# Explain the Eurovision Song Competition to me **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 24, 2019, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-eurovision-song-competition-to-me/832998 "2019-04-24T16:05:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-eurovision-song-competition-to-me/832998/21 "2019-04-24T23:29:55Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > The competition is run by the European Broadcasting Union, which isn’t an EU institution. It is comprised of public broadcasters from many countries, including those from North Africa, the former Soviet Union and the near Middle East. There’s associate members from all over the world. When I was still living full-time in Moscow, I had a girlfriend who was in graduate school. I made the mistake of visiting her in her cramped dorm suite one night when the Eurovision song contest was on. It seemed interminably long with all the new nations that were represented (at least double the length of the 1977 contest). My girlfriend had a half dozen female roommates from all over the former Soviet Union, and they were rooting loudly for their respective countries. There was no way you could have torn them away from the TV set. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-eurovision-song-competition-to-me/832998/22 "2019-04-24T23:36:03Z")
> [@Smid](#): > > I wasn’t aware of that, I think I was about ten when they became famous. > > However, they did have a number of very successful hits afterwards which were not Eurovision entries and were one of the more successful bands of that time. I know that early in the '70s, ABBA and The Brotherhood of Man really made the charts after competing in Eurovision. What other notable groups did the same? ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-eurovision-song-competition-to-me/832998/23 "2019-04-25T02:34:35Z")
I watched it in a gay bar last year in the UK. The atmosphere inside the pub was amazing. Israel didn’t deserve to win at all, the Czech Republic stole the show. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-eurovision-song-competition-to-me/832998/24 "2019-04-25T05:04:42Z")
> [@Sparky812](#): > > Can’t argue with \*\*Smid’\*\*s analyis. > > I would add that there used to be quite a few acts that entered the competition at various times in their careers. > > Winners such as Lulu, Abba, Celine Dion, and Katrina and the Waves are well known internationally but there were also some other notable performances such as Julio Iglesias, Nana Mouskouri, Cliff Richards, Olivia-Newton John, t.a.T.u, Engelbert Humperdinck, Bonnie Tyler, Blue, Justin Hawkins… I thought Celine Dion was Canadish. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-eurovision-song-competition-to-me/832998/25 "2019-04-25T06:06:28Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > I thought Celine Dion was Canadish. The Swiss brought her in as a ringer. (To be fair, this was in 1988, before anyone had heard of her outside the Francosphere). ---
**Author:** ![JoseB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joseb/32/1530_2.png) [@JoseB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseB)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-eurovision-song-competition-to-me/832998/26 "2019-04-25T06:31:56Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > \<…\> > > And the five biggest contributors to the EBU get an automatic spot in the final (which explains why Australia is in - they pay in). > > \<…\> Actually, no. Australia was invited for the 60th anniversary of the contest because, for some strange reason, the contest has become extremely popular there; people stay up at really outrageous hours to watch it in numbers. It was going to be a one-off, but on that contest the Australian representative did surprisingly well (5th overall). So the invitation was renewed for the next contest… …in which Australia _ **almost won** _ (ended up being 2nd overall; won the jury votes and only lost because the phone-in votes favoured the Ukrainian entry _en masse_; perhaps as a “fuck you” to Russia). After that, Australia became an “associate member” of the EBU (European Broadcast Union), thus enabling it to take part in the contest if it so wished. It has been decided that, if Australia ever wins the contest, it will designate a European country where the following year’s contest would be held. The “big five” that get a straight pass to the finals because they are the biggest contributors to the EBU budget are the UK, Germany, France, Spain and Italy. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-eurovision-song-competition-to-me/832998/27 "2019-04-25T07:32:51Z")
I stand corrected. My understanding of the popularity of the thing in Australia is that it was broadcast on their SBS, which focusses on multicultural offerings and attracts viewers from or with an interest in the many countries of origin of more recent immigrants, so presumably a lot of people from different European countries watch for some sort of contact with “home”. And then again, maybe it’s got something to do with the followers of ABBA, who (to judge by the movie [Muriel’s Wedding](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3U4kDzwZAMk), at least) seem particularly strong in Australia. Of course it’s all too bloated now: oh for the days when there were at most 12 performances in the final, and no-one was supposed to have seen or heard them before. All the excitement then was whether the connections would hold to the different national announcers reporting their results, or whether the hapless presenter would be shouting “Can you hear me, Oslo?” again. These days, they could at least do some elimination rounds with videos to cut it down a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-eurovision-song-competition-to-me/832998/28 "2019-04-25T07:43:46Z")
…thanks to this thread I have watched [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4-lKMGII_k)three times now. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Making Your Mind UP!” ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-eurovision-song-competition-to-me/832998/29 "2019-04-25T07:53:36Z")
I don’t think anyone’s yet mentioned that Elton John (with Kiki Dee) was once the UK entry with ‘don’t go breaking my heart’ - he was a huge star at the time, and came second. These days, no successful singer or band in the UK would be seen dead on the show, so we tend to enter complete unknowns or faded stars (Englebert Humberdink, looking at you). It’s super political in its voting, which basically means the big western countries barely stand a chance any more, but it’s fabulously kitsch and the gays just love it. Eurovision fancy dress parties are common place. Audiences do love the crazy and the subversive - Austria won recently with a bearded drag Queen. Some countries take is super seriously - I was in Moscow for it one year, and couldn’t believe how seriously they took it. Everyone watched in complete silence, like they were at the opera. For the UK, it’s an opportunity to poke fun at bad euro muzak and have a laugh. Of course, it’s probably most famous for launching Abba’s career, after they won with ‘Waterloo’. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-eurovision-song-competition-to-me/832998/30 "2019-04-25T09:36:04Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …thanks to this thread I have watched [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4-lKMGII_k)three times now. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. > > “Making Your Mind UP!” That bit where they rip the skirts off (and underneath there are … more skirts!!) was cutting-edge risque by eighties standards 😉 I had their album. I’m not ashamed to admit it (well, only a little bit). What can I say, I was thirteen… ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-eurovision-song-competition-to-me/832998/31 "2019-04-25T11:19:57Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > That was actual kids doing a song for an actual kids Saturday morning TV show: > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkyWE2jy0Go](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkyWE2jy0Go) \<- this is evidence only, don’t watch because it is really terrible. Yikes! But that does look similar to what I saw. I remembered them as being older, but it was more than 30 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-eurovision-song-competition-to-me/832998/32 "2019-04-25T11:50:27Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > I suppose we should also add that much of the entertainment of the UK telecast comes from the sarcastic commentary provided for many years by Terry Wogan; and since his death, by Graham Norton. Indeed, without the disrespectfully funny commentary, I doubt that many would watch. > > Though to give GN his due, he does _fairly_ frequently seem genuinely charmed by what he sees. > > j I was going to say this about Wogan. His smirking style did the competition no favours in being taken at all seriously in the UK. The New Seekers (formed by one of the original Seekers) came 2nd in 1972; they had had a couple of huge hits beforehand but lost, partly because the UK gave maximum points to Luxemburg, the eventual winner! Even then it was a big show; Edinburgh hosted it because the previous winners, Monaco, couldn’t mount it themselves. [Wikipedia on the 1972 event](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurovision_Song_Contest_1972) ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-eurovision-song-competition-to-me/832998/33 "2019-04-25T12:44:15Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > I don’t think anyone’s yet mentioned that Elton John (with Kiki Dee) was once the UK entry with ‘don’t go breaking my heart’ - he was a huge star at the time, and came second. Cite? AFAIK, before they were famous, Elton John and Bernie Taupin submitted “I Can’t Go On Living Without You” to be considered for the UK pre-selection for the Eurovision contest but placed second the Lulu’s “Boom Bang A Bang” which was the 1969 Eurovision winner. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-eurovision-song-competition-to-me/832998/34 "2019-04-25T12:53:49Z")
[Lulu came first equal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurovision_Song_Contest#Ties_for_first_place), as part of a 4-way tie with France, Spain, the Netherlands & the UK all scoring the same number of points. The rules were changed to provide for a tie-break after this. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-eurovision-song-competition-to-me/832998/35 "2019-04-25T13:12:05Z")
> [@Mesquite-oh](#): > > I don’t quite understand what is actually being judged. Is it the song itself, independent of the performer, performance, and production or are all of those things given a certain amount of weight in determining who is the winner? Officially, the song itself, but when the vote is open to everyone in each country, who knows what motivates them? When everyone sang in the official language of their country, inevitably there was a bias towards songs in a shared or widely understood language (mostly French in those days, but Germany/Austria, Greece/Cyprus and UK/Ireland often gave each other high points).As the thing grew, and particularly once the post-Communist countries came in, neighbours voted for each other (Baltics, Yugoslavs and so on). But once almost everyone was singing in pseudo-English, the big production number had a vogue (remember the suggestive Polish milkmaids a few years ago?) but it didn’t always work - a couple of years ago, a Portuguese hipster with a throwback of a wistful ballad came through on the rails. > [@Mesquite-oh](#): > > Do countries ever get a famous pop star or “ringer” to sing their song? I would imagine having Adele, Beyonce, or at the very least your country’s most popular or respected performer singing your country’s song would give you a boost as compared to an unknown or little known performer. When it was record companies pushing their own products, it often was singers well-known in at least their own country. Nowadays, every country has different ways of doing it. This year, I have the impression the BBC left it all to a work experience intern to organise, but that’s just me. A few years ago, Russia got Patricia Kaas to sing their entry, obviously banking on her international recognition, but it didn’t work. Once you factor in all the variables, including the number of different votes each country can cast (across half a dozen different entries), the final result is entirely unpredictable. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-eurovision-song-competition-to-me/832998/36 "2019-04-25T13:24:22Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > I thought Celine Dion was Canadish. > [@Alessan](#): > > The Swiss brought her in as a ringer. > > (To be fair, this was in 1988, before anyone had heard of her outside the Francosphere). Yep, the only requirement is that it is an original song. The performer and songwriter(s) can be from any country. The rules even allow for countries outside of Europe to enter the competition. Due to her massive popularity in Quebec, Celine Dion was known throughout Canada as a teen star in the 80s but sadly, her appearance and not being able to speak english hindered her career. She could not compete with the looks and popularity of other acts, particularly Rene and Nathalie Simard. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-eurovision-song-competition-to-me/832998/37 "2019-04-25T14:56:44Z")
> [@Sparky812](#): > > Yep, the only requirement is that it is an original song. The performer and songwriter(s) can be from any country. The rules even allow for countries outside of Europe to enter the competition. The key factor is the European Broadcasting Union, the organisation of the major public broadcasters, rather than any entirely politico-governmental requirement (though no doubt that varies from country to country, depending on how independent their public broadcaster(s) actually are. As for “ringers”, even before Céline Dion, the Swiss had been represented by [Esther Ofarim](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDYMzyREGCI) from Israel. (I gather she’s on presenting duty this year, since Israel is hosting - that’s another occasional tradition, with a host country’s past representatives making an appearance even if, decades later, they now look like a fish out of water). ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-eurovision-song-competition-to-me/832998/38 "2019-04-25T18:35:05Z")
> [@Mesquite-oh](#): > > I don’t quite understand what is actually being judged. Is it the song itself, independent of the performer, performance, and production or are all of those things given a certain amount of weight in determining who is the winner? Originally it was supposed to be the song and you had one performer, or a duo, with the same orchestra for each song. Allowing up to six performers on stage was introduced in 1973. Originally songs were also judged by a small jury, not by public approval. Today? Whatever they people who want to phone in feel is relevant. For the juries … well the rules don’t actually say what criteria they are to use just that: > [@](#): > > When voting Jury Members shall use all their professional skill and experience without favouring any Contestant on the account of their nationality, gender or likeliness. A good introduction to what a mess the contest is is reading the rule changes chronologically: > **[Rules of the Eurovision Song Contest | Rule changes by year](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rules_of_the_Eurovision_Song_Contest#Rule_changes_by_year)** > > 1.1956 First contest – each of the seven competing countries were recommended to hold a national selection to choose their entries. Countries could send a maximum of two songs each. Participating songs should not exceed 3 to 3.5 minutes. Two jurors from each of the participating countries is to watch the transmission on a TV screen, and rate each song from 1 to 10, with higher scores being more appreciated. The 14 scores are added and the winner(s) are the songs with the > [@](#): > > Do countries ever get a famous pop star or “ringer” to sing their song? I would imagine having Adele, Beyonce, or at the very least your country’s most popular or respected performer singing your country’s song would give you a boost as compared to an unknown or little known performer. It might give you a boost to win, but what’s in it for you as a performer? Being a Eurovision winner isn’t all that significant to a “famous pop star”, and being a Eurovision _loser_ might be embarrassing. > [@](#): > > Do people take this competition as seriously as the crowd reaction and YouTube comments make it seem? It varies from country to to country and through time and between people. Personally I stopped paying attention completely two decades ago and have only watched when friends have arranged a ESC viewing party. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-eurovision-song-competition-to-me/832998/39 "2019-04-25T20:22:23Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > …As for “ringers”, even before Céline Dion, the Swiss had been represented by [Esther Ofarim](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDYMzyREGCI) from Israel… Oooooh Goody - I’ve been looking for the opportunity to mention the story of **France Gall** , from - uh - France, \*\*who represented Luxembourg in the 1965 contest, and won with the song _Poupée de cire, poupée de son_, \*_written by Serge Gainsbourg_. Teaming Gainsbourg with a pretty and naive 16 year old blond was never going to end well. After her victory she recorded an album under Serge’s guidance, which included the song _Les Sucettes_, which he wrote for her. Sucettes = lolipops - so it’s a song about a young girl liking lolipops. _Sucette_ comes from the verb _Sucer_, to suck. Yep, that’s where we’re heading. **_Double entendre_ warning.** [This](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_sucettes) is the Wiki article on the song. I’m not sure, these days, that you could call [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-iysdFu_TQ) NSFW, but you may embarrass yourself by falling off your chair laughing. Hijack over, and I will now return you to the original thread. j - - incidentally, _Poupée de cire, poupée de son_ (Wax puppet, bran puppet; ie wax head and body stuffed with bran) can be translated another way, as _Son_ also means Sound. So you could loosely translate it as _Wax puppet, singing puppet_. Given what followed, I’m happy to rule out coincidence. Serge all over - a genius but a bit of a bastard. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-eurovision-song-competition-to-me/832998/40 "2019-04-25T21:40:21Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > I’m not sure, these days, that you could call [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-iysdFu_TQ) NSFW, but you may embarrass yourself by falling off your chair laughing. God, how I miss the sixties! :o [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-eurovision-song-competition-to-me/832998.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-eurovision-song-competition-to-me/832998.md?page=3)