Sunday 25 May 2008

Put Away Your Flags: Is Eurovision doomed?



Since the mid-Fifties, television viewers have scoffed with good humour at the Eurovision Song Contest, the musical competition that was meant to celebrate musical talent(or the lack of it) within the confines of all the European countries and continents. Now, here we are in the twenty-first century, and you'd think that such a formula would still be adhered to, but the whole event has veered completely off course. Last night's result proved that. Fair voting went out the window. The biggest casualty of this was the UK entry. Andy Abrahams' song came joint last, and it now throws up the possibility as to whether there is going to be a British entry next year.

Even Terry Wogan, the long-time voice over host of Eurovision, seems to be wondering whether any future participation is a waste of time. He also dropped significant hints about him not wanting continue with his commentary duties in twelve months time. Perhaps the sheer politicising of Eurovision as a whole makes him feel that the contest has just become a waste of time, in this day and age, as it seems countries like Holland, Norway, Poland, France, Sweden, Ireland and Britain are deliberately being kept in the cold, so far as the Eastern European nations go. All these questions seem to be leading to the one big question; will the contest be scrapped altogether. Speaking for myself, I do hope it is gotten rid of. For the past ten years, it has gone downhill at a very sharp rate, and, given the selective nature of who gets the votes, I feel that I have to now give the entire contest NULL PWAH.....

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