inthe00s
The Pop Culture Information Society...

These are the messages that have been posted on inthe00s over the past few years.

Check out the messageboard archive index for a complete list of topic areas.

This archive is periodically refreshed with the latest messages from the current messageboard.




Check for new replies or respond here...

Subject: Eurovision

Written By: meesa on 05/09/16 at 9:40 pm

My daughter has talked about this before, and I have read a bit about it but am unfamiliar. I wanted to ask our European members here: what do you think of Eurovision? Is it worth watching/interesting? What are your thoughts? Thanks!  :)

Subject: Re: Eurovision

Written By: Philip Eno on 05/10/16 at 5:17 am

For a foretaste of Eurovision, the past few years have been covered here in More Than A Decade.

May We Have Your Votes Please? - The Eurovison Song Contest

Subject: Re: Eurovision

Written By: Henk on 05/12/16 at 1:41 pm


My daughter has talked about this before, and I have read a bit about it but am unfamiliar. I wanted to ask our European members here: what do you think of Eurovision? Is it worth watching/interesting? What are your thoughts? Thanks!  :)


What do I think of Eurovision...? I think it's a great show. It's not necessarily about the songs anymore, as it was in the early days, but it's still fun to watch and discuss. There's always bound to be controversy about the results, although I think in most cases the best song and performance have rightfully won in the past. Exceptions to that rule: Finnish rock band Lordi (winners in 2006), and Austrian drag queen Conchita Wurst (winner in 2014), who both would not have won without their respective gimmicks I'm sure. And then there's Riva with "Rock Me", who won the contest in 1989. The band is from former Yugoslavia, a country that was falling apart rapidly at that point. It clearly was the politically correct thing to vote them winners - they certainly weren't the best entry!

Other things that are bound to happen: Greece will give Cyprus 12 points (and vice versa), no matter how poor their respective performances. The Balkan states (formerly Yugoslavia) will no doubt award each other loads of points, as will the Baltic and Scandinavian states (Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland - and to a lesser extent also Finland).
Also, the farther east the countries are, the more likely they are to give each other (loads of) points. Western European countries are far less likely to do that.
On the other hand, Azarbaijan will give no points to neighbouring Armenia, and vice versa, because of a border dispute. It is also unlikely to see Turkey give points to Cyprus.

With all that in mind, it's rather amazing to see that of the last seven competitions, six were won by Western European countries. That makes it STILL worth watching!

Check for new replies or respond here...