Eurovision?

[phylo_roadking]

Qvist - you hold him while I nut him.....

[M.H.]

It's not as if the Bulgarian police are walking around and checking that everyone's voting for Bosnia or something

Sure?

Did you notice Sweden, who finished 17th if I am not much mistaken? They still got 12 from Norway, 12 from Denmark and 10 from Finland.

Yes...that is called the "Nordic Bloc"...beside the Eastern Bloc and the Balkan Bloc....

[TPMM]

About "Blocs":
Here in Poland we are really sorry, that we don't belong to any block. Last year we voted for Finland and Lithuania (Lithuanian song was..... impressive )
Our western and eastern neighbours vote for each other, and give us approx. 3 points maximum. "Nordic Block" also doesn't vote for us, so I'd like to ask Qvist to change this situation (at least in Norway).

[Roddoss72]

Well in my opinion the best act was the Czech Republic, and the worse was that rubbish from the Russians, but yes the Serbian act deserved to win, congratulations to Serbia, as an Australian i love the Eurovision it is the coolest.

(I have no life)

[Dragunov]

and the worse was that rubbish from the Russians,

yay! i'm not alone in saying that! actually, my 'worse rubbish' vote goes to Englanti.

[Oracle]

I can remember watching British winners back as far as Sandy Shore's PUPPET ON A STRING, when she performed barefoot.

I know a huge chunk of our 60 million citizens wonder why we bother to take part now. We'll never win it again now as the blocs will all favour each other and we aren't in any! And whilst the BBC will stick to their requirements for new songs and new artists, we will just rubbish year on year.

[phylo_roadking]

...it COULD of course be the "My Lovely Horse" theory at work.....

...as long as the British NEVER win it - the BBC will NEVER have to pay for it the year after!!!

All comedy shows aside, the years in a row that RTE had to fund it nearly broke them!

[Oracle]

...led to the famous FATHER TED episode where Father Ted was chosen to represent Eire/Ireland, on the basis that he would not win and thus save them from huge expenditure again!

We cannot ever win now, and to cap it all after making fun of Norge's/Norway's "nil points" it happened to us! It's beyond even parody now. That's a sad finale.

[Roddoss72]

I can remember watching British winners back as far as Sandy Shore's PUPPET ON A STRING, when she performed barefoot.

I know a huge chunk of our 60 million citizens wonder why we bother to take part now. We'll never win it again now as the blocs will all favour each other and we aren't in any! And whilst the BBC will stick to their requirements for new songs and new artists, we will just rubbish year on year.

I tell you why United Kingdom will never win, because you always pick either the insipant love ballard or some stupid song that went out of fashion in the mid 80's and that is coming from one of the biggest 80's nerd on the planet. When you start choosing acts that are somewhat like the acts coming out of the eastern Europe or Balkans then you may have a chance.

[M.H.]

But that was never the core of the Eurovision Song contest, wasn't it?

When all Songs now are interchangable where is the show of the Differences?
this Grand Prix once was? From Ireland folk to french chansons...
Hell...some years back all sung even only in their native languages...Soon everything will be the same 0815 stuff...

[M.H.]

dp

[Oracle]

We chose "Europap", that is songs that would appeal to Europeans, or did...BOOM-BANG-A-bang by Lulu being a prime example. Whst we like as Brits is not the same as what we think is going to appeal to the rest of Europe. And if you think that we have not tried a British band, we have, THE SHADOWS, that famous band that baxked Cliff Richard in one contest, had a go. The year we say, to heck with what we think Eureopeans want, is the year we go it alone and put up a song that we can be proud of. From a country that gave you The Beatles and Elton John.

[panzerschreck1]

E.g. last year an absolute hottie from FYR Macedonia: Elena Risteska

Your DAMNN RIGHT!!!!!!!

[Roddoss72]

We chose "Europap", that is songs that would appeal to Europeans, or did...BOOM-BANG-A-bang by Lulu being a prime example. Whst we like as Brits is not the same as what we think is going to appeal to the rest of Europe. And if you think that we have not tried a British band, we have, THE SHADOWS, that famous band that baxked Cliff Richard in one contest, had a go. The year we say, to heck with what we think Eureopeans want, is the year we go it alone and put up a song that we can be proud of. From a country that gave you The Beatles and Elton John.

Stop living in the past, the main point is that until Britain does indeed choose a great act that is European in flavour or is dripping with Anglo-Celtic heritage then you are going be on or near the bottom. but the fact is that Britains don't consider themselves as Europeans anyway.

[Oracle]

I regret to say that the impression you got is outmoded. I was involved in the post-1971 Referendum when we voted to join the then EEC. I personally am a Francophile. As well as a deep respecter of Canada, Australia and New Zealand. We in the UK are indeed European, but just as your wonderful country has had considerable non-European migration, from Asia, there is a large element that do not consider themselves "British". And you then have to take that one stage further and that they then do not consider themselves European. In fact, many Scots do not consider themselves other than Scots first, but they would, as with the Irish, freely admith that they are European especially because of the relationships over hundreds of years with the Continent. Perhaps the Welsh think the same way too? Being pure-bred English since 1675, possibly 1575, I could say that I am English per se, but I do not have any such qualms: I am British. And European. And our broadcaster and member of the European Broadcasting Union is the British Broadcasting Corporation.

Non-Brits may not know that we in the UK have been only allowed to vote in the end on a Contest selection provided us by the BBC based on their rules, namely new writers, artists, etc. and the final six are selected by popular vote. This was not always so, as in the past an artist was selected and then it was the song that was chosen by popular vote. The final selection always amounted to what is felt is going to appeal to Europe, but the goalposts have changed in the last ten years at least. It was once a cosy club with a limited number of participants: mostly western Euopean with a few eastern allowed. Now we have a whole host of countries that did not exist thirty years ago, plus Israel of course. Europe has changed as well. We are now back to contest singing in any language, as against the reversion to native tongue, and that includes English. The old bloc voting, whereby countries voted for each other, used to be cause for groaning fromt he studio audience. Now it's political generally. We can't compete on that playing field anymore.

And as regards Anglo-Celtic heritage, well that won't work unless the UK was given th right to split its contestants into Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland as well as England, just as we have traditionally with Rugby and Soccer/Football. This country is fast becoming a disunited kingdom! The way that Scotland is going you may have Anglo and Celtic heritage being drawn from in thr future.