Why Eurovision might actually matter.

So I haven't added much lately?
That is right and I must admit that it is my fault alone, as I've been off to see my family, but we did watch the Eurovision Song contest together. The UK came last again, but even that is amazing given that there was a qualifying round. The Spanish entry (Baila Chi Chi) had a free-pass to the final round that, in retrospect, should hardly surprised any of us! For goodness sake, if Eurovision needs shit music we can surely be relied upon to provide it! It was a Public Holiday weekend here too, which means that today (Monday) is also a day off so, guess what, it is windy, wet and cold. That is quite typical.

The Russian song was co-written by a UK songwriter so maybe the gas will stay on for a little while longer. That said I rather liked this year's Serbian entry - in fact I'd have been delighted had it won - and the acts from Finland (for their sheer devotion to the cause of heavy guitar rock), Greece and the "angels and devils" from Azerbaijan.
The voting is determined by politics but why care too much about that? Voting is politics, at least in any fairly democratic situation, so perhaps it is a good thing whatever the outcome! It is a fine excuse to get a now quite remarkable collection of nations together to a common end and I can see no harm in that. If all the music was totally shit, and it certainly wasn't, that would not actually matter much.
The fact is that twenty years ago it is impossible that Russia would have been a competitor, let alone the winner singing a song in English co-written by an English songwriter, and ten years ago it would have seemed equally implausible that the contest in 2008 would be held in Belgrade with other parts of the former Yugoslavia involved. If the northern and western European nations are losing out on the scoreboard it is surely a very small price to pay.
Don't make excuses - back in the Iron-curtain days there was less incentive and far less competition - most of our Eurovision entries were still shit! Maybe we have no chance of winning now, and it may not survive in its current form, but I'm not at all convinced that the Eurovision Song Competition is any the worse for that. Whoever wins, and whatever the music, the fact that so many nations want to take part is probably far more important than anything.