This morning, the running order for each semi-final was announced. Sweden gets the competition up and running, with Portugal given the most help in the first half. Latvia gets the pimp slot in that first semi, and Slovenia gets the last slow song in the penultimate berth.
In the second semi, Serbia start proceedings in what is a friendly heat for them. Denmark and Ireland have been given most help of those in the first half. Israel finish off proceedings. Do give us all your thoughts on this and other matters below.
I got both pimp slots right! #iToldYouSo
Also worth pointing out that Belgium, Iceland, Malta and Norway come before ad breaks, which is good news for them.
Nice work on the pimp slots 🙂
What’s the source on the ad breaks? Or is it more that that’s where they’ve been historically?
Where they’ve been historically
Ok, thanks!
The draw must have killed off any chances Georgia had. Albania doomed as well.
Now I’ve actually seen the recaps in the right order, I’ve made some expanded thoughts:
Semi 1: GEO will seem like a major buzzkill after SWE. GEO-AUS-ALB seems like such a tedious run of songs to me (only serves to make BEL more refreshing in comparison). GRE looks so tacky coming after POR. SLO treated as pure filler like last year when they put Eneda before Laura.
Semi 2: Can’t tell who stands out in first half, flow of songs is very seamless imo. Totally thrown SMR under the bus. BLR feels like the warm-up for BUL, but that’s not a bad thing for them imo. LTU got a really bad deal coming after BUL. EST seems natural coming before ISR, again, not a bad thing for them.
Sadly Austria have been thrown under the bus and the run of songs 10-14 in semi 2 looks great for Belarus chances at 15. A real lift.
First thoughts on the qualifiers after the running order announcement.
Semi 1 – Sweden, Australia, Belgium, Finland, Azerbaijan, Portugal, Greece, Poland (diaspora, not song), Armenia, Latvia.
Semi 2 – Serbia, Romania, Netherlands, Hungary, Denmark, Norway, Belarus, Bulgaria, Estonia, Israel. (not including Russia until participation known. Estonia to miss out if they do take part)
Think some of my personal favourites may miss out. Austria, Macedonia, Moldova.
Looking at the line ups in the cold light of day this is a strong, consistent year but with few, if any, classic songs or big highlights. Very similar to last year imo.
A few interesting things in the running order :
Slovenia and Lithuania both in 17. Must be a case of “put the worst song there and see what happens”.
Greece and Australia have got significantly worse spots than I expected. Both still q but there goes Australia’s chance at generating any momentum for the win.
I was expecting Moldova to be given better too. A poor, neighbouring country who haven’t qualified in three years with one of the few fun songs in the semi.
I don’t think I’ve changed my mind on any qualifier, but the order has and some are closer than before and others further away.
My current prediction for each semi :
Semi 1
1. Portugal
2. Azerbaijan
3. Belgium
4. Sweden
5. Australia
6. Greece
7. Armenia
8. Latvia
9. Cyprus
10. Finland
11. Moldova
12. Poland
13. Montenegró
14. Georgia
15. Iceland
16. Albania
17. Slovenia
18. Czech Republic
Semi 2
1. Bulgaria
2. Serbia
3. Estonia
4. Belarus
5. Fyr Macedonia
6. Israel
7. Romania
8. Russia (if they turn up on stage)
9. Switzerland
10. Denmark
11. Croatia
12. Hungary
13. Netherlands
14. Malta
15. Ireland
16. Norway
17. Lithuania
18. San Marino
19. Austria
Personally I think being on 1st has dented Serbia’s chance of being top 3 in the semi, same goes for Sweden.
I’m sorry dear Hippo. I have great respect for you. But your prediction to me sounds a bit shaky:-). Have you actually taken into account the current available live performances? And if they can be lifted because of that?
Its a great draw from an Irish perspective, late as possible in the first half plus performing before 2 potential train wrecks in San Marino and Croatia, also good for Ireland if Denmark keep the same stage performance as DMGP. In the 2nd semi I think that Austria are dead in the water which really upsets me as it was tied with Norway as my favourite in semi 2 but its just not the type of song that will do well from 2nd in the running order, Netherlands its a case of all or nothing, if the performance is good it will look like solid gold between 2 real “out-there” songs from Romania and Hungary but if it is bad then they will crash and burn. 2nd half is really hard to call, I think Belarus and Switzerland are now solidified on my NQ list, Switzerland is just a complete nothing song that needed a late draw to have a chance of qualifying and Belarus will just look amateurish right before Bulgaria who look to have one hand on first place in the semi, if Israel is good than I could see Lithuania and Estonia having real difficulties in qualifying as it looks to be the death zone between in my mind the 2 obvious qualifier in the second half of semi 2.
Hi Omar *waves*
Now we have the running orders does anyone have any stand out bets? I already have Italy green for the win, Bulgaria green for top 4, Portugal laid for top 4, Belgium sorted with decent profit already and some left for the win, UK at 8s for top 10.
I was looking at decent Outsiders for top 10. Austria chance now gone, the others I had in mind were Finland, Belarus and Netherlands, as they all stand out in their own way in a sea of much of muchness. What do you guys think? Anything I’ve missed?
I actually more or less agree with you markovs :-). You have a Twitter page?
No I don’t. Is that where ideas are exchanged more? This is a bit public and prices can be affected by small bets?
Just a personal one – I think Greece is worth a punt at the price.
Do you think for the win or top 4? Just cannot see the song being strong enough for the win, even with Greek diaspora and Demy”s star status. Price not worth it just for top 10. What about for the win in the semi?
Time to re-assess my predictions a bit….
Semi-Final #1:
01. SWEDEN
(I think for the first time in many years a song will win from spot #1)
02. ARMENIA
(Best of the ‘arty’ songs in this semi. No, not Belgium. Artsvik screams ‘stage potential’)
03. FINLAND
(Simply too wonderful and unique. Enya meets Adele. Reminds me of Estonia 2009)
04. AZERBAIJAN
(Very contemporary pop song. There they go again)
05. ICELAND
(By jolly so much underestimations here….)
06. MOLDOVA
(Fun, fun, FUN!)
07. BELGIUM
(I just hope Blanche is very much her own stage director like Loic Nottet was)
08. GREECE
(Germany 2013 meets a…much better singer, and that bald stage director)
09. LATVIA
(Harley Quinn from “Suicide Squad”)
10. AUSTRALIA or PORTUGAL
(Ughhh, this is so difficult…But Portugal pleaseee get rid of your fake motorical spasms/ticks!)
Semi-Final #2 (Goodbye Russia):
01. ESTONIA
(This will now be a much easier win)
02. ROMANIA
(Hate it, but it’s ‘fun’. And that counts for the average televoter)
03. THE NETHERLANDS
(Since when do best songs win? Vocal powerhouse, like Albania 2012 or Italy 2015. Will create goosebumps)
04. ISRAEL
(Hate it, but now I have no doubts anymore)
05. DENMARK
(Not a fan of it. The Dami-Im comparisons are off the scale, but not realistic looking at Danish staging)
06. HUNGARY
(Ethnic uniqueness)
07. F.Y.R.O. MACEDONIA
(First comfortable win for FYROM after quite some time)
08. BULGARIA
(Can’t see this winning, needs a lot of jury favors)
09. SERBIA
(Nice enough. Everything said)
10. NORWAY, BELARUS or AUSTRIA
(I tend to favor Norway. Dear Trent, Look what the running order did to Douwe Bob in last year’s final televoting-wise)
Fake spasms?! If you saw the original FdC final performance, his reaction to his in-ear not working at the very beginning shows that it’s far from an act, plus the fact he was audibly trying to hum the tune during the instrumental break to keep in time.
Well PurpleKylie. I think there we have found the problem about Portugal no? I thought it was faked, whereas it wasn’t. Now try to translate that to the opinion of the televoters (and judges). Faked or not….it simply confuses people I think.
Same for blind singers. They already have a negative stage disadvantage, as they can not fully engage with the camera’s (Spain 2000, Germany 2002).
Can’t see Russia not qualifying, even after all the drama. Infact there’s a lot of people taking Russia’s side against the nasty Ukranian government. I don’t think Ukraine have a hope of winning this year though – if they do UA:PBC should do the decent thing and decline to host 2018 – so we needn’t worry about the hosts.
I’m thinking for the semi, and top 5 for the final. Greece has a lot of friends and only a couple of enemies. It’s still a bit under the radar on this site, but it impresses me. Of course if the rehearsals look good, the price will shorten.
Greece has one of the most generic songs ever in Eurovision. Staging will probably safe it from not qualifying. Can’t see juries going for this kind of song tbh..
I agree on juries, I reckon juries will rank it around 8th-12th in the semi (not good but not enough to harm its qualification chances) then proceed to give it a major kicking in the final.
I’m looking forward to seeing what ridiculous Fokas gimmick we’re getting with this one. As laughable as some of his gimmicks are, they seem to rake in the televotes.
Croatia for top 10
Just sayin!
Azerbaijan and Armenia top 10, and lay Belgium for the win. I would also lay Portugal for top 4, and possibly an outside on Sweden for the win. A lot depends on running order, but I’ve been noticing a fair chunk of the tracks having a similar sound to them this year; on the night, anything different will stand out and stand a chance of cleaning up.
Having had longer to think about it I now see Sweden 2017 fishing in similar waters to Russia 2016. It’s a very mass appeal friendly song with a classic non-threatening male package and a gimmick too. How close it is to Gabbani in the running order will be crucial.
Finally some updates from Francesco himself. In tomorrow’s interview for Corriere della Sera, he reveals what’s going to happen on stage in Kiev. First he said the usual stuff about being honored for representing Italy, would like to win etc. He studied the past ESC decade to get more feeling what’s needed for the stage show and came up with an idea of expanding the original one in order to get the message across. Instead of one dancing gorilla he will have the whole family! The male one will dance with Francesco as before, female will be busy with some typical female activities (didn’t mention which) and there will be two “kid gorillas” sitting behind a computer (doing facebook or something). The challenge for the staging director (Sebastiano Serlio) is with those “young family members”. Obviously couldn’t be real gorillas, kids (in suits) are forbidden on ESC, two midgets could maybe solve it but they opted for a high tech solution – robots. High profile Japanese company will be involved in this and modify their “pet robot” software while Italians will cover them with fur. It’s in line with this age of facebook, VR and alienation says Francesco, who hopes to make people think about how they spend their lives in this beautiful messy world. I hope I translated it well…
It is April 1st tomorrow but I would love this to be true.Especially if they were kung fu experts as well. Armed with lasers and dressed as manga comic book heroes/heroines.
Chris, next year don’t mention the date please 😉
Boki Sorry – I tried to edit it after I’d written it to exclude the date, but I’m on a very slow computer with a bad connection so I failed. It was a brilliant spoof and I spoiled it, partly because for a minute I thought it was true. Like all good spoofs there was enough truth in it for it to be credible at some level. Mind you, let’s wait for the actual staging….
Oh thank you for the kind words, I’m happy when at least someone believes in it 🙂
And Now for Something Completely Different:
http://esctoday.com/143629/eurovision-2017-realtime-app-voting-to-be-introduced-during-live-shows/
Ufff, to be honest Boki? That doesn’t sound very good to my ears to be honest. I mean, what worked in San Remo was the simplicity of the staging act. Only one gorilla is needed to make televoters think “Huh? Did I see that right??”. That’s the sentiment you would like to have.
But a whole army of gorillas? I hope the sentiment doesn’t change into that of Latvia 2008 (Pirates) and make people laugh from the very start. Which I think isn’t that good….Thanks for this valuable bit of information though. Any source perhaps you can share?
Should add, Boki, that I’m impressed they managed to get Sebastiano to do the staging. I’ve seen his work all over Italy and it is superb. If only we could have got our Christopher to do Lucie’s staging instead of some BBC plonker.
I think I remember you throwing the same kind of jokes last year. Good one, Boki 🙂
Good news about the app voting!! I really miss the 2013-2015 voting system. Last year the televote was so insane. App voting will at least create a voting disparity that’s a bit similar to the juries. In the sense you don’t have 3 insane high favourites with the televotes, but perhaps 10… Love it!
Okay………with the tail between my legs.grrr :-).
OK, I’ve pulled the trigger and made some tiny bets. Backed both Bulgaria and Belgium for the win while laying Italy. Also put a punt on the winner coming from a semifinal.
You’re brave Kylie. I can see both in the top ten or more likely top five, but the win? Personally I’m waiting for the night to lay Italy, as Daniel advised. Good luck though.
Thanks, it is a bit brave but I thought for a small stake I’d get a decent profit on either of them winning in case either of their prices crash in May.
Chris I don’t remember where and when Daniel advised such an action?
Sorry again Boki. I need a brain transplant. It was one of the comments under the headline “Eurovision 2017: The Big 5 decide”. Daniel didn’t say it himself, although it’s implied. Either pile in or lay depending on what happens in the first half of the voting. It assumes that Italy is a televote friendly entry and the juries will knock it back or vice versa. BTW I’ve got Italian music TV on in the background as I type this and you could watch the performance back to back if you switch between Radionorba, RTE and Radio Italia etc. They’ve really gone for it. If they bring in those Japanese robots with sprayed on fur it’s a cert to win.
Public reaction to Portugal: https://youtu.be/GN3o58rX8aw
Mixed-to-positive there, but one way you could look at it is that those who liked it REALLY appreciated it and those who didn’t at least acknowledged that it just wasn’t their thing.
My friends and relatives really love Portugal. I like it but can’t see it doing Eurovision. But they really really love it!
Interesting point about the UK, having met Lucie yesterday to interview her for my radio show.
We haven’t yet heard the revamped version of NGUOY live. Only a “studio” version. The studio version of the original got a bit of a kicking but came alive emotively live at the NF, and it was at that point I switched horses from Holly.
So tomorrow could be interesting. She’s not been too well the last few days (her understudy performed last night on the Rent tour) but I’ll be interested to see what reaction to a very hotly-anticipated revamp is like live.
I’m not present either tomorrow or next Saturday sadly, I’m sure a few on here will be. I’ll be interested to see how things play out.
I really hope Lucie does well. For the first time in years I’m batting for our own.
Tust me James. You Brits will be in haven when your country will be ending in the TOP 14 :-). When she’s healthy, Lucie could very well join O’G3NE as a 4th member.To me she oozes charisma on stage and by jolly can she sing! I spoke with Tim the other day, and I think there’s a heavy British bias against their own entry (very much like Netherlands in 2013 and 2014). Especially within the betting community out here. So wrong if you ask me…
UK this year will also be fairly simple to stage. I just don’t see this not doing well. It’s one of those ballads this year that, together with Finland, stand out with a unique genre-USP.
I’ll put the interview on our radio stations Soundcloud once I’ve made us an account. She’s the only UK Singer I’ve ever met in person so maybe I’m biased but be in no doubt she is 100% in this to win it. (And if she does, she wants to co-host with Mel next year. With Graham in the Green Room with his chair…!)
60 years since we joined the party, 40 years since Sandie Shaw and 20 years since Katrina. It would be fitting.
Musically, I’m behind us, the Netherlands and randomly – FYR Macedonia. Love the Gaga vibe from Dance Alone.
Lady Gaga vibe or Dannii Minogue vibe? Guess it depends how it comes across on stage, and FYR Macedonia have one of the very worst reputations in that department.
The 7th Heaven remix of Never give up on you is totally awesome!!! Most played song of the year for me
Let me know how she gets on tonight if you’re going.
3 OGAE Fan Clubs have voted so far and 8 countries got points whenever it was possible: Italy, Belgium, Sweden, France, Switzerland, Estonia, FYROM and Israel.
I wasn’t expecting Switzerland to be among these..
Yeah Switzerland is surprising popular for some reason?
Yeah and I really don’t get why. Talk about an entry that is totally anonymous and beige. #fanwank
Switzerland has an earworm hook. It’s in my head and I don’t want it to be. It is very popular with my friends and relatives. I’ve thought for a while it’s a dark horse. Have to be careful about dismissing this one the way most of us did with BG last year, just because of the daft words and staging.
I’ve grown to like Switzerland a lot, mostly because of her performance, but I do think OGAE is overrating it. It’s a very OGAE-type song.
Shall we ignore that….OGAE Poll to death? Shall we :-P? Switzerland has been the prime example of a ‘fanwank’ to me….
Regarding Switzerland….It has hooks, it has build-ups, it has a pretty lady…….that would be better suited at the 2005 contest. Sorry, it’s way too much OK, thus too safe. And that’s dangerous in Eurovision-land.
Moreover, I think the frontlady of Timebelle is not the best singer. This year’s Swiss entry falls very much in the string of songs they sent in 2015 and 2016.
The funny thing is.. last year Austria was labeled as the ultimate fanwank here and on esctips.
Zoe was 7th in the OGAE Poll and later 8th with the public.. so the poll was pretty accurate in this case.
On May 1st 2016 Austria Top 10 was avaiable @13 on betfair, Top 15 @4.70.
She did not get into the Top 10 because the juries only gave her 31 points, but she wasn’t too far away.
I’m not saying Switzerland is going to be Top 10 (I dont think it will) – but if the odds are as high as in the case of Austria last year and the song continues to get support, wouldnt it be stupid not to back it?
Yes, and similar things were said about Bulgaria, and it came 4th. It won’t happen with Timebelle as the “frontlady” doesn’t sing as well live. It will qualify though, I believe.
Really? Because as far as I remember ILWAC was one of the few songs from last year that hardly anyone had a bad thing to say about (pre-rehearsals at least).
Bit late to reply but I just noticed this. I’ve trawled through the comments last year and they were mostly neutral or negative about BG, both before and after rehearsals last year. I don’t think it’s fair to say that hardly anyone had a bad thing to say – before rehearsals comments were at best patronizing, and I include myself in that group. I was wrong, and I admit it. Lesson to be learned there.
To be honest, some people in here very much know how much in favour I was of the Austrian entry. To such an extend that some profi betters in here ridiculed me for that ;-).
Thing is…I don’t give a r%%’s #ss for the OGAE poll. I just Judge myself….as objectively as possible.
Austria last year had so many USP’s that made it televoting-bait. I just can’t see why Switzerland will have that.
Moreover….the ‘weight’ of semi final #2 will be centered around this strong of songs in succesive order: Romania, Netherlands, Hungary, Denmark (and perhaps Ireland). I think these countries will mutually help to draw the focus of the televoters (and juries) to this part of the show. I think Switzerland won’t be really profitting from that.
Yep sometimes the fan favourites actually do well, and the smug people who think they’re better than the “fanboys” never put their hands up to admit they were wrong.
I just can’t see Switzerland qualifying. There’s so many better songs and can’t see it being popular with the juries. There’s no high point for the recap either. The chorus part is the weakest bit of the song for me. Personally I hope it doesn’t qualify. It’s one I generally skip on the ipod .
You have Switzerland’s form on your side of the argument markovs. Whatever happens, I wouldn’t bet without hearing the rehearsals.
Have you seen the performance from the Romanian final? It’s a lot better than it was before.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZ7DW5eRNb0
FWIW: 10 of my US undergrads – who’ve just spent a term learning about Eurovision and national identity – watched the bookies’ top 10 songs on March 16 (so pre-Armenia reveal) and voted their winner: 1 vote each for Australia, Azerbaijan and Sweden, and a full 7 votes for Portugal.
So that’s a group of American 19-20 year-olds who felt swept away by the song – AND found his mannerisms all the more endearing. I really hope there’s something in that…
Love hearing this. My only concern is that older viewers won’t find the entry as much of a charming novelty as younger ones, or even realise it’s a retro piece to begin with…
It’s certainly a risk, EV. Of course, if they put an image in the background of Audrey Hepburn on a window ledge with cat, maybe people will get it. Then again…
And on top of that, my students are maybe (thankfully) more open and empathetic when it comes to people who behave unusually, so their finding his mannerisms sweet may be very misrepresentative. On top of that, there aren’t many Eurovision votes to be won from Seattle…
EV – Portugal has gone down very well with my friends and relatives of all ages. Mind you, they’re the same ones who go to Robbie Williams concerts, if that has any relevance. I like it a lot, but have doubts about it for this contest.
Agree totally Chris. It’s all surmising until we get a few live vocals and then rehearsals. There’s definitely a few under the radar songs that will blossom and some favourites that will sink. It’s so hard to pick out any at the moment as the quality is pretty consistent this year, as opposed, say, to 2015 when the top 8 was blatantly obvious all along. I still just have a sneaking feeling for Netherlands if they can pull off perfect live vocals.
Are you really sure 2015 was obvious all along?
Aminata Top 10 was my biggest bet @7-8 that year (together with her topping baltic @12)
Even when rehearsals started, she was still avaiable @4-4.50 for Top 10.
What about Loic? He was @3.40 before rehearsals and even @4.30 one day before his semifinal.
(By the way in 2015 it was Golden Boy who was 7th place in the OGAE voting. Until Rehearsals started, it had all the time odds of 7-8 for a Top 10 Placement. Even two days before Semi 2 the odds were @5.40.)
The thing is.. thats a sentence I often read: “It was so obvious”. Thats often the feeling I get when the contest is over, but in reality year after year the market fucks up some major things.
The human brain has the tendency to change its view on things after they happen because it is always looking for a cause. All the causes that led to wars, fights, disasters were there before but they became obvious or they were constructed inside our brains to explain the facts after the facts happened.
In 2015 we had a contest with 8-9 great songs that any other year would easily be a Winner, a Top3 or a Top5. and for me it was obvious all along…
john kef
March 23, 2015 at 8:06 am · Reply
Eurovision 2015 countdown has officially started! After hearing and watching all the songs my first thoughts are that Sweden will battle for the win with Russia, Australia and maybe Italy.
This is a very strong year for the contest, with many quality songs, but also with so many ballads. That’s why i think Sweden will win the contest.
My early Top-10:
1. Sweden
2-5 Russia, Australia, Estonia, Italy
6-10 Belgium, Norway, Azerbaijan, Latvia, Albania
many things are going to change but the first impression does count .
I agree the ‘obviousness’ is retrospective and there were definite gambles in 2015, but even pre rehearsals I remember Aminata, Loic and Bojana being the stand out bets for top 10. Personally I had big Green on Mans and big lays on Italy which worked, but was close to being a disaster.
Apart from I had Maaraya instead of Nadav, It just looked a really clear, quality top 10. This year, I think Italy, Bulgaria and probably Sweden are the certs for top 10 but everything else has question marks and there are definitely some at big prices out there which will sneak top 10. It’s just sussing them now before the prices go. UK or Finland at 6s, Netherlands or Belarus at 7.5s?? Oh for a crystal ball.
This too, is driving me mad. Missing out on top 10 Belgium and Lithuania especially last year really annoyed me. I really rated Donny and listened to the naysayers instead of my instinct.
So this year I’ve decided sod it and been taking Netherlands, Croatia, Israel and Finland at not inconsiderable odds. Save for Israel they all have a usp and good singers. Israel looks like this years party banger which we usually see at least one of in the top ten. I’m trying to figure out which is the safest bet and it seems like Israel or Finland if they can qualify.
I’m temped by Estonia as the song has intriguing development and Greece for the same reason out of the FYR, SRB edm bunch, but they really do have limp choruses.
It’s definitely the hardest year to predict a top 10 in a while.
BBC have put a live of Lucie up on their FB.
Flawless vocal.
WHO will finish higher this year: Nethies or the Brits? Interesting, but way too risky bet hehe.
WHO will finish higher this year: Nethies or the Brits? Interesting, but way too risky bet hehe.
I think at the odds, both are worth a bet for top 10. Both have strong vocals, and the Netherlands especially will stand out if they can get the staging right and the vocals are perfect. The ‘clap’ moment near the end could be a throwback to Denmark 2000 and get a real ‘feeling’ going. It’s just a shame the song itself isn’t a bit more memorable.
Hope the UK does well. It’ll shut up the “everyone hates us” mob and especially the Brexit lot.
I would suggest the UK fans to keep the bar of expectations low. For some countries Eurovision is more than just a song contest and politics do play an important role in the voting. Just have a look at the german results the last 5 years. Is it just that their songs are mediocre? Maybe yes but it’s not only the songs.
And for good or bad Eurovision is a way for people to show their like or dislike about politics too without having a cost to pay. Politics gave the win last year to Ukraine with the juries taking the part of either Russia or Ukraine. I don’t think that UK’s song is trash like previous years but i wouldn’t ruled out a Bottom-5
Sorry, I completely agree. You sound like one of those Dutchmen who were not having any hopes in a good result for that ‘weird’ song “Birds” or that ‘boring’ song “Calm After The Storm”.
Man, I feel so bad for many negative-spirited Brits these days. It’s like I wanna give all of you a tight hug. Keep your hopes up. Eurovision is still a contest in which Russia still doesn’t manage to win the contest a 2nd time. Eurovision is good fun too. And IMO it brings European people together.
STOP THIS DAMNED NEGATIVE BREXIT VIBE NOW!!
I meant to say…..I completely disagree :-).
I maybe live in London but i’m Greek so i am not another pessimist guy. And by the way i had Birds in my Top10 and got paid for Calm after the storm at 20’s for a Top4.
Like you said my friend it’s just a contest and we are mostly here for the fun part of it. UK’s biggest problem with the contest not for this year but for every year is that it does not take the contest seriously. BBC, because of Wogan, sells the show as an opportunity to have some laughs with all those strange people that wear all those strange outfits and sing (mainly in the past) in a strange language that does not make sense. This is what the average viewer in UK is looking forward every year and this is what he/she gets.
When you have the biggest music industry in the continent and you prefer second and third class singers, this is what you have as a result. And to be honest this is fair. Remember what happened that only time in the last 20 years that UK has chosen someone big from the industry (Andrew Lloyd Webber).
And having the Brexit thing this year, i can immagine people not voting UK because of that but i cannot see someone voting the song to show his support and solidarity to the British people
Johnkef – I agree with what you say there, and I note you do have a good record in your predictions. Consequently I take your comments very seriously. A good song and performance will always surmount political issues, but we don’t try hard enough in the UK. Terry Wogan, God rest his soul, was behind the curve on Eurovision for a decade or so, but nobody ever took him to task. People accepted, for example, his criticism of one entry (I think it was Hungary iirc) because the lead singer of a gypsy style band removed his hat at the end of the performance, revealing a bald head. This criticism from a bloke who wore a wig nearly as bad as the one Frankie Howard had.