Eurovision song contest 2013 ended with Denmark and Emmelie de Forest winning this year’s festival with 281 points. Greece and KozaMostra got the 6th place, after Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Norway and Russia. The temptation is high to see a political and an economic aspect in the results: that not a single eurozone member country managed to get a high score.
The results sent a clear message to Eurozone in particular and European Union in general: Euro-scepticism is growing. It’s not a coincidence that Germany with its authoritarian finance policies landed on the 21st place, is it?
Alcohol is NOT free
Greece’s participation Koza Mostra could certainly have received a much higher score, had the group modified its song title “Alcohol is free” into “Alcohol has 23% Value Added Tax”.
The title was misleading as it implied that growth, development and prosperity finally prevailed in the debt-ridden country. I’m sure Koza Mostra would have drawn the endless sympathy of millions of eurovision-voters had it name the things as they are.
Video: Agathon & Koza Mostra
embedded by Embedded Video
YouTube Direkt
Third bailout?
While watching the tense moments of voting results announcement last night, I have to admit that many Greeks were scared to death. Hearing the presenter announcing that countries like San Marino and Cyprus gave 12 points to Greece, or Albania and Russian gave 10 points… well.. for several moments I personally had a eurovision-win nightmare scenario: That
Greece would need a third bailout to come up with the organization of Eurovision 2014.
But at the end the real euro-skeptics won, and we got home with 152 points. And yes, indeed, we escaped the torture of a third bailout.
PS No, the Greek Tourism Agency did not issue a correction press release, saying something like “Attention tourists! Alcohol is NOT free in Greece!” Neither did the government issued any statement declaring “the 6th place definitely shows Greece moves forward against all odds of misery, Grexit etc etc”
The United Kingdom has finished second fifteen (15) times at Eurovision (most recently in 1998), more than any other country, and still hitting high with 5 wins (1967, 1969, 1976, 1981, and 1997) behind the 1st Ireland with 7 wins. At that time – annually – the BBC TV viewers voted for their favorite song by telephone and regional juries were ranking and selecting the song to represent the U.K. in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Then – one rainy day; lovely weather isn’t it? – …some “brilliant” minds decided … “no televised selection” that is to have the song (to represent Britain in the Contest) to be selected internally by the BBC song gurus, (picture this) with no details of the scoring to be given. Democracy at its best!
As a result of this situation, no matter how “heavy artillery” performer they had sent, they were catapulted to the bottom of the sea:
In 2012 Engelbert Humperdinck with the song “Love Will Set You Free” ended in the “one-but-the-last” (25th) position, collecting 12 points only (as many as Cyprus gave to Greece and vice versa … ha ha ha!).
In 2013 Bonnie Tyler with the song “Believe in me” ended in the 19th position collecting only 23 points.
Next year (2014) we are not 100% sure if Andrew Lloyd-Webber and The Rollin’ Stones will be available to participate in Denmark for the U.K., no matter if the BBC still screams: “Your Country Needs You”. Terry Wogan, the “Dafni Bokota” of the BBC for 35 years, back in 2008 at the age of 70, handed over Eurovision commentating to Graham Norton. Earlier in that year Terry had said:
“I don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s a major musical event. I love the Eurovision Song Contest and it will continue long after I’m gone. Just please don’t ask me to take it seriously.”