Eurovision

[Cherry_Ripe]

Maybe those countries voted for each other because, being similar in lots of ways, they actually LIKED each other's songs. Could it be cultural preferences being expressed?

 

Just a thought.

I have always thought that too, Oldspice.

[smurfboy]

It's certainly a possibility - but if these Eastern European countries are all voting for each other for cultural reasons, why was this year's winner the first since 1998 to contain no English lyrics?

[loulou]

At one time a song not sung in english would NEVER win.

[oldspice]

Well that's the point isn't it? It's Eurovision, therefore English should not dominate perhaps? I can sympathise with people who feel wast Europe will now dominate the contest by voting for each other but they are only doing what other aliances in the contest have done for years and years - Cyprus/Greece, Malta/England, Norway/Denmark/Sweden, France/Monaco etc

[Cherry_Ripe]

If the other countries paid more and we paid less into the competition we wouldn't be guaranteed a place in the contest, so we would never get through to the final and everyone would lose interest ... then we wouldn't get the pleasure of listening to Terry Wogan every year!

[oldspice]

That's very true. We are a huge financial supporter of the contest. If we examine the original objective of the contest, it was to culturally unite Europe after a period of war. Western Europe has been friendly for donkeys' years now, so perhaps the time has come to let eastern Europe heal old wounds via the contest and perhaps we should leave them to it.