T h e E u r o v i s i o n a r y

OK, so I didn't score a coveted ticket for Saturday's Nordic Party... Boo!!!  But who cares.  It's not even as if I like any of their stupid songs anyway (apart from my No 1 - Sweden,  my No 8 - Denmark, my No 11 - Norway and my No 17, Iceland)...  So let's just gloss over that and rudely stick out tongues out at those who did get in... Bitter, moi? So instead, lets just have a look at some of my lovely photos from the last few days' mammoth run of rehearsals for the Semis, before reading an in depth interview with Ireland's starlet... (Axel having a particularly jolly time) (András brought his teddy for comfort) (oh look, there's Maltese Wayne...yum!) (the lovely Georgians!) (Poland, celebrating equality and stomping out sexism) (it really is all about the music in Poland...)  (Belarus - cheesy and cakey) And finally, a short interview with Ireland's very glamorous Kasey Smith...   DE:  Morning Kasey, ho...

On Thursday we had a day off...  Apparently May Day (1st) is a national holiday in Denmark so they made the decision not to hold and rehearsals that day (which is why all of our other days have been significantly longer this year). I used my time well, though, as I'd been contacted by The Scotsman the previous evening and asked if I could submit my piece on Friday morning, to give then time to set it and get it printed in the supplement for next weekend's paper.  The supplement is actually printed at the beginning of the week, which is why I had to have the finished article to them over a week before it'll hit the newsstands. Anyway, it's written, and that then meant that we were able to spend the rest of the day attending the Latvian, Icelandic and Georgian parties! Latvia's venue was a tea-room in the Museum of Copenhagen!  Quaint.  So instead of the usual alcohol we were served tea and cakes - well their song is called Cake To Bake after all! The ...

Well, Wednesday started fabulously with the wonderfully glamorous and talented Conchita Wurst from Austria.  She belted her Bond-theme styled number out of the ball-park and somewhere into the stratosphere, and then this happened...   Then things went downhill rapidly... with the exception of Greece virtually EVERY other performance was either average, or down-right bad! So, for the sake of simplicity, here are some short opinions on each along with a nice photo!  Lithuania - Song - trash, beard - welcome addition (not on her, obvs) Finland - the most boring bunch here.. Song was dull as ditch water, and their faces say it all! Ireland - My Big Fat Irish Gypsy Wedding.  All she could say at her press conference was how "Amayyyzin" everything was...  She was orange, had 2 inch white fingernails and spent her entire photo opp with her hands on her hips like someone she's seen on some cheap trashy "Top Model" show... she'll be back on bene...

Sorry for the lack of service yesterday!  I got a call from The Scotsman wanted me to turn around thier piece for them very quickly, and as there were no rehearsals I took the opportunity to use the morning to write.  It's all done and filed now, and will be appearing in the weekend supplement that comes out on the day of the contest, a week on Saturday (May 10).  The magazine is printed early next week, so they needed the completed piece by today to give them time to set it and select the photos and layout.  It should make a nice two page article! The rest of yesterday was filled with parties... Latvia, Iceland and my beloved Georgia... and there will be a full report on those later, but in the meantime here's a picture of the shuttle bus we use to get to and from Eurovision Island...and yes, it DOES say Tourist Fart!   I'm about to start writing a full account of Wednesday's rehearsals, but here, for your delectation and delight is a picture of the lov...

Moldova started us off with a very lacklustre performance and a new backing track for her dramatic song.  Sadly I don't think the new version is as strong as the last one, and I fear this will be lost in the melee.  She has a few boy dancers though... Poor San Marino!  Despite a perfectly competent performance this just comes across as dull.  There is no stage show this time, just Vale and big clam-like erection behind her.  She doesn't even move - just stands there and sways a bit while the backlighting shines through her white dress showing her chunky legs! Portugal has also revamped their backing track and it's got a few hand-claps in there at strategic places.  Suzy was a bit out of tune (again) and at her press conference sounded like Kenny Everett's Cupid Stunt, "...so, like, yeah, that's what my song is all about...but listen to me, Michael, I'm telling you the plot!" [crosses legs wildly in the air] - Airhead! The Netherlands' ...