It's Eurovision time again, and this time the hosting city is Baku in Azerbaijan after their victory last year in Germany. Despite a dubious human rights record, Azerbaijan and Baku will be putting on a polished face for the competition this Saturday night. It's reputed that the Azeri Government has spent around US$1billion in preparation and hosting the event. A somewhat obscene sum of money for a country where a significant percentage of the population still live below the poverty line. But let's not let facts and statistics get in the way of the competition, which promises to provide all the expected intrigue and political manoeuvring of Eurovision.
There are some big political questions at play in the voting this year, especially with the continued economic issues in the eurozone. It was felt by many that Germany's victory two years ago was largely due to the felt obligation by many struggling 'southern' European economies to give their 12 points to mother Deutschland in response to, or preparation for an expected financial bailout. Azerbaijan's victory last year was clearly about oil, or at the very least due to an ever strengthening voting bloc of Eastern European economies. Britain of course, received 'nul points', in the year they joined the US in invading Iraq. Ah yes, the mighty power of the Eurovision vote. Don't punish a country in the UN Security Council or with economic sanctions, punish them in Eurovision, where the impacts of a low score has the potential to topple a government.....well perhaps I'm overstating things a little there. As for political voting this year, who knows? I suspect Greece may not be getting any thanks by way of votes this year, although atleast Cyprus is sure to give them 12 points. The Balkans continue to be a strong voting block, and with several countries on the list for EU accession, I would not be at all surprised to see a victory coming from Croatia, Bosnia or Serbia this year.
But I digress. There is, of course, the small factor of the actual music to consider here. Cyprus has entered a surprisingly catchy tune with the thought provoking title 'La La Love', which is currently being played day and night in Nicosia. Definitely finals material, but I'm not sure about actual victory. Cyprus would possibly be dreading a victory as this would mean hosting the competition next year. A sure fire way to push the teetering Cypriot economy over the edge. Likewise for Greece. Here is the Cyprus entry:
Other strong entries this year are coming from Sweden, Ukraine, Moldova, Turkey, Italy and Greece. All the Balkan countries have decent songs this year, notably Bosnia below:
and then Zeljko Joksimovic from Serbia, which I think would have to be a favourite to win. Great song and a great singer.
No entry this year from Armenia, as they are still technically at war with Azerbaijan.
So my tip is Serbia (or a long shot on Italy). Be sure to tune in if you can from somewhere around the world this weekend, and hang in there for the voting if possible. Sure, it's an extra 3 hours of your life, but this is where it gets really interesting.
There are some big political questions at play in the voting this year, especially with the continued economic issues in the eurozone. It was felt by many that Germany's victory two years ago was largely due to the felt obligation by many struggling 'southern' European economies to give their 12 points to mother Deutschland in response to, or preparation for an expected financial bailout. Azerbaijan's victory last year was clearly about oil, or at the very least due to an ever strengthening voting bloc of Eastern European economies. Britain of course, received 'nul points', in the year they joined the US in invading Iraq. Ah yes, the mighty power of the Eurovision vote. Don't punish a country in the UN Security Council or with economic sanctions, punish them in Eurovision, where the impacts of a low score has the potential to topple a government.....well perhaps I'm overstating things a little there. As for political voting this year, who knows? I suspect Greece may not be getting any thanks by way of votes this year, although atleast Cyprus is sure to give them 12 points. The Balkans continue to be a strong voting block, and with several countries on the list for EU accession, I would not be at all surprised to see a victory coming from Croatia, Bosnia or Serbia this year.
But I digress. There is, of course, the small factor of the actual music to consider here. Cyprus has entered a surprisingly catchy tune with the thought provoking title 'La La Love', which is currently being played day and night in Nicosia. Definitely finals material, but I'm not sure about actual victory. Cyprus would possibly be dreading a victory as this would mean hosting the competition next year. A sure fire way to push the teetering Cypriot economy over the edge. Likewise for Greece. Here is the Cyprus entry:
Other strong entries this year are coming from Sweden, Ukraine, Moldova, Turkey, Italy and Greece. All the Balkan countries have decent songs this year, notably Bosnia below:
and then Zeljko Joksimovic from Serbia, which I think would have to be a favourite to win. Great song and a great singer.
No entry this year from Armenia, as they are still technically at war with Azerbaijan.
So my tip is Serbia (or a long shot on Italy). Be sure to tune in if you can from somewhere around the world this weekend, and hang in there for the voting if possible. Sure, it's an extra 3 hours of your life, but this is where it gets really interesting.
