UK's 'dismal' Eurovision song choices to be examined by MPs
Discussion
Since when have MPs any idea about anything? Judjing by the total F*ups for the last 25 years, they're not capable of anything apart from spouting their own propaganda and filling their pockets. They've done SFA for the country and even less for the public...
But to the ESC, it's become a political platform for everybody and should be cancelled anyway, and as for the "music", well that should be dropped into the toilet of history and flushed away....... as I said IMHO!
But to the ESC, it's become a political platform for everybody and should be cancelled anyway, and as for the "music", well that should be dropped into the toilet of history and flushed away....... as I said IMHO!
Metric Max said:
s
t singing is about all they are qualified to comment on.Not saying I have any particular preferences, but obviously if we really wanted to win we would put up Ed or Noel or Adele and smash it every year.
There's clearly a lot of backroom politics (ie follow the money) goes into Eurovision to keep it "competitive" and get that ad spend in across the Western world.
"Exact public salary figures for the head of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU)—led by Director General Noel Curran and President Delphine Ernotte Cunci—are not publicly disclosed, as the Geneva-based non-profit alliance is private and exempt from statutory executive pay disclosures required of public bodies like the BBC"
There's clearly a lot of backroom politics (ie follow the money) goes into Eurovision to keep it "competitive" and get that ad spend in across the Western world.
"Exact public salary figures for the head of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU)—led by Director General Noel Curran and President Delphine Ernotte Cunci—are not publicly disclosed, as the Geneva-based non-profit alliance is private and exempt from statutory executive pay disclosures required of public bodies like the BBC"
Edited by Peterpetrole on Friday 18th September 10:39
Sam Ryder's "Space Man" was one of the UK's best efforts in years and would have walked the contest. Of course this was 2022 and the public sympathy was understandably on the side of the Ukraine and their rather strange flute-based entry. Fair dos, I still hear the SR song played a lot on the mainstream UK channels so hopefully it's opened plenty of doors for him.
We're in a rut with Eurovision whereby our established talent who could win it don't see it as useful to their career, and more of a potential banana skin than anything.
So we're restricted to earnest young questers, and ridiculous novelty knobheads.
The people responsible for choosing our artists and songs recently have made an absolutely terrible job of it. Sam Ryder the only notable exception.
So we're restricted to earnest young questers, and ridiculous novelty knobheads.
The people responsible for choosing our artists and songs recently have made an absolutely terrible job of it. Sam Ryder the only notable exception.
The Chair of the Committee said:
"We want to get to the bottom of who chooses our entrant, on what basis and whether our dismal record of achievement in recent years [Sam Ryder to one side] is the result of bad song choice, weak performance... or something else".
Isn't the last bit the important bit i.e. "or something else"?
I do wonder why votes for the UK are so low and whether it might be a good idea to look into that subject. Not because I think that the Eurovision contest is important, but it says something about what people in other countries think about the UK.
(Not that I think that much money should be spent on it.)
"We want to get to the bottom of who chooses our entrant, on what basis and whether our dismal record of achievement in recent years [Sam Ryder to one side] is the result of bad song choice, weak performance... or something else".
Isn't the last bit the important bit i.e. "or something else"?
I do wonder why votes for the UK are so low and whether it might be a good idea to look into that subject. Not because I think that the Eurovision contest is important, but it says something about what people in other countries think about the UK.
(Not that I think that much money should be spent on it.)
Randy Winkman said:
The Chair of the Committee said:
"We want to get to the bottom of who chooses our entrant, on what basis and whether our dismal record of achievement in recent years [Sam Ryder to one side] is the result of bad song choice, weak performance... or something else".
Isn't the last bit the important bit i.e. "or something else"?
I do wonder why votes for the UK are so low and whether it might be a good idea to look into that subject. Not because I think that the Eurovision contest is important, but it says something about what people in other countries think about the UK.
(Not that I think that much money should be spent on it.)
By the 'something else' I'm fairly sure he's hinting at Brexit, and I think he's probably right to a degree."We want to get to the bottom of who chooses our entrant, on what basis and whether our dismal record of achievement in recent years [Sam Ryder to one side] is the result of bad song choice, weak performance... or something else".
Isn't the last bit the important bit i.e. "or something else"?
I do wonder why votes for the UK are so low and whether it might be a good idea to look into that subject. Not because I think that the Eurovision contest is important, but it says something about what people in other countries think about the UK.
(Not that I think that much money should be spent on it.)
Sam Ryder had both the good fortune and the bad luck to coincide with the Ukraine invasion. Without Ukraine's pretty mediocre song and performance being swept 'undeservingly' to 1st place, maybe he'd have won?
Or alternatively and in my view more likely, without the UK's very strong showing in the early days of the Ukraine war, and the subsequent wave of goodwill from the rest of Europe towards the UK, maybe he and his excellent song would have finished 16th.
Part of the Culture, Media and Sport's State of Play inquiry, where they invite suggestions on topics to hold non-inquiry oral evidence sessions on. Lasts about 1-2 hours.
https://committees.parliament.uk/work/8784/state-o...
https://committees.parliament.uk/work/8784/state-o...
SpeckledJim said:
Randy Winkman said:
The Chair of the Committee said:
"We want to get to the bottom of who chooses our entrant, on what basis and whether our dismal record of achievement in recent years [Sam Ryder to one side] is the result of bad song choice, weak performance... or something else".
Isn't the last bit the important bit i.e. "or something else"?
I do wonder why votes for the UK are so low and whether it might be a good idea to look into that subject. Not because I think that the Eurovision contest is important, but it says something about what people in other countries think about the UK.
(Not that I think that much money should be spent on it.)
By the 'something else' I'm fairly sure he's hinting at Brexit, and I think he's probably right to a degree."We want to get to the bottom of who chooses our entrant, on what basis and whether our dismal record of achievement in recent years [Sam Ryder to one side] is the result of bad song choice, weak performance... or something else".
Isn't the last bit the important bit i.e. "or something else"?
I do wonder why votes for the UK are so low and whether it might be a good idea to look into that subject. Not because I think that the Eurovision contest is important, but it says something about what people in other countries think about the UK.
(Not that I think that much money should be spent on it.)
Sam Ryder had both the good fortune and the bad luck to coincide with the Ukraine invasion. Without Ukraine's pretty mediocre song and performance being swept 'undeservingly' to 1st place, maybe he'd have won?
Or alternatively and in my view more likely, without the UK's very strong showing in the early days of the Ukraine war, and the subsequent wave of goodwill from the rest of Europe towards the UK, maybe he and his excellent song would have finished 16th.
There was a great article on the BBC site a while back on why the UK entries generally don't win.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy72e81dp28o
This comment from it sums it up;
"I really wish the BBC would take it more seriously," agrees Thomas Tammegger, an Austrian Eurovision fan, living in Denmark.
"They look at it through a lens of it being a funny event and then you have to send novelty entries or joke entries and it never really does well.
"When they do make an effort, like with Sam Ryder, voila! It's second place and it works."
Robertb said:
Fair points, but its one of two Eurovision songs i can actually remember. That and Waterloo.
There was a great article on the BBC site a while back on why the UK entries generally don't win.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy72e81dp28o
This comment from it sums it up;
"I really wish the BBC would take it more seriously," agrees Thomas Tammegger, an Austrian Eurovision fan, living in Denmark.
"They look at it through a lens of it being a funny event and then you have to send novelty entries or joke entries and it never really does well.
"When they do make an effort, like with Sam Ryder, voila! It's second place and it works."
It was indeed a good song, and he's a likable, tolerable performer with an excellent voice.There was a great article on the BBC site a while back on why the UK entries generally don't win.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy72e81dp28o
This comment from it sums it up;
"I really wish the BBC would take it more seriously," agrees Thomas Tammegger, an Austrian Eurovision fan, living in Denmark.
"They look at it through a lens of it being a funny event and then you have to send novelty entries or joke entries and it never really does well.
"When they do make an effort, like with Sam Ryder, voila! It's second place and it works."
But we're never going to be able to isolate those good things from the 'Ukraine Effect' which both the UK and Ukraine benefited from and took us to first and second place.
Ukraine's song was crap, but that was immaterial - they were always going to win regardless. The UK's song was unusual in that it wasn't crap, and the UK's standing in Europe at that moment was also unusual, in that it also wasn't crap.
Good political standing + good song = second place.
We're back to crap political standing again now, so just a good song is not going to be enough. Although it wouldn't be a bad thing.
Gassing Station | News, Politics & Economics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff