nd-place winner of 1979, and reportedly the UK, both declined to host, the Netherlands finally agreed to host the show in a small-scale production. According to Yair Lapid, son of Tommy Lapid who was then the IBA director general, Lapid called his counterpart at NOS and convinced him to take the "undesired honour", when he realised that the extra cost could paralyse the regular work of the IBA. This remains the last time the previous year's winning country did not host the contest the year after.

So Spain as 2nd place were offered it first, then the UK (this was before the Big 5) as one of the countries most able to host it.

So the decision looks like its primarily down to the EBU to offer, but it would be polite for them to work with Ukraine, particularly under the circumstances.

It is going to be an additional thing for Zelensky to sort out, but it does sell Ukraine to the world and I think regardless of who hosts there will be a strong cooperation with Ukraine over the show's content.

I think its quite exciting for whoever gets to do it tbh. Its just the £££.

My guess would be that the host country would be given direct entry. It would be a bit rubbish for them otherwise. They could always reduce the number of places on offer in the semis to keep it at a round number.

I would like another country to provide the venue (us for example) but Ukraine still host. So Ukrainian presenters etc. Use local staff but headed up by Ukrainian designers if required. Give
them the final say.

No need to cut down on qualifying places from the semis. They’d just have 27 in the final - like the year Australia were first included (and had an automatic spot in the final).

I watched a programme on BBC Four on Friday night looking back over the Eurovision and the first year that Ireland hosted it (1971), we got help from the BBC because they had colour cameras and we only had black and white cameras at the time. I was amazed to hear that we hosted it in a small theatre (the Gaiety Theatre). Impossible to imagine now, although the Eurovision was a much smaller affair with fewer participants.

If the venue has to be announced in August, then a decision will have to be made fairly soon. I wonder where we'll be in twelve months time and if the war between Russia and Ukraine will still be raging. Realistically, I can't see Ukraine hosting it. As previous posters have said, even if the war is over by then, the country will be devastated. Money will be needed for other things.

@ilovesooty

I think it's Leavers who have been more likely to have insisted that Europe hates us.

Nope. It's always 'Remainers.' (Not ALL of them - but some.) They have been rubbing their smug little hands together with glee, at us doing so badly in Eurovision (over the last few years,) and said it was because of Brexit. This proves them wrong. Europe do NOT hate us! Bet they're embarrassed now.(They should be.)

Agreed, either the UK for the political kudos or Poland who would do it in a heartbeat I think.

Oh FFS!

It’s the sort of petty bullshit that fuels nil points.

eurovision doesn’t really matter so it’s exactly the vehicle for that kind of grudge.

Not that the British empire was a petty thing - or without lingering events.

but it’s is petty when it informs a ‘bloody poms; no points for them’ attitude.

if it actually mattered, you wouldn’t get things reduced to petty gripes. But it doesn’t. So you do.

Euromaidan Press AT Euromaidanpress
Ukrainian Railways' train Kyiv - Ivano-Frankivsk to be renamed as Stefania Express after the Eurovision winning song Stefania by Kalush Orchestra.

Kalush Orchestra's hometown of Kalush is localted in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast.

Can we go on it doing the Moldovia (sic) dance please?

Do we have to get the Daily Mail spreads out for the last few years to see which is true and who whinges over the political stuff most?

There is a strong correlation between anti-Eurovision sentiment (usually driven most because of accusations of political bias) and Leavers though. One that is documented.

Pretty sure I can find a YouGov Poll too if I have a look.

I've always said it was because we've had a shit mediocre song and this hasn't ever really bothered me. (Thats frankly why I'm not going to indulge this further. Its just a stick to try and beat up Remainers and cause a rise, and its a view thats so last decade now...)

The UK was the fourth favourite song amongst Australian telephone voters (third if you ignore Ukraine). I don't think that's evidence that Australians dislike us.
The five members of the Australian jury happened not to like it (or not as much as ten other songs). No idea whether a Pom jilted each of their sisters or whatever.
eurovision.tv/event/turin-2022/grand-final/results/australia

we we’re doing very badly before brexit…

Maybe in fact WE got the ‘sympathy’ vote cos Europe know we’re having to put up with Boris Johnson 🤔

I love Eurovision and hate brexit but SOMEHOW I just about manage to separate out the froth of a singing contest from the political context of a divorce from the EU. As does every other Eurovision fan I know. It’s not embarrassing at all to have done so well, it’s nice.

I don’t think your attitude is in the spirit of Eurovision at all!

Very keen to know what happened with the dodgy jury votes. My money's on foul play by the Azerbaijanis.

I also want to get out a spreadsheet and work out what the result would have been a) if the original votes had been retained and b) if you ignore the dummy results which the EBU substituted. Ukraine would still have won in both scenarios, no question, but would UK still have been second?

The connection problems may have been related to issues with some of the juries.

@RedToothBrush whenever I have talked about Eurovision with my friends from other European countries they have been mainly confused about why we don’t just send eg. Adele or Dua Lipa. I think some years we have been shunned, ie. the year following the Brexit vote I think even Adele would have struggled to win it, but overall we send one-off acts rather than emerging or established artists.

no one else can confirm if I did or did not hallucinate this but I’m convinced I saw a documentary about 10 years ago (so pre-brexit) where Andrew Lloyd Webber interviewed various big hitters around Europe and asked why we did so badly at Eurovision and the consensus was we should just send someone really good and then we’d probably win. In my mind Andrew Lloyd Webber spoke to Putin about it but I think I might genuinely have dreamt that as it seems mad. Any confirmation that this programme did exist would be appreciated 👍🏻

Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote and promoted the UK entry in 2009 and was certainly vocal about what we needed to do to improve our performance (basically "try harder, send a good song sung well, promote the hell out of it all around Europe"). They came a very solid fifth even though the song was pretty mediocre IMO.

So the TV show you remember sounds very plausible as a tie-in to that campaign.