"I'm sure a lot of people will be disappointed on my behalf but I have really enjoyed my Eurovision experience."
"I did the best that I could do with a great song. I don't feel down and I'm ready to party!" - Bonnie Tyler
It's becoming a bit like a mantra every year, but "we wuz robbed - again!"
In what is increasingly becoming a Scandinavia-Eastern Europe song contest (with all that "let's vote for our neighbours" predictability), Bonnie's UK entry Believe in Me came 19th out of 26 countries at Eurovision 2013 in Malmo, Sweden last night.
We shouted, we cheered, we booed - to no avail. At least we beat France, Spain, Germany and Ireland.
Denmark's Emmelie de Forest (bafflingly - it's not a great song) won it with Only Teardrops:
According to the votes at our party however (apart from darling Bonnie), it was this sparkling Shakira-like entry by Alyona Lanskaya from Belarus - Solayoh - that should have taken the crown:
A close contender according to the Dolores Delargo Towers jury was this astonishing performance from Romanian entrant Cezar with It's My Life. I want his jacket!
We also gave kudos to the ultimate party anthem from Greece (Koza Mostra feat Agathon Iakovidis - Alcohol Is Free), the controversial "lesbian kiss" from Finland (Krista Siegfrids - Marry Me) and the very clever performance from Azerbaijan (Farid Mammadov - Hold Me, who also got the "totty vote").
Despite the results (and the welter of complete dross that seemed to get high votes such as the Netherlands and Italy), as always, we had a magnificent dressing-up party!
We danced until the wee small hours. The buffet was a cornucopia of food from across the continent. There was enough booze for three parties. Two bags of plates, cups and bottles have gone out for the bin men. This morning we're hoovering up sequins, wig hair, streamers, glitter, feathers and salted pretzels.
And everyone enjoyed themselves! That, after all, is the point of the Eurovision Song Contest.
Eurovision Song Contest 2013 results page
Sounds like you had a fun, fabulous time! Thanks for sharing it with those of us who live in the boring USA. :)
ReplyDeleteWe had a fabulous time! The majority of the contest was simply painful, but it gives us a perfect excuse for a party, which is waht matters! Jx
DeleteEven after all these years abroad, Eurovision remains to this American as fundamentally mysterious a phenomenon as...well, I suppose most bizarre aspects of the dear old U.S. of A. are to the rest of creation. That said, your evening does look like fun.
ReplyDeleteBy the bye - did you know you were banned in Oman? I was startled to find you blocked over our weekend down in our old stomping grounds...
The USA, despite its "cultural imperalism" that pervades most of the countries that take part, still remains totally agog at Eurovision with all its bewildering inconsistencies.
DeleteAs for its ban this year across the Islamic world, well that, I am afraid, is entirely down to rampant homophobia - due to the well-advertised Finnish "lesbian kiss"...
It's a sadly divided world.
Jx
A truly wonderful night. I shall spend the rest of my life trying to blot out the image of Steve with an enormous ginger beard down his shorts. See you for much and the same next year! ttfn Hils x
ReplyDeleteOne "Gay World Cup" out of the way, and the next big Season event will be "Gay Xmas" - Pride!
DeleteIt was a fabulous night. By the way, the ginger beard is safely stowed away and has not travelled with Steve's pants. Jx
The entries from Belarus and Romania were utter trash IMO - but fun ones!
ReplyDeleteI did like Azerbaijan, Greece and Finland. I also liked Belgium and Norway, and I really liked The Netherlands as well. For the life of me I can't understand why Russia and (especially) Italy did so well! And of course I did not care for the one that won!
I didn't care one bit for our entry (as usual but I would have liked to see UK and Ireland do much better then they did.
Glad you guys had a great time - we did too (armed with our yearly superfan scorecards from the BBC website) ;)
To misquote Gordon Gecko, "Trash is Good!" I can't understand why the UK and Ireland did so badly either - especially Bonnie - but I am afraid we say that every year...
DeleteIt is, however, the ultimate excuse for a party! Jx
It just seems quite often that the UK entries don't really fit in, for some odd reason. Bonnie was one of my absolute faves this year but I did have a feeling she would not do all that well. Ireland should have done much better!
ReplyDeleteBut no matter what, it is always fun to watch! I have however not forgotten the last time Denmark hosted Eurovision - they had THE worst hosts EVER, who kept speaking in rhymes. Something tells me they will not be able to top the lovely host from this year...
Roll on next year to find out! Jx
Delete