Welcome to my Coverage of the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest

The 54th Eurovision Song Contest

Eurovision: The Long Playing Records on Boom Bang a Blog

If you haven’t worked it out yet, I like Eurovision. So when Jamie McLoughlin asked if I would like to do some guest posts over on Boom Bang A Blog I was more than happy to say yes – and would you mind getting back to me after the Edinburgh Fringe is over.

So it’s taken a little bit longer than we expected, but my series of posts about the albums and music of performers at Eurovision will be featured on the site over the next few weeks. First up though is a little interview with me:

…I know it’s an old question, but we have to ask – favourite ever Eurovision song – and why?

The second I saw this question I knew I might be in trouble, because I don’t really have a favourite as such. A lot depends on my mood and there’s rarely a single song that fits everything. The usual suspects, e.g. Love Shine a Light and Molitva, are in there, but I’ve a soft spot for tracks like Olivia Lewis’ Vertigo, Martin Sternmarck’s Las Vegas and Tal Sondak’s Ein Devar.

But then, hold on… there is one Eurovision tune that gets the heart going, that can lift my mood, that stirs passion and devotion. Marc Antoine’s Prelude to Te Deum… or the Eurovision Theme to everyone else. Sitting at home and hearing that familiar arrangement as the Contest starts is a rush every fan knows – but here’s a little secret. See when it plays in the venue? The place goes absolutely craaaaaazy!!!

The full interview is here!

Regina, Eurovision 2009

And you might like to see just how many Eurovision songs and groups I sneaked into the answers…

# October 13, 2009; 1 Comment.

Just Call Me the Renegade Eurovision Host

Thanks to Lisa Devaney for a quote that, if I were looking for an advertising strap-line, would be right up there on the top of the poster. This Renegade Eurovision Host was interviewed by Devaney last month about my adventures at the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, and my use of Web 2.0 technologies. Specifically the live coverage of the contest on Twitter and my audio commentary podcast.

Twitter got noisy surrounding Eurovision, as it sparked hundreds of amusing tweets about the song contest, and gave rise to an alternative tweeting voice when journalist Ewan Spence used Twitter to cover the event from the show’s frontline in Moscow, sending tweets, blogging and podcasting from the event.

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This ‘new way to watch’ has been picked up by many people; Adam Tinworth wrote about it just before the contest had started, giving his readers a heads-up, many people on Twitter pointed out my @ewanspence account when asked who they should follow to stay in touch with Eurovision, and the Media140 Conference in London the week after Eurovision featured a number of discussions about the coverage and how it helped get many people through the night.

One final thought from Devaney:

He [Spence] out-tweeted much of the official BBC correspondents by speed of updates and depth of information, winning rave reviews from followers. Several said they preferred the commentary of the renegade Eurovision tweet host to the banter of Graham Norton’s debut year as Eurovision host.

You can read the full article over at the Digital Journal.

# July 1, 2009; Leave a Comment.

Charts Could Seal the Fate of UK’s 2010 Entry

I think that this week’s UK Charts pretty much answers the question of what happens to Jade Ewen post Eurovision. Around Europe, her Eurovision song “It’s My Time” charted at #75 (Germany), #34 (Sweden) and  #75 (Switzerland).

Becoming a success in Europe was one option after her appearance in the song Contest with the Lloyd Webber/Warren penned song. The other was to become a big name in the UK. Unfortunately the bottom line, chart success and single sales, hasn’t happened. She entered the Top 50 last week at #27, and this week has dropped out of the Top 75. Not good.

One of the reasons for the relatively good showing of the UK in this year’s Eurovision was the promotional efforts around the continent, and this was primarily driven by her record company. Alongside the involvement of a top song-writing team and the credible media reports in the UK, Colin Barlow and the support of Polydor was key.

And if you think that’s par for the course, glance over at Alexander Rybak – probably one of the most commercially successful Eurovision songs across Europe since Katrina and the Waves. Top 10 in the UK (through digital downloads, not even an official release), number one in Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Norway and Sweden, and still going strong (plus the album is flying off the shelves where it has seen a release).

Without the record companies involved, the strong foundation built by the UK this year may crumble – but will they get involved again after potentially  having quite a bad return on their investment with the parachuted into the selection Jade Ewen?

Or is this going to be a repeat of Jessica Garlic (3rd in 2002) to Jemini (nul points 2003) at next year’s Eurovision?

# June 7, 2009; Leave a Comment.

Which Eurovision Commentary Tweet Was My “Dr Death and the Tooth Fairy” Moment?

For all his many years of hosting the Eurovision Song Contest on the BBC, Terry Wogan will be remembered for his introductory line in Denmark. As the hosts walked on stage, the national treasure uttered “Here comes Dr Death and the Tooth Fairy.”

While it would take a lot to even come close to that, many of my Twitter commentary lines were very much loved on the night, and retweeted around the world. Now the event is over, I wonder which one of my lines would be “the one destined for a T-shirt” for next year? So here are the top 11 (I didn’t want to narrow it to ten!) re-tweeted comments. Which gets your vote?

What Was Your Favourite Eurovision Tweet During My Coverage

  • Andrew Lloyd Webber is not dressed as The Phantom (Of the Opera). Missed chance there I think (22.0%, 97 Votes)
  • The Croatia song is called "Beautiful Tena." Only at #eurovision could you do a ballad about sanitary towels (15.0%, 64 Votes)
  • Now, the hosts Russia will attempt to sing "My Lovely Horse" and not have to spend 36 million Euros in 2010 (11.0%, 48 Votes)
  • Cyprus, if you stand on a big glowing box, reach to the sky, and sing "Jump" then PLEASE stage dive (11.0%, 46 Votes)
  • Sakis knows ALL his Drunken Eurovision Fighting Shapes - jazz hands, hero pose, conveyor belt man, star jump and pyro (8.0%, 36 Votes)
  • The Toppers - the reason why Europe does not have a sequin mountain (7.0%, 32 Votes)
  • Tonight Matthew, I'm going to be Ronan Keating... (7.0%, 32 Votes)
  • If you ever wondered what Robert Palmer's backing group are up to now, they're singing for Andorra. (7.0%, 31 Votes)
  • And now, Iceland's Yohanna, with one of those dolls that used to sit on the loo rolls in your Gran's house (5.0%, 21 Votes)
  • I'd rather be in Superman's Fortress of Solitude, which is where Sweden are about to sing from (4.0%, 16 Votes)
  • Nightmare time, as the Green Gimp and two Derek Zoolander midgets join Kejsi Tola on stage for Albania (3.0%, 14 Votes)

Total Voters: 437

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# May 21, 2009; Leave a Comment.

One In Ten Tweets during Saturday Mentioned Eurovision (and some #media140 Thoughts)

Yesterday was the first #media140 conference in London, talking about the use of Twitter and over instant short form methods of communication in journalism. I had hoped to get down to it, but it was so close to getting back from the Eurovision Song Contest (Moscow) that I just kept half an eye on it.

Typical of the medium, I started getting pings on Twitter that I was getting mentioned from the panel on “The 140 Character Story…” So I pinged back to ask what was being said (which is a horrible Web 2.0 feedback loop, I know);

There is no doubt in my mind that Twitter was one of the places to be during Eurovision. While I was busy working during the event, Nick Burcher had half an eye on the Twitter statistics and came up with this delightful fact-let: 9.95% of every twitter during the time of the contest contained the word “Eurovision”

One in ten twitters were about the Eurovision Song Contest!

And in all of that, I have to thank everyone that labelled me as one of the “goto people” on Twitter for Eurovision. I could see all the RT’s of my commentary being passed around, I could see the discussions and questions coming at me, which is almost like instant feedback – something that Terry Wogan never had, and an impromptu community had sprung up.

Eurovision was set up back in the 50’s to push new technology and ideas to broadcasters – it looks like it continues to do so in the 21st century?

And it leaves another problem for the broadcaster. How do you pitch your Eurovision coverage next year when you have this on the sidelines waving its banner? Adam Tinworth, who gave his blog readers a heads up regarding my coverage summed it up nicely:

Around an event like the Eurovision, the main broadcast is in real danger of becoming just a social object that people interact about elsewhere.

Discuss!

# May 21, 2009; Leave a Comment.

Report on the Eurovision 2009 Final

This went up on The Stage’s website this afternoon, my thoughts on the results of the Eurovision Song Contest:

Not only did Rybak win, but he won in style. Scoring a massive 387 points, he smashed through the previous highest points scored record of 298 points, which belonged to Finnish Rockers Lordi in the 2006 competition. There will be a lot of Eurovision fans happy they don’t need to see Lordi mentioned as the highest scoring song ever now.

It’s not quite the greatest song ever, though. Adjusting scores to take account of total points available each year, it’s beaten into third place by both Katrina and The Waves and The Brotherhood of Man — he would have needed 388 points to overtake the former and 396 for the latter. But in terms of modern Eurovision, with the dual semi-final format and 40-plus countries voting in the final, Rybak is sitting on top of a pile of douze points.

I also particularly love the headline that they left intact… Norway Brought a Gun to a Knife Fight.

# May 18, 2009; Leave a Comment.

Download My Commentary Track for Tonight’s Eurovision Song Contest

More temporal reporting from the modern Internet as I present my commentary for the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest final. It’s the Grand Final tonight, with 25 countries battling it out for the right to, well, host the contest next year.

As I’m still here, reporting on the Song Contest in Moscow, while watching the dress rehearsals I’ve recorded a commentary track for those who (a) are watching on the free internet stream at www.eurovision.tv and have no commentator, or (b) who would like something a little bit different to the regular TV commentators.

Please note that the commentary is very much a neutral affair, with little bias towards any country and more factual and eyebrow raising humour than out and out bitching and catty calls about the songs.

After you grab the MP3 files, you need to start the track at the correct time. Start the MP3 before Eurovision starts, I’ll remind you of what I’m about to write.

After the introduction music and my first comments, you’ll hear a beep on the track. At that point press pause. When Dima Bilan stops singing “Believe” (last year’s winning track) and the audience begin to applaud, un-pause the track, and we’ll be away. My guess is that should have everyone synced up within one second.

Now for the rest of the show. Timing is a tricky one here, as the show is running to a timetable but could slip, so you have a choice of two tracks. Both should work, but choose the track that fits best with your watching habits.

Option One (Download MP3 by right clicking here)

A 105 minute long track that covers all the songs, with hopefully the right gaps between songs, adverts and visits to the green room. Once you’ve unpaused after the Dima Bilan stops singing “Believe”, leave your MP3 player running. The easier track to listen to, but more likely to slip out of sync

Option Two (Download MP3 by right clicking here)

After syncing at the end of Dima Bilan’s singing, after each of my introductions you’ll hear the same beep. That’s your cue to pause the MP3 and enjoy the song. Un-pause as the song ends, you’ll get my introduction, and then another beep. And so on through the contest. Note that you only pause at a beep, not a silence (so leave the track running through the commercial break and the two trips to the Green Room).

Whichever track you download, do let me know how you get on. I’ll be doing textual commentary on Twitter (which will be live!)  so follow @ewanspence for the full audio, text and pictorial commentary from 54th Eurovision Song Contest!

And once it’s all over, your feedback either in the comments or by email (ewanspence@gmail.com) would be very much appreciated.

# May 16, 2009; 2 Comments.

My “Ones To Watch” in tonight’s Eurovision Final

The final of the Eurovision Song Contest is nearly here, so to make sure you don’t miss anything “wow” during your evening, I’ve another highlights of the show over at The Stage’s TV Today blog.

As with the semi-final posts, these are not the ones to win, these are ones to watch – a subtle difference at Eurovision!

Cirque Du Soleil, France, Portugal, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Malta, Norway and The United Kingdom

The full post, with preview videos, can be found here.

# May 16, 2009; Leave a Comment.

Your Post-Wogan Eurovision Drinking Game

Watching the Eurovision Song Contest for many is a perfect time for a party, with nibbles and drinks. I know many people have so called drinking games to help them through the three hour spectacular. For many years, the standard drinking game in the UK for Eurovision was “drink whenever Terry Wogan said something rude.”

That game got particularly dangerous in the last few years.

So what can you do instead, given that we are in Magic 8-Ball territory on Graham Norton’s coverage (<fx: shake> Unclear, ask again later) and don’t know yet what we can latch on to?

I know someone twittered this on Thursday at me (please remind me by mail who you were so I can acknowledge you!) but having watched the acts, and the order of tonight’s final, this should work well.

Take a drink whenever you see a live pyrotechnic effect.

Simple as that – flames on the LED display don’t count, and a shot with three sparks can be considered just one drink,but the longer shots will require constant slugging. As tonight’s show starts off with a rather gentle pace, you’ll be able to ease yourself into it with some gentle songs. The fun will really start with Sakis Rova and the Greek entry, and then you can argue if lasers count during Armenia.

You’ll then be on a cycle that will build up throughout the evening to a massive crescendo during Finland’s “Lose Control.” That’s assuming you get past the Boyzone-esque delights of Brink (Denmark) and the longest continuous pyro shot in Eurovision history… probably.

# May 16, 2009; 1 Comment.

Eurovision Score Sheet for the 2009 Final

A lot of you are coming here from Google looking for a scorecard/sheet for tonight’s Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest. Rather than put together something (I’m kinda busy with my script for the commentary tonight on the show, which you can grab about an hour before it starts), may I point you towards the BBC’s Eurovision site which has one ready for download.

# May 16, 2009; Leave a Comment.

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