A Night of European Oneness?
The greatest Eurovision ever? Definitely the best I have ever seen. Usually it is amusing and entertaining because the songs are so bad but last night the music was of a surprisingly high standard. From Germany's swing song, to Hungary's blues to Russia's Girls Aloudesque rendition. I loved it. I was watching the event in Britain with one Eurosceptic and one ex-Eurovision lover turned cynic. My unbridled enthusiasm for the evening of European fun was somewhat outnumbered, but I still thoroughly enjoyed the spectacle and felt very happy to be European and to be able to witness such an entertaining event.
My Master thesis, which I will be starting to write soon, is all about European identity and I was wondering what Eurovision could offer on this topic. Can it be described as a night that brings Europe together? A night of true European culture? A demonstration of Europe's unity? Or is it more a case of lots of countries that happen to be quite close to each other choosing a song that may or may not represent their country (Scooch are NOT in anyway representative of Britain. I was truly embarrassed to be British last night. By far the worst song in the competition and fully deserving of the 'nul point' it would have received had it not been for the ex-colony of Malta and our darling neighbours Ireland) in the hope of beating or getting one up on their neighbours? The Eurosceptic on my sofa claimed that all those 'Eastern European' countries aren't really Europe at all. For a whole generation of Brits, ex-USSR countries apparently don't belong to their Europe. That surprised me. I'm not sure it helps the argument that Israel is also included in the Eurovision and Belarus is far more European than Israel. Probably not.
The other great controversy that accompanies Eurovision each year and that the British commentator goes on and on about is the so-called 'block voting'. This was wonderfully demonstrated by the Balkan countries - all the former Yugoslavian states voting for each other, as well as the Scandinavian countries. I actually think part of the reason the British commentator made such a big thing of it is that we get no votes from 'friendly voting' because we have two neighbours - one is Ireland, who we invaded several centuries ago and there has been a civil war there pretty much ever since; and the other is France, who everyone knows loves us about as much as we love them, which would be not very much at all. If it weren't for us having a former colony within Europe, or at least within Eurovision's definition of Europe, we would have been bottom last night. Granted, Serbia did win last night and they did get lots and lots of votes from the Balkan countries, just like Ukraine got lots of votes from ex-USSR states, but they didn't just get votes from their friends. For some reason, lots of other countries gave Serbia lots of points. Not sure why, but there you go. That is Eurovision for you.
I would like to make some meaningful conclusion about what all this means for European identity, but I'm not really sure there is one. I enjoyed Eurovision and was pleased to be European and to be a part of it. This may be to do with the fact that I live in Germany and that I have friends from various other countries represented. My two fellow Eurovision spectators certainly didn't express the same love for the event. Did it make me feel closer to other Europeans? I already feel quite European due to my living in another European country and studying with lots of people from other European countries. But for others Eurovision seemed to emphasis differences - it was all too easy for the Eurosceptic and the cynic to spend the whole time complaining about there not being enough Western European countries represented, about the rubbish songs from other countries and about the cheating during the voting. I think really it is one of those things that if you approach it with a smile, it will give you a lot back, but if you watch it determined to complain about how unfair it is that the Western European countries get no votes and the Eastern European countries all vote for themselves then you will never really get in the spirit.
So, Eurovision was a night of fun for all of Europe to share in, a night to come together and have a jolly fun time, but as a demonstration of a common European identity, of a European oneness, it has a long way to go...
21 comments:
mnHere is a thought, if everyone just voted for their friends, wouldn"t the same countries win? Finland won last year and Serbia this year.
As for block voting, how much does the so called "friendship" really exsist? When you think politically, Serbia is not really a friend in some areas of the balkans considering nationalism and the acts of war crimes that happened within the country during the balkan wars.
So I am wondering how much this block voting really has to do with it. Who knows. If everyone voted for their friends, then the same a countries would win each year, wouldn"t they? I don"t know.
As for the british entry....well I have seen better singing geese. That was an embarresment. I am glad I am not british! HAhahahah! How did they get into the final??? Sorry Lu.
We got into the final because, as several members of my household have repeatedly mentioned, we put up most of the money for the event. Not sure how true that is... It definitely wasn't on the merit of the song. It serves us right that no-one voted for us.
I agree that the results do seem to refute the argument for block voting, but it is true that all the Yugoslavian countries voted for each other and a lot of the ex-USSR countries voted for their neighbours. You can pretty much predict who is going to vote for who and get it right almost every time. But, although I don't think Serbia's song was the best, they've never won before so it is nice that they get their turn. Just as long as they don't keep winning it!
Roll on next year I say...
very good comment, becky!
even more embarrassing than the uk's performance at the eurovison is the lack of geopolitical understanding of some western commentators (german as well as the british).
to talk about friendships in this regard is rather ridiculous. as becky mentioned, serbia doesn' t really have many friends in the balkans after the wars & genocides of the 90s. also, to talk about russia's friendship with georgia or the baltic states is almost like talking about russian-chechnyan friendship. certainly not an explaination for the voting results.
but instead of considering the fact that those countries share a language or a cultural background and that serbian stars are just as popular in other former yugoslav republics, many commentators make unqualified remarks that not just embarrass themselves but also downplay the performances of the eastern countries' acts.
serbia won deservedly because it had the best song. this was not only the opinion of serbia's "friends" but also of other (obviously east-block) states like switzerland, finland and austria.
the german act had the same advantage with the austrian or swiss voters, but if they can't even get 12 points from those countries, how can he expect more from russia or turkey? it's not a great song obviously. same goes for uk &ireland, spain &portugal&andorra.
the "block-voters" in fact have been more honest in their vote than some western countries, if bosnia for instance gives 12 points to serbia, thats rather remarkable and a reason for happiness, that this event and music in general overcomes political differences and even hatred.
lucy, very nice blog btw.
oh the funniest comment of the british commentator was when romania's 12points were announced...he said: "come on russia"...and after the points went to hungary he said: "oh, thats a surprise"..haha..if you consider that romania is as aligned to russia- politically and historically- as much as it is to britain, then, ...no..its not a surprise.
well, apart form the ever-repeating comments it was a nice event with funny moments and some good songs. let's hope for a even better one next year in belgrade...only maybe without the usual conspiracy theories.
ok, thats all i had to say. i obviously have no job and too much time (cant even go to the beach..rain). please forgive me. ;)
PS. oh becky...UK dont have to qualify for the finals. they fund this fantastic event, which qualifies them automatically. so be grateful and look forward to another great performance of britain next year...hehe.
BTW, the Germans apparently put up the most money for the event, not the British....according to my source....(if you cannot figure out who it is).
He wanted to add that but he maxed out his word limit.
Lively convo going on here.
Lu i loved your post. loved the comments too. want to make my little contribution on block-votes. i agree with Becky and dejan on political, ideological disparate moods, politically motivated frustrations, distrust and anger reigning in some post-communist countries, but i am convinced that this is on a different level, which usually has very little to do with simple voters... it's usually not the people who are hostile to each other, but rather policies or certain political figures. If Central Asia would be granted a right to participate (or say there would be Eurasiavisions), given the political, economic rivalry between 5 Stans, i am sure people would vote/support for each other rather than some distant neighbours.
or say, if the voters were government officials or politicians, then i am sure the results of the vision would strongly differ from what we have now. i assume, there are still very few people who actively take part or share (of aware of) political ideologies in many parts of our wonderful world, maybe even luckily so.
regards,
nafis
A debate, excellent :D
Loving the comments, keep them coming.
I certainly don't want to take anything away from Serbia's win. It was not my favourite song, or even close, but I guess a lot of people must have liked it, because, as I said in the blog, they got a lot of votes from countries who have nothing to do with Serbia, geographically or politically, so those claiming 'block voting' are somewhat scuppered in this case.
Other thoughts: When a lot of people, in GB at least, talk of block voting they say it is just voting for their neighbouring countries. What they don't consider is that maybe this is because they have similar musical tastes and so they like the songs more than others.
But another aspect in the voting could be knowing the country or knowing people in the country or just solidarity against the 'big guns'. It is a bit strange that it was all 'Eastern European countries' that got through to the final and that the 'traditional Eurovision countries' had to rely on the fact that they foot the bill. Surely this does demonstrate some bias in the voting, even if it is just because of musical similarities, although I suspect other factors play a part too.
But, really, as a Brit I should just go hang my head in shame at our entry. All I can say is I wasn't in GB for the selection process of our entry and I fully believe that it is the worst song I have ever heard. British people like to think of Eurovision as a big joke and our song was basically a piss-take and it backfired big time. This year was the first (in my memory) where the music was actually good and we just looked like idiots. In an attempt to save some sort of face British people have taken to saying it was all a fix and the voting was completely unfair. I wish they would show some dignity and just admit that we had the worst song and that Ireland (who came last) was maybe a better song but an awful performance and that France sucked too. The other 'Westerners' didn't do much better and that WAS a surprise because I thought their songs were good - I loved Spain's boyband and Germany's swing effort was magnificent. I guess I am in the minority in thinking that though...
So the argument moves from politics to taste in music.
I can fully understand your confusion of Serbia's win if you liked the sounds coming from Spain, this coming from one of the boy band capitals of the world, I thought you would have had a little taste in songs that have 5 men dancing and singing.
However when it came to music taste Lucy, we diverged in distinct areas. As for Germany's entry, it was mediocre in big band standards. Check out Royal Crown Review for a better gauge on swing music.
So here were my favourites, Romania, Serbia and I have to admit, I liked Ukraine. I think it was the man dancing and singing "Eins, zwei, drei...Tanzen!"
And now I let Dejan comment, he is biting my left shoulder to get at the computer to comment again....
thanks becky...:)
i have only one more thing to add in regards to music taste..lucy, i can fully understand your confusion about serbia's victory if you liked the spanish muchachos...hahahaa...sorry..thats all i have to say to that. ;)
'it's usually not the people who are hostile to each other'...
hey nafisa..just wanted to add something to that sentence. i dont really know the relationships of the people of the former ussr between each other, but i can say for sure that in the case of exyugoslavia the distrust and even hatred is still very present on a daily basis for the majority of people, inspite of political attempts to normalize the relationships (in hopes for a european perspective).
thats why it makes me happy to see that people in croatia, bosnia and slovenia overcome their disliking of the still perceived 'enemy' and vote for the song they like most.
thats a great thing that should be acknowledged sometimes instead of making up ridiculous conspiracy theories (being 'just' a music commentator does not excuse stupidity)
ok. thats all (for today) i have to turn the pc of before somebody replies...otherwise we# ll never get of this...night!
If I had wanted to listen to good swing I would have put on a Frank Sinatra cd. The Eurovision is usually full of bland songs that all sound the same - either an overdramatic ballad or a terrible danced up pop song lacking in lyrics, tune and vocals. I liked Germany's entry because it wasn't one of the above, it was something different that Eurovision had been lacking in all previous years when I have watched it. Granted Spain's effort (4 guys btw) was not entirely original but it was fairly well produced and a bit of a foot-tapper. I was hoping that one of the countries that had tried something new and different would have won - Germany, Hungary or the operatic Slovenia. Alas, I was disappointed.
Maybe next year Britain will put up a half decent song and wipe the floor with everyone, but probably not...
Hey, what a cool discussion is going on here. Let me add some of my thoughts. The whole crazy mixture of songs gave me a feeling of being European, just in the middle of this funny crowd ;-) The German song was ok but I guess too much lyrics and no half-naked dancers ;-) The "friendship-voting" was there in former years as well and if Turkey would not got 12 points from Germany, something would have been wrong, but I agree with you that there is a clearly visable trend this year. In the press and in the radio there in Germany some discussion is going on on this at the moment but nobody seems to have a good idea what to change. Something else the media is speculating about is the Serbian song, no one seems to know more that that the title translatad means "prayer" and wonders whether she sings about lesbian love, war, hate? I would like to know what she sings about, I like the song. Alright that's from my side, thesis is calling. Have fun in UK Lucy!
Vera from Fulda (blogger-id is not working)
Can't summon up any meaningful comments on the subject myself!
As to 'rubbish songs' - count me in!
Also interesting that this blog got the highest number of replies.!!?
....For God's sake guys...It's only the Eurovision song contest. You know - cheap television.
Rubbish.
My only claim to fame being that I've never watched it in my life.
I watched (yet again)The Guns of Navarone and an excellent Western. So I spent a lovely Saturday evening!
Love
Auntie Fred xxx
hey I found something interesting:
http://www.spiegel.de/kultur/musik/0,1518,482806,00.html
the article mentions that a german journalist conducted a fictional vote by excluding the "east-block's" votes...the result being almost identical with the original vote. serbia and ukraine first, germany 14th instead of 19th and britain 19th instead of 23th. only poor ireland would still be last with 0 instead of 5 points..hehe.
vera, its a love song...lesbian or not can not be told by the lyrics...but it's a nice one however.
oh btw.. my favourites were serbia, georgia and ireland (they really didnt deserve that result).
On a different note, becuase Australia gets the British broadcast of the Eurovision, I have to say, that voice over is annoying. WHy??? He talks over the songs.
Also, I have to give credit to the German Bigband, it was in German so that was original, however I still stick by my guns with Royal Crown Review in terms of big band performances. Puts the Queensland Navy Band to shame. To check out the initial Royal Crown Review, remeber back the Jim Carey movie "The Mask," they are the band that he and Cameron Diaz are dancing to in the club. But this is getting way off the point of the debate at hand.
My next question is, one that begs to be asked, and refers to earlier comments; how, with all the pools of talented musicians in Britain - even comedy acts, did Scooch come to represent Great Britain? That is the real scandel. Not the so called block voting.
How, lucy how???
Hi Aunty Fred! Just to let you know that is quite unmainstream in Australia to be watching the Eurovision song contest. Its put on the channel dedicated to multiculturalism - SBS (The Special Broadcasting Service). I can watch all sorts of news, Ukrainian, German, Phillipino, Indonesian to name a few. The british news, interestingly, is relegated to the ABC, which is the Australian non commercial channel. You could consider that perhaps to be Australian news...depends who you ask....
So back to the contest...if Britain puts so much money into the contest, why do they put such a lousy act, and if this were to have been judged say like...DSDS, or had "objective" judges would the outcome been the same?
It always gets exciting during the evenings here, this commenting, because that is when you wake up and check your blog.
Hola!
To be honest: I don't care at all about the european blabla song contest...so I skipped all the comments about it.
A totally different question is disturbing me: Why am I such a big dot on the "locations of visitors map"? Are there more than one in Santiago or is it just that I have nothing else to do than reading blogs and it counts everytime I visit your blog? I feel watched...haha :-)
Greetz aus Chile,
Marie
wow, a lot of heat here ha?
I would say block voting does exist. there are objective and subjective reasons for that.
I could compare with back home. my parents still support Russia, or any other ex-Soviet countries at various sport events and etc.
But there is another thing I wanted to bring into discussion, though far too late perhaps - to what extent did immigrants in certain countries play a role in the results? there is more than million Soviet immigrants in Israel(12 points went to Russia from this country), huge Turkish diaspora in Germany, ex-Yugoslavs in Austria, Hungary and Switzerland. just check on the numbers :P
And yes, Lu, what I am implying on is that the Ukrainians should have been the real winners! :D
In any case, the fact that Serbia won is good for European identity, as for a long time, Serbia does not consider itself to be part of Europe. Perhaps this event would put them back in the heart of the EU???????
Why aren't I showing up on your cluster map at all?
Becky - why would you want to show up on a cluster map? It sounds like some horrible disease that people tend not to talk about...!
Hope life is treating you well.
Auntie Fred xx
PS Lu - sorry for hijacking your blog, for a private chat with Becs! xx
Damn! look what i've missed! just because the strike from the German Telekom peeps, nobody comes to fix our internet connection. Now, we can blame Brussels! =)) j/k
Alrighty peep, just a quick note to inform you all that lucy and i are experiencing a problem with our connection. Hope this will be sorted sooner rather than later.
Auntie Fred: a cheap tv rubbish? Intriguing. Then why do Britain put so much money into the contest yet keep sending such a lousy contestant? Is it because by doing so Britain have the reason to justify that the whole EU Integration issue is a blunder at the first place? interesting hypothesis regarding the attitude of majority British people toward the EU.. =) any comments Lu?
Our entry was a joke, it was taking the mick out of what Brits regard as all the rubbish songs that people put up to Eurovision each year - cheesy, tuneless, tacky, rubbish. Unfortunately, this year the music was actually quite good (apart from maybe Ukraine's tacky effort but they had a transvestite...) so we were left to look like fools.
The other problem of course is that no established musician would risk entering the contest in case they didn't win. It would be seen as a huge embarrassment and the singer/band in question would never live it down in the British press.
In an ideal world I would get to choose our entry and I would insist on it being a good song. I would like to see the Arctic Monkeys do the job but I don't think they'd get the votes. Eurovision is almost always won by over the top ballads or tacky dance tracks sung by transvestites. It's a shame really.
And finally, before I leave this internet cafe, I think it is great that Britain puts money to the Eurovision. I thought it was a great spectacle this year, something we should be proud of funding. It is the only positive I can take from Britain's participation in the event this year...
Germaine Greer's (feminist philosopher) thoughts on the proceedings: http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,2084275,00.html
The obvious solutiom is for UK to cut the funding and enter more all-singing, all-dancing transvestites.
Then we could move the money that we have saved into a top secret fund (yet another one?) to improve our government-type people. Who also keep pushing themselves into world wide arenas with about as much hope of sucess as in Eurovision.
Eh voila - we'd win the next Eurovision, no probs (especially if Lu chose said tranny and song). And we'd extricate ourselves from several dodgy disastrous wars and could then get to grips with other - long neglected - issues.
Such as simultaneous translation of The Archers into German (always useful). Or rediscovering the Babylonian network of canals ( very close to Big Bad Dave's heart, this particular project)
See what I mean? The world's your oyster - as they say in the UK.
Love x
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