Is It Time For UK To Pull Out Of Eurovision Song Contest

Terry's very upset isn't he? I think he should get to decide. And he should do it NOW, while he's drunk.

Lacking option
"I'm from another European country and it would be total 'LOL Sore Losers' if UK pulled out so yes"

-- so voted No. :)

Because it's the off-season, you need another outlet for your normal "EVIL CHEATING FOREIGN REFEREE SCUM HOLDING BACK PROUD BRITISH TEAMS" rage, Herman?

British?

Anyone know much the BBC spends on Eurovision funding?

Anyway dom, everyone knows the Scottish refs are the biggest cheats!

"everyone"

http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?forumID=4844&edition=1&ttl=20080524233256

Am watching it now. The contest itself is not past its sell-by date but the BBC presenter of the show, Terry Wogan, certainly is past it. His inane, clever dick remarks are once again just a sickening irritation.

The show is, on the whole, good, artistic stuff above the level of that of previous years. It's a great pity that the UK could not make a better effort. It will, doubtless, finish near the bottom of the list in the popular vote.

Anglobert, Surrey, United Kingdom

Terry is the reason I watch it!

He's like Ron Atkinson... ON DRUGS.

Rogaine, mainly.

The UK has a lot of fantastic acts and would do well if the big names participated. You would need someone that Europeans are familiar enough with for them to get a lot of votes from the Nordic countries, Netherlands, Germany and Belgium though, as that's where you'd have to gather your votes (besides Ireland, which votes for UK anyway).

Btw. what is it with the British Isles and pirates? The Latvian entry gathered virtually all of its votes from Baltic neighbours and the two British countries.

Two British countries?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Isles

that's a top link dom

(xxxpost) The problem is that a UK artist who is that well known in Europe is not going to risk their career doing Eurovision.

Let's enter next year though, just for Wogan, we all know how much he enjoys it! Eurovision...complete madness!!! Everyone in Europe takes it so seriously...except us of course...we're to mature!

As the British are the only Europeans who make any decent music, the competition is a farce. The majority of Europe is tone deaf.

Jason Slack, Doncaster, United Kingdom

The great thing about Eurovision is it is quality drinking time. For years I have watched the show and never managed to get to the end without falling into a drink fuelled coma. The songs are far less important than the amount of alcohol it is possible to consume during the show to deaden the pain of watching it.

Eric, Tombstone, Dorset

lol

The problem is that a UK artist who is that well known in Europe is not going to risk their career doing Eurovision.

Sure it depends what kind of act. I don't think it hurt Cliff Richard's career much. And I am pretty sure The Beautiful South, Simply Red or some other act with a rather grownup audience could do quite well too. Obviously, the hottest pop or indie acts would fail as most ESC voters have lived for quite a while...

Morrissey was supposedly going to enter one year.

Stop it.

xp

The problem here being that the average 60 year-old Macedonian housewife have no clue who Morrissey is. Elton John, on the other hand.....

Cliff's career took a little bit of a dip after "Congratulations", but he came back with his late 70's disco phase. But there is a common thread between Cliff, TBS, SR, and Abraham - they all have an established fanbase, so the media are reluctant to slag them off when they don't win. Anyone else gets it both barrels from the UK press when they lose.

Hey, so apparently the guy who blew up that shopping centre was an Aspie who'd been led astray by radicalised Muslims at his local chip shop.

You eat much cod, Geir?

Katrina and The Waves were sort of established when winning, but also hadn't had a hit in ages.

Who would make a good UK entry then?

Hahaha i just saw what dom was talking about on the news as i read his post

Who would make a good UK entry then?

I would say somebody like Elton John, Rod Stewart, Sting. Somebody like that. Remember that most of the voters are middle-aged.

But not that mental.

If Sting,Elton or Rod are going to enter Eurovision to represent the UK Then that's a yes vote to the poll question from me!

Another thing is that Eurovision is only one part of a wider game plan for Abraham - he has an album coming out in a month and the title is "Even If". Winning the contest wasn't necessarily the most important thing for him, what mattered was to get exposed to as many people as possible. Meanwhile with Scooch there was no larger plan - their whole career revival hinged on them winning Eurovision. They didn't = they fucked...

Which we should be truly thankful for.

Would be great if someone like Coldplay or Keane entered and got nil points.

Terry is the reason I watch it!

Part of the problem then you are, Herman. Wogan has singlehandedly denied the UK decent placings for a couple of decades.

Geir sorta otm -- get e.g. Sting to sing one of his usual songs, and there will be some name recognition plus some granny votes from the 200+ million europeans that are not actually you UKers. How is this an difficult idea?

(Coldplay or Keane would get many x points because they are actually objectively uninterestingly pretty good at Their Job!)

Wogan has singlehandedly denied the UK decent placings for a couple of decades

wait...European viewers know Wogan's views somehow?

I'm surprised anyone in Mainland Europe and beyond would know who Terry Wogan is!

no!!

the UK sends songs that confirms that worldview! ie "this year we'll send different insular type of crap and hope they 'get it' even if may not get it ourselves"!

Too much thinking and fear perhaps, just send some good pop!

herman Wogan was even namedropped on Norw TV today. Never happened before I think.

What I mean to say to blueski and uk: Forget scheming about Eurovision, it is not now 1982! Give us choons!

Coldplay or Keane would also do well, but I guess they wouldn't win again because they aren't so famous in most of Southern Europe. Plus I cannot see them putting on the wild stage act that is usually typical of the winners.

herman Wogan was even namedropped on Norw TV today. Never happened before I think.

He has been namechecked more or less everytime around. Mind you, Jostein Pedersen who did the Norwegian comments until two years ago is married to a British woman, lives in London, and knows very well indeed who Terry Wogan is.

Plus Terry Wogan hosted the 1998 final.

xpost Agreed, UK might get a top ten with that or something, but nothing more. But that would probably be sweeeet for the Brits, butthurt as they are at multiple clueless last placings haha.

Geir should we do an all-Norwegian MADNESS FOR EUROVISION campaign now they're old and crapper than before?

the UK sends songs that confirms that worldview! ie "this year we'll send different insular type of crap and hope they 'get it' even if may not get it ourselves"!

i think this might apply to Daz and Scooch (altho latter was v Euro-friendly sound generally) but not AA or Javine (but they were all equally poor imo - but hardly poorer than half of the other entries any given year)

Actually I like finishing last. I find it funny (I think many do). I just watch it because I've always watched since I was a kid, even though my parents stopped LONG ago. That's why i wondered if Geir is right in saying only old people watch it. Do kids still watch it like in my day or is it just 40-60 year olds that watch it? I thought with the text message voting and what have you that kids would be into it. After all it's quite the norm for kids to vote by SMS on reality tv shows.

The whole politics thing has always bugged me though and it's just beyond a joke now. And I don't see any way of making it fairer.

wogan just misses johnny logan's reign of terror, really

RTE's finances dont.

xxxpost

Agreed blueski. Apart from "euro-friendly" thing -- this is where I suspect you lot lose because YOU HAVE NO CLUE YOU BRITS ABSOLUTELY DON'T HAVE THE FIRST WHIFF OF ANYTHING RESEMBLING A FUCKING CLUE about "euro-friendly".

Get me?

MAYBE Terry Wogan should enter the Eurovision next year. And do the commentary.

Ireland to be eliminated at semi-final stage for the second year running then.

But then he could do the commentary, in a Steve Davis sense.

Magma to represent France next year

Funded by Steve Davis

Last hour or so of voting left, get em in.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

common sense reigns!

If they let ILX write the song, we would win it for Britain!

NOC reigns morelike

If ILX wrote the song it would be awkward and overqualified lyrically and musically a confused and unholy mess. Justsayinglike.

Ireland to be eliminated at semi-final stage for the second year running then.

he could enter for Royaume Uni... surely he has taken the soup and become a subject of the Queen by now?

Such a great phrase.

Turncoat bastard

I had the odd experience of watching the ESC with my in-laws, who are both big Wogan fans. After sitting engrossed through "I'd Do Anything" and the National Lottery Draw, they were in hysterics at the ESC: "Oh, isn't it awful", "What IS she wearing?" etc etc.
Laughing because Terry was telling them to.

I enjoyed the Willem Brueker Kollektief in the interval, though.

I am seriously intrigued by the anti-Wogan backlash. About time too.

Wogan quits as commentator - GOOD, but:

Commenting on the 2008 contest, Wogan said: "Days before the show, I knew Russia would win. The fact is, Putin was getting nasty, which means the former satellite states were always going to vote for Russia in order to keep the oil coming.

"It's unfortunate, I suppose, but whereas we have always taken Eurovision with a pinch of salt, the former Eastern Bloc countries are not sufficiently versed in the ways of democracy to realise they are supposed to be voting for a song, not a next-door neighbour."

Indeed, you would never get the democratic liberty-lovin' blued-eyed Aryan Scandinavians voting for each other, for instance

Early entry for next year's contest: Terry Wogan & Alan Green duet on...

http://www.sterlingtimes.co.uk/enlandx.jpg

So, next year's eurovision commentating job will most likely go to that bloke who's on the pop shows alongside Alexa Chong.

Ben Elton?

I'd assume they'll just bump Paddy O'Connell up from the semi-finals.

Indeed, you would never get the democratic liberty-lovin' blued-eyed Aryan Scandinavians voting for each other, for instance

Norway never vote for Sweden tho (or is it the other way around?)

Are you sure? Malta always vote for Britain.

not exactly next door, though.

That makes it worse

Britain got precisely nul points from Malta this year, much to Wogan's audible chagrin.

Strip them of that George Cross! Mugabe lost his honorary knighthood for less!

Mugabe did give "Puppet on a string" 12 points though.

no Mark, Mugabe has never been a Eurovision judge. i think you've got mixed up here.

Norway never vote for Sweden tho (or is it the other way around?)

The other way round. Norway is more or less programmed to vote for Sweden. Unless the Swedish entry is really bad, then our votes go to Denmark. ;)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7617242.stm

Like anything could possibly put an end to Balkan block voting.

Well, the reason for the strength of the Balkan block is that they are increasing the number of countries all the time. Next year, Kosovo will probably enter and I guess only one more year and Putin and Medvedev will have made sure to let even two more countries have their "freedom".

At least the Belgians have gotten the message. We want more like that - more Western European separatism please! :)

I mean: We demand freedom for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Shetland, Faroe Islands, Åland, Gotland and Bornholm NOW!!!! ;)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7677612.stm

Andrew Lloyd Webber is to help pick the UK's next Eurovision entry, in a overhaul of the BBC's selection show.

Lord Lloyd Webber will compose the UK's entry and embark on a search for the singer or group to perform the song.

Graham Norton will host BBC TV show Your Country Needs You to find new talent for the 2009 contest, after a string of poor results for the UK.

Lord Lloyd Webber said: "Win, lose or draw, I am looking forward to every minute of it."

The BBC show will follow a similar format to the successful How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? and I'd Do Anything, with Norton and Lord Lloyd-Webber at the helm.

Last place

Six finalists chosen by Lord Lloyd Webber and music industry professionals from entries sent to the BBC website will take part in the TV show.

The final say on who Lloyd Webber will compose the song for will be made by viewers.

Might as well pull out now.

Lord Lloyd Webber said: "Win, lose or draw, I am looking forward to every minute of it."

Graham Norton to take over commentary. So I doubt he will be all serious about it. Probably will take the piss out of it even more than terry wogan.

Really? You think?

I await the Mail's outrage that vile BBC filth-merchants have handed Eurovision commentary over to a homosexual.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7766310.stm

Didn't have to wait long.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1092122/Wogan-quits-Eurovision-35-years--replaced-Graham-Norton.html

At last the BBC find some use for this expensive white elephant they bought called Graham Norton.

Here's me thinking "ah, surely they would have no grounds for complaint: Terry's quitting, GrahamN's the one person who could actually do it in a similar style and not think "oh, I'll do it for 2 years, onwards and upwards"...

Then:

Why is Terry Wogan irishman being replaced by another Irishman ? does anyone ever consider using an Englishman as a compare, or is the BBC now totaly anti English.

From Tony in Tower Hamlets, oh the irony

Terry Wogan, renowned for his anti-English outbursts, him and Alan Green

Maybe they did compare him to an Englishman and Norton 'won', amirite?

In terms of Irish Tories the BBC's choice was limited since Paul O'Grady's signed up to C4, as Norton doubtless wishes he still was on a daily basis.

Keano is available

I gather he's covering for Jeremy Kyle over the holidays. He'll be ordering the audience to stand on the roof of the studio in the freezing snow until they score some fucking goals then.