Eurovision 2026 Final Thread 3

[RedToothBrush]

Go.

Spain’s 2024 Eurovision campaign totalled nearly €600,000, with the participation fee representing just over half the cost. Ireland’s 2024 budget reached €390,000, despite a relatively modest €101,090 participation fee. For Romania, the 2023 bill came to €400,000, including €80,000 for staging and €63,000 for their national selection show.

Bulgaria has not participated in the last couple of years due to the cost of entering. Given it cost 80,000 euros for Romania's staging alone a couple of years ago, you really wouldn't be putting much into your national selection show if you were Bulgaria. You'd only spend money on final staging once you had made your selection.

I think that the Romanian entry in 2024 actually contributed 30,000 euros to the cost of his own participation if memory serves correctly.

There are other examples of artists paying a significant amount towards their show too. Serhat for San Marino paid the whole lot a couple of years ago (I wonder why was their entry...)

I wonder how the Bulgarian entry this year (particularly the staging) was eventually funded with this in mind.

Its worth thinking that Dara is a big star in Bulgaria and opened for Robbie Williams in Sofia in the past. Eurovision would be a natural gateway to a wider european career - so it wouldn't surprise me if at least some of the costs have been absorbed by her or her record label as an investiment as it would be worth their while even if she hadn't won. She would be able to put in more than someone else if they had won the Bulgarian selection but she certainly wouldn't have made this investment before getting the gig.

This is a mystery that I have not seen an answer to.

But of a random observation, but I noticed how many of the women this year were "medium" sized - no real extremes of Eleni Vs Netta.

I only noticed because I was thinking the other day how few "medium" women you see in this sort of thing, and then they all popped up in one go.

I think thats been the case at Eurovision for a couple of years tbh. I don't think its a this year thing.

Almost like that Vindaloo football song from many years ago - alright if you like that sort of thing, almost calculated to piss off anyone not British, which is not great if you are at Eurovision.

I think Bangaranga also has strong kpop vibes - with some of the writers also associated with kpop groups and Dara previously selling a song to a kpop group. I can actually imagine it being sung by a group - with the different parts for different singers, which again shows the strength of Dara's performance.

I quite liked the UK song, even if i had to google the refences but thought the performance was a bit unpolished (better in the final than the semi though). I don't think it deserved so few points!!

I tend to think that all the political voting impacts the overall ranking of the middle range and lower end songs, but a song that hits right will win no matter which country sends it!

They were both absolutely dreadful.

I don't feel like Engelbert was any less naff than Italy this year - I feel like Italy get a boost from a general good opinion of pizza/pasta/vino vibes, a kind of positive discrimination. If Malta had been sung by Italy this year and vice versa, I expect that Malta wouldn't have qualified and Italy would have done just as well.

Italy would have done even better if sang by Malta man.

I was thinking similarly in that the UK wouldn't have won if we'd put on the winning entry. There still needs to be an element that links it to the competing country.

I've just read that the Director General of Teleradio-Moldova (TRM) has announced his resignation, following criticism of the Moldovan jury not awarding 12 points to Romania. (They gave their 12 points to Poland).

The UK entry was the only one still going round in my head for days after, but I wonder if the vibe was just a bit… off? The lyrics were almost incomprehensible even to native speakers (thank God for subtitles) but kind of negative - not so much ‘I love Europe!!’ but ‘urrrgh, Mum, Britain is so shit, and the food’s crap and I’m boooooored, I’m going to Düsseldorf, nggggh, shut UP.’

whereas Moldova had a similar approach, but was more, ‘Isn’t Moldova BRILLIAAAAAAAAAANT!!’

Full-on Sam Ryder-style sunshine is what we need to find next time. Eurovision is no place for cynicism or irony, even if it is our speciality.

I mentioned this earlier and it sounds a bit party pooping but how much of the show is dubbed, and if so is that officially known?

Do you mean dubbed vocal performances?

It used to be the rule that all vocal parts had to be sung live, and only 6 performers on stage. Which often meant things like hidden backing singers on stage.

It changed a few years back so that "supplemental" backing vocals could be played, but I don't think they're allowed to mime. So if they're singing and dancing, they have to be singing and dancing.

This rule change led to the explosion of dance breaks in the past few years because performers could have a few background flairs, and they no longer need to use up their six people on static vocalists.

Chanel with Slo Mo was an excellent singer and and dancer, but IMO her choice of dancing was a bit of a piss take for the final.

(Instruments couldn't be played live either, but Italy budged the rules on that with a mouth organ last year, and Finland had their violin live this year.)

Engelbert was a whole three million levels worse than Italy this year. Engelbert wins the worst UK entry ever

See I reserve a special level of hell for Remember Monday. What the hell indeed...

Also That (doesn't) Sound Good to Me.

I can at least see what they were going for Englebert even if I didn't like it - classy old dude singing gentle old ballad.

Ironically the UK had the same staging director/choreographer as Bulgaria.

I hope we've demanded a refund, it was bloody chaos.

And when you think he did Nemo and Måns Zelmerlöw as well...

I wouldn't have believed it! What the heck? @CharlotteStreetW1 😯

I thought there were a lot of dodgy vocals this year in comparison to last year. The good singers stood out.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyp6w9ejyko

Although LMNC might have used Fredrik Rykman too, Sam built a lot of the props, admits he can't dance well and wanted to recreate the music video for his song. Not sure how much freedom that gave Rykman!

On the subject of UK Eurovision entries, I just researched Surie, and recalled what a bloody trouper she was after the stage invasion.

I bumped into her in the toilets in Turin because the VIP area was clearly too busy.

She was hard done by. That was dreadful. And it's scary to think now about how that ever happened. There's no way they'd allow a repeat.

I'm in an online group with lots of Americans and Canadians and I'm shocked how many of them watched Eurovision. More of them watched than my British friends or colleagues.

I'm British and thought it was shit. Embarrassing.

Yes, it's a bit niche. Plenty of people hated Vindaloo too.