The Eurovision Song Contest has attracted attention since its creation in 1956. The most successful long running music contest and most watched non-sporting television event, love it or loath it, it has left an indelible mark on European television and the music industry. In recent years, the competition has been criticised, but looking at the 2009 event, it is fair to ask if those criticisms have now been met and put to bed.
In days gone by, the Eurovision Song Contest saw some of the biggest names in international music compete, but those days slipped away through the 1980s and 1990s, along with the competition’s credibility. The competition that launched Volare, the most covered song of all time, saw household names such as Cliff Richard, The Shadows, The New Seekers, Anna Vissi, Nana Mouskouri, Olivia Newton-John, Gigliola Cinquetti, to name but a few and certainly many others as are likely to be posted by readers in the reactions section below.
The Eurovision Song Contestis credited with launching the careers of Abba, Céline Dion, Bucks Fizz and Carola, and even the interval act, Riverdance that became a global touring success. Again, many others will be mentioned by readers below.
In the 1980s and 1990s, it seemed that big names left the stage and the credibility of the competition was in decline. The wave of new and emerging nations of Europe joined the competition, often putting in efforts to secure victory that left the older competing nations in awe or simply lacking in motivation to provide competitive entries. The likes of Philip Kirkorov, Dima Bilan, Ani Lorak, Verka Serduchka, Lordi and Hari Mata Hari showed that the new nations are taking the show every bit as seriously as the United Kingdom, France, Luxembourg and Italy once did.
As the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest begins to take shape, it seems clear for the first time that the efforts and star names seem to be returning to the competition equally from East and West. Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber taking on the challenge of returning the United Kingdom to the top of the scoreboard, along with France’s coup of finding an internationally successful superstar in Patricia Kaas means that all bets are off this year as to where the competition will be held in 2010.
Spain has refined the idea of using social networking and the internet to bring mass participation to their selection process, something other countries are now looking at and Portugal has tried for the first time this year. Sweden’s hugely successful Melodifestivalen formula has been picked up in part by both Norway and Finland who have seen upturns in their own results in recent years, and are both attracting acts to their finals that would not have competed maybe two or three years ago.
The change in voting rules for the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, means that political and diaspora voting will have less impact and for the first time, seeing juries that are mandated to be music industry experts rather than simply random members of the public means that the judging process contains both democracy and credibility in equal measure. If the results of the next competition in Moscow are seen to be fair, what of 2010 and beyond?
HAVE YOUR SAY
Has the Eurovision Song Contest raised its level of credibility? Are we at the dawn of a new era of popularity and credibility across the whole of Europe? Will bigger names look to enter the competition in the future? Will the competition at last be seen as fair and balanced? What changes are still needed for the Eurovision Song Contest to be seen as the most important musical event in Europe once again? Have your say in the reactions below.
