NORMAL LIFE: The Day After The Eurovision

The 'day after' was a nice, blue day. The sun shone and, after breakfast, we went on a 25km cycle ride to let off steam. Fuming from the Russian victory at last night's Eurovision final in Belgrade, Serbia, we angrily pedalled our way towards Vuosaari, east of Helsinki. Passing the drunks in Kallio, the affluent in Kulosaari, the ever-sameness of the apartment buildings in Hertaniemi, we settled down at the bay-side cafe in Vuosaari and, as at breakfast, discussed the Eurovision one last time before knocking it on the head. It just happened to be bad timing that a large group of Russians had taken over the only grilling spot there was in Vuosaari which, I bet, angered alot of Finns passing by that day.

Belgrade had done a fantastic job, as admitted time and time again by an appreciative public. It's the show, however, that isn't what it used to be. Nationalism has taken hold in Europe on such a level that it becomes blatantly obvious at contests such as this. If we look at the former Soviet Union and the former Yugoslavs in isolation, what I don't understand is that if they wanted independence so badly, why are they now all voting for eachother? Is it that they're afraid that if they don't grant the Ruskies the high regarded douze pointes', that they risk having their gas cut off next winter as in the case of last winter's sudden power shortage in Belarus?

This year was meant to see a turnaround in the fortunes of the United Kingdom. Of course, we didn't expect to win, but to be eleven points down on last year's performance by four air stewards (remember Scooch?), you couldn't help but wander if we were being deliberated targeted. But it wasn't all bad. Officially, we did come last, but we shared joint last place with two other countries: Germany and Poland. I liked all the entries that shared the not so coveted joint 14-point position, but perhaps it is now official that my taste in music is so bad that I need a bit of brainwashing and should only vote for Eastern European countries from now on!

The United Kingdom dispatched Andy Abraham, a former binman, to Belgrade this year. He performed well and I was hopeful that this might mark the start of a turnaround. If anything, the show proves what racist shits the Eastern Europeans are. Yes, Andy is black, but he can sing and his dancing style gets your own feet tapping on your living room floor without you even realising it. I did not get the same effect from the Olympic champion ice skater accompanying Dima Bilan, Russia's contestant, as he belted out Believe, which was apparently produced by a US R&B star Timbaland.

With 272 points, Russia clinched this year's top spot, followed by Ukraine (230 points), Greece (218 points, picture on right), Armenia (199 points) and Norway (182 points). I actually like the songs from Ukraine and Armenia, which proves that I am not merely anti-Russian.

British people, despite the history of our nation, believe in fairness. Fairness should prevail and it's not that we are sore losers. Other suffered too from the night's viting. One shock from the evening's proceedings was the surprising, relatively high score of Norway (5th) when compared to Sweden's undeerved, dismal 18th position. Clinching a respectable 10th place was Bosnia & Herzegovina (with 110 points), with an absolutely god-awful depiction of what can only be described as an a excerpt from a children's program!

Where do we go from here? To get a more balanced view, I checked out the online blog on http://www.eurovision.tv/. There, people from all over had expressed concern. The presenter for the UK, Terry Wogan, who has been hosting the Eurovision for English-speaking viewers for more than thirty years revealed that he we was seriously thinking of quitting. One Portuguese viewer was disappointed by their achievement of 13th place, suggesting that Portugal should put out from the show. Several British fans posted similar messages, but from a different context: the UK is a main contributor to the costs of the show. Perhaps from next year, each country should pay a share proprtional to it's official population? Another fan cited the UK's alliance with America as a contributor to the end result and, for a change, I am thinking we should make some more friends in the US just to piss Europe off even more!

But there is some consolation for the British to be found on an Irish website, All Kinds Of Everything. If you check out the cumulative Medals Table, you will see that the United Kingdom ranks 2nd overall in performances over the years. I, myself, am not turning my back on the Eurovision just yet. If anything, it's an amusing nights entertainment. Two years ago, I took this show seriously. These days, I couldn't care less so it's questionable whether or not the start of the end has begun! Is it goodbye Eurovision?