Euro-NoVision

Every now and then, comes a day that a lot of people will be commenting about: Christmas, elections, April’s Fool, the latest Spielberg movie release, World Cup Final, prince William’s wedding. And then, of course, the Eurovision Song Contest. The week leading to the grand final of this amazing event (please do not excuse my sarcasm) is highlighted with video-clips, comments, “good lucks”, anxiety and ridicules of “rival” countries’ songs posted all over facebook walls. On the night of the grand final of this amazing event, it is advised to avoid facebook at all costs, to prevent vomit spillage all over your computer.

So this circus that calls itself “Eurovision Song Contest” is anything else but what the title suggests. Let’s begin with the word “song”. Bad-written melodies and lyrics, mediocre singers, ridiculous outfits and dance moves, all compose songs which will be forgotten by tomorrow – or in a few weeks’ time maximum. At least, I have some appreciation for songs performed in the country’s native language, with traces of traditional music in the tune. As the years progress though, most of the songs sound more and more similar to each other – or more and more ridiculous than their precedes.

Which brings us to the word “Eurovision” and I will only say this thing: On the verge of the Euro collapsing, the whole European and Global economies going to shambles, people losing their jobs and incomes or even unable to find one to begin with, how can these countries – with debts rising faster than Berlusconi’s phallus in front of a naked chick – afford to host, organise and participate in this ridiculous contest?

Ah, contest. Here is the last of the three magical words. This contest is so much guided and manipulated by political scenarios and fake-patriotic bravados, that whatever the true, pure purpose of this competition was, it is now lost forever. Its essence is gone and there is no one able to retrieve it. And every year, the whole story is repeated, with people cheering or booing the same countries, investing their time and emotions in a cause that is no longer a celebration of music but a theatrical parody of our world’s true colours.