Is Eurovision More About Politics Than Music?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the perception of the Eurovision Song Contest, particularly whether it is more influenced by political factors than by musical quality. Participants explore various aspects of the contest, including the quality of the songs, the voting process, and the cultural significance of the event.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants argue that the voting in Eurovision is heavily political, suggesting it reflects broader European relations rather than musical merit.
  • Others express skepticism about the quality of the songs, with claims that many entries are subpar or "naff," and that successful artists avoid participating.
  • A few participants appreciate the absurdity and entertainment value of Eurovision, viewing it as a form of morbid fascination rather than a serious musical competition.
  • Concerns are raised about the predictability of voting patterns, particularly among neighboring countries, indicating a perceived bias in the results.
  • Some participants reminisce about past winners, suggesting that significant artists have not emerged from the contest in recent years.
  • There is a mention of cultural differences in interest, with some participants noting that the contest may not resonate with audiences outside of Europe, particularly in the U.S.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on whether Eurovision is primarily about politics or music. Multiple competing views are presented regarding the quality of the songs and the motivations behind voting.

Contextual Notes

Participants express uncertainty about the significance of the contest in the music industry and question its impact on artists' careers. There are also references to specific entries and voting behaviors that highlight the complexities of the competition.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to those curious about cultural events, music competitions, and the interplay between politics and entertainment in Europe.

  • #31
Joel said:
Umm, are you entirely sure it's a good thing, eh? :wink:

Well, once in a while it's good to get reassurance that we aren't the only ones who think we suck what comes to Eurovision :biggrin: ... a sort of a recognition.
 
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  • #32
PerennialII said:
Well, once in a while it's good to get reassurance that we aren't the only ones who think we suck what comes to Eurovision :biggrin: ... a sort of a recognition.

Absolutely, (if done often enough) a reality-check never hurts. :biggrin:
 
  • #33
I agree Monique that the votes were often based on vicinity or good political relationships, but not the majority of them. How could one imagine that Turkey gives maximum votes for Greece, for example? How did Malta gain all those votes?
Btw the songs from Germany, France, Netherlands and UK were really bad this year.
 
  • #34
icvotria said:
Christ, I love Eurovision! Your reasons for hating it are my reasons for loving it. It's so surreal and it turns your stomach so deliciously, it's the height of morbid fascination. 24 songs and not one of them decent! It's amazing. It's not that hard to write a good song. I find it really cool that while people are responsible for a lot of incredibly wonderful things, and a lot of incredibly terrible things, we're also responsible for something so ridiculous. For me it sort of puts things in perspective.

argh. I just can't take it like that. I've never been able to watch a full show since I feel so embarrased for the contestants that I have to change the channel.
 
  • #35
ramollari said:
Btw the songs from Germany, France, Netherlands and UK were really bad this year.
The manager of the Dutch singer was expecting an international breakthrough of the singer, thinking she would be recognized as the next Celine Dion or Whitney Houston :rolleyes: the disillusionment hit hard :wink:
 
  • #36
ramollari said:
I agree Monique that the votes were often based on vicinity or good political relationships, but not the majority of them. How could one imagine that Turkey gives maximum votes for Greece, for example? How did Malta gain all those votes?
Btw the songs from Germany, France, Netherlands and UK were really bad this year.

edited

Because turkey wants to enter the EU and thus has to pretend that the people there like greece.
And the song from UK was good, sung by a good looking girl, and I thought it sounded very similar to the one sung by the greek girl.
 
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  • #37
plus said:
Because greece wants to enter the EU and thus has to pretend that the people there like greece.

Silly comment!

plus said:
And the song from UK was good, sung by a good looking girl, and I thought it sounded very similar to the one sung by the greek girl.

It sucked in terms of originality and scenography, as usual, which is probably why people didn't vote for it.
 
  • #38
ramollari said:
It sucked in terms of originality and scenography, as usual, which is probably why people didn't vote for it.


If this is true, then so did the greek one as it was similar.

The greeks just profited out of the corrupt voting structure.
 
  • #39
Please prove your corruptness hypothesis.

The reason why neighbouring countries tend to vote highly for each other, is that they have approximately the same musical taste (or lack of it, IMO).

If you do a solid analysis of the voting history, I predict you'll find the following clusters of countries tending to give other members of its own cluster high scores:

1. Uk&Ireland
2. Germany, Netherlands, Austria
3. Belgium, Luxembourg, France
4. Spain, Portugal
5. Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland
6. Greece&Cyprus&Israel
7. Eastern European countries.
 
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  • #40
I think Belgium has a history of giving the Netherlands maximum points.
 
  • #41
arildno said:
Please prove your corruptness hypothesis.

The reason why neighbouring countries tend to vote highly for each other, is that they have approximately the same musical taste (or lack of it, IMO).

If you do a solid analysis of the voting history, I predict you'll find the following clusters of countries tending to give other members of its own cluster high scores:

1. Uk&Ireland
2. Germany, Netherlands, Austria
3. Belgium, Luxembourg, France
4. Spain, Portugal
5. Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland
6. Greece&Cyprus&Israel
7. Eastern European countries.


You just proved it.

I don't see why greece and cyprus would be with israel, apart from the relatively insignificant fact that they used to be run by the arabs.
UK probably got votes from ireland due to the fact that the irish watch the bbc and thus would have known the uk singer. This is a pretty insignificant grouping.
I don't exactly think the netherlands and germany would vote for each other, and due to the fact that uk got nil points a couple of years ago and germany only a couple this time, these blocks certainly cannot be relied upon to give votes the same way that greece and cyprus give each other votes.
 
  • #42
The clusters might be somewhat different than the groupings I made, but the fact that musical tastes (or lack of it) tend to be similar in neighbouring countries has nothing to do with corruption.
 
  • #43
plus said:
UK probably got votes from ireland due to the fact that the irish watch the bbc and thus would have known the uk singer. This is a pretty insignificant grouping.

The BBC isn't screened in the Republic of Ireland.

It's just about voting for your neighbours, and it always has been really. Just look at the Scandinavian countries, and the Balkan states. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with the voting system, but it does make you wonder. Neighbouring countries often have similar musical tastes, but Eurovision has never really been much of a showcase of good music now has it?
 
  • #44
Well, there are a lot of people in every country who actually like this type of music and rush to their phones in order to vote for the songs they like best.

I don't understand such people; do they have some sort of genetic defect? :confused:
 
  • #45
brewnog said:
The BBC isn't screened in the Republic of Ireland.


The BBC receives many viewers in the republic of ireland. Most households receive it, although some refuse out of principle.
 

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