I Like Albania
Many years ago I would not even have considered it, but last night I watched (and enjoyed) the Eurovision Song Contest. Engelbert did his best, but the UK strategy is hhopelessly out of touch. The overall standard was pretty high, in terms of the artists, presentation and content.
These days the contest is largely without the kind of dribble that was so commonplace, and in which the UK excelled (eg Boom Bang a Bang etc etc etc).
The contest is an ideal opportunity for artists from some of the smaller countries to get widespread exposure. I learned about new (to me that is) artists that I would like to know more about, and who I would never have heard of otherwise.
It was annoying to hear the bitchy Woganisms from Graham Norton. Most of his comments were stupid and irritating. However his insulting refernces to Rona Nishliu (who represented Albania) and the Danish performers (in which he made a comment about lack of hygiene) was totally out of order. In both case it was because they looked alternative. I imagine that he (or rather the BBC) thought he could get away with this, because they are not known in this country. Would he have made similar comments about Grace Jones? Somehow I doubt it.
Graham Norton was not the only person being ignorant last night. Apparently there were a vast number of tweets making fun of Rona’s appearance. There is nothing wrong with experimenting with different looks, and anyone that does so should be applauded for their efforts - even if one does not fully appreciate the end result (and for the record I did). More crucially, people should bear in mind that this is actually a song contest, and LISTEN. Rona Nishliu is a great performer, and I would love to see her in concert. I am glad that I became aware of this talented singer last night, and want to hear more.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=671tCjePT3w
I doubt if the style of commentary next year will be much different to this year. Maybe if the BBC and Graham Norton considered that the ‘roast beefs’ are the laughing stock of Europe, and will undoubtedly remain so, the xenophobia and misogyny might be replaced with respectful appreciation of diversity. Also worth noting is that people on the European mainland make fun of the ‘roast beefs’ lack of hygiene.