If I wasn’t in the States what would I have been doing in the UK?
I got asked this question by a few Americans at the Wine in the Woods event yesterday.
I paused.
I pondered.
And I replied with the utmost certainty in my voice: ‘Watching the Eurovision Song Contest.’
The Americans were confused. ‘What’s that?” they asked.
Their confusion grew as I proceeded to describe a camp, almost-60 year old ‘song’ competition held between European countries that is more about politics than music, where camp is adored and appreciated and mundane should not exist.
And as I have caught up on the show that happened last night in Denmark, one thought pestered me: I’m not sure some Americans would get this…..
Maybe I’m wrong, and all our American cousins do get it. But it seems to me to be very, very European in its approach and content, very tongue in cheek, very camp, very self-depricating….just not the sort of thing some Americans would feel comfortable with. Sure, some British don’t like it / get it, and I know Americans who love Ru Paul and drag shows and all that jazz, but there is something inherently European about this show.
I can’t imagine it ever translating well into the American market – even if Simon Cowell had a stab at it with all 50 states competing against each other. I imagine it would be a very proper, very serious contest.
Anyway, American chums, here is a taste of what Eurovision is all about….. (you may want to sit down for this).
Romania 🙂 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OV3xp5ZXSYA
The Winner: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6mnUCP6FMM
Moldova: http://www.eurovision.tv/page/multimedia/videos?id=87323
Finland (she’s promoting same-sex marriage – watch to the end!): http://www.eurovision.tv/page/multimedia/videos?id=87313
Check this link for more crazy, embarrassing and wonderfully odd moments of the show over the years.
Gawd love it, the Eurovision Song Contest!
ukdesperatehousewifeusa 
You’re spot on – most Americans wouldn’t like it and only be interested if there were a U.S. entry but then in wouldn’t be Eurovision now would it?
You missed out on the Swedish Smorgasbord, the host is a comedian and sang a fab song. I posted it on FB.
Cool!
I watched it!! It was mindblowing as usual but there weren’t so many so bad it is funny songs as usual. Lithuania scraped the bottom of the barrel though. As a cultural ambassador you need to spread the word about the Eurovision ….. Romania was as camp as Christmas but Greece were my faves!
We should co-host Emma!!
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The British often use the phrase:Only In America. This is very Only In Europe. I had wonderful times on my travels, but there is also the “Only In Europe” that we don’t want to see at home, like those pasty European males who wear Speedos and work as circus acrobats when they aren’t giving interviews to Hello magazine about what it was like being “the paramour of Princess Stephanie”; or Princess Stephanie herself, wearing black leather at the beach and smoking while she ate .And while she breastfed. Eurovision makes me think of that.
Oh lol!!!
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I don’t know about this year – it seemed like a bit of a let down, sort of matching the general austerity vibe that is going on politically. I’m an American living in Spain (for quiet a few years now) and have always enjoyed watching it, particularly to follow the Spanish entry. But this year had a lot of rather dull ballads. There were only three or four really campy songs…