Continuing our cultural experiences, welcome to Eurovision!

So when I first heard about Eurovision I thought the idea of a European singing contest a rather funny one. Turns out that it was originally conceived as a way to unite Europe after the grand ol' time that WWII was. The concept was a singing contest with one entry from each country and then each country would vote for a winner (and you can't vote for your own country). Like I said... just kind of funny. Read the rest...

Adding to my bemusement about Eurovision is the recent controversy that has sprung up around it because of the way voting occurs. Voting has never been along pure talent lines, as regional friendships and politics have played a part. So for example if, during a given year, the French and the Spanish are getting rather buddy buddy then one would presume that they would have a tendency to vote for each other (or at least a higher tendency). However, this has become mildly more problematic as of late due to, within the eyes of many folks in the UK, the emergence of Eastern Europe (sometimes called 'New Europe'). The problem is that many of these countries tend to vote for each other, leaving the baltic countries voting for other baltic countries and many of Russia's former territories voting for the old mother land. All of this has prompted many to call for an end to UK participation in the song contest (mind you, they came in last this year...) because the voting is biased and unfair (and everyone agrees it's all just rather silly).

We had honestly forgotten to watch the show, but we were flipping through things after watching a movie and saw that it was on, catching a few acts and the final voting. Now I'm not a big fan of singing contests, American Idol, Pop Idol, and its many other variations sit a little bit higher on my interest scale than watching water drip from a tap, but I did enjoy this, and it is due solely to one man. The UK broadcast takes the traditional show (fully and completely edited and jazzed up for tv) and then adds in a man commentating on top of it. Now, the commentary had the flavour of an English Mystery Science Theatre 3000, said in a hushed tone over the existing broadcast. So, as countries like Belarus, Serbia, Estonia, and Latvia chime in with how they are distributing their votes, this man politely whispers snarky comments about them, their politics, or life in general. It all felt quite English, dripping with sarcasm, irony and some wit, and he himself seemed to acknowledge just how silly the whole competition is (mind you, he was also sore about the UK coming in last).

But he was ripe with some great lines including 'oh hurry up, will you' or 'just tell us the scores, please' when some long winded presenter got carried away in the excitement of the moment. Or when a presenter showed up with a grubby white shirt and loosened tie, he politely declared, 'glad to know he dressed up for this.' My favorite moment, though, was when the colour commentators were back stage and referred to the back stage as 'having a great party here!' He simply stated, 'Ahhh yes, the kind of party I wouldn't go to on my deathbed.' These were all declared just above a whisper with a tone that indicated that it was far from a polite answer, but it was funny. I'm not sure how I feel about the whole show altogether (it felt rather kitch for the most part), but I'd gladly watch again as long as that man is there making comments; he was awesome. Who knew something called Eurovision could be so much fun?