Eurovision - UK gets 0 points

[daodao]

There are a number of countries who are hostile to European values who shouldn't bother to participate in the Eurovision song contest, not the least because when votes are cast, they are likely (partly for political reasons and dislike by other Europeans) to receive null points (or something close to it). These include (in alphabetical order) Belarus, Israel, Russia, Turkey and the UK.

 

[Scotrail314209]

The last time we got a respectable placement in Eurovision was in 2017 with Lucie Jones.

Imo, that was probably one of our better songs since 2009. It was well received by the crowd on the night, we ended up in 15th.

 

[brad465]

No one likes them either.

While there maybe some political antics at play, the fact countries like Israel and Russia can still score relatively well despite their ongoing political problems shows it's not always about that.

The UK just doesn't put any effort into finding decent singers for it and I find it insulting that as licence fee payers, the public have no say in who gets selected any more. The BBC just send out any mediocre singer now because they probably don't want to win and see it as a joke.

With all due respect to James Newman, he had 0 chance at winning because the song had no impact nor did the performance aspect, it was all just so plain. Even Germany's number was better because the singer had tons of personality to make up for a lacklustre (and that's putting it nicely!) song.

Sweden is always the pinnacle of Eurovision to me (though can't actually recall yesterday's one) - can you honestly imagine the BBC picking a song of the level of Måns Zelmerlöw's "Heroes" or Loreen's "Euphoria"? Didn't think so.

Politics may have played some part in it IMO but not fully. 0 points in total was frankly humiliating but it wasn't just a case of "Europe hates the UK and would never vote for them".

Sweden have a very rigorous selection process via an annual competition called the Melodifestivalen, that decides their competition entrant through a process similar to how Britains got Talent (and equivalents around the world) decide their winners, with multiple semi-finals feeding into one final and a public vote decides the finalists and eventual winner. While we have that style in a way, there are far less entrants in our one these days and I feel like the competition to decide it is of a very low profile compared to the Swedish competition in Sweden.

 

[Berliner]

I think claiming it's political is a cop-out. Europe has, for some time, been a huge melting pot and immigrants from every corner are found in every other corner. Many countries share languages or similar languages and thus music tastes too. All of that helps boost certain mutual voting patterns. The fact is the UK pays to be in the final and that itself doesn't sit right with many but added to that our songs are terrible. Just bland and utterly forgettable, but most importantly, simply not in sync with what Europe likes and listens to. Also, the lack of promotion in other countries before the big night doesn't help. Many of the winners have been played for months beforehand in countries that share languages and on this occasion it was just a song that was liked. The fact we got nothing from the professional judges was telling as that was introduced to balance out political voting too. The year did well, with Jade, I think her name was, we came 5th or thereabouts, that song was played in other countries beforehand. The year we sent Scooch, flying the Union Jack on the stage and prancing about doing salutes, we, unsurprisingly, came 3rd last. The insulting comments from Amanda Holden about not knowing what language she was speaking just summed up Britain's attitude toward Europe and that won't have gone down well at all. Who on Earth thought that was appropriate?

So unless the rules change to not allow any of the entrants to have their songs played anywhere publically before the show, thus making it a completely fair competition based entirely on what is liked on the night, the UK should maybe spend some time tapping into what kind of songs are actually enjoyed in other countries. Then again, even if we did win, all we would see would be the same people moaning about us not winning, then complaining about the cost of it all and how it's a waste of money!

 

[HST274]

My defence is that @Robert Pow used the word 'rob', but I take the point

Whoops

 

[MotCO]

So unless the rules change to not allow any of the entrants to have their songs played anywhere publically before the show, thus making it a completely fair competition based entirely on what is liked on the night, the UK should maybe spend some time tapping into what kind of songs are actually enjoyed in other countries.

The other option is for the professional judges to listen to the songs 'blind', so that they do not know which country they represent. That should remove any political element in their voting patterns.

 

[Darandio]

The other option is for the professional judges to listen to the songs 'blind', so that they do not know which country they represent. That should remove any political element in their voting patterns.

Providing we keep doing what we have been in recent years our song would still stick out by a mile.

 

[Gloster]

The other option is for the professional judges to listen to the songs 'blind', so that they do not know which country they represent. That should remove any political element in their voting patterns.

The opportunities for skullduggery or accusations of it are enormous and it would probably lead to World War III. I am sure that would suit several countries.

 

[Berliner]

The other option is for the professional judges to listen to the songs 'blind', so that they do not know which country they represent. That should remove any political element in their voting patterns.

The whole contest could be held that way. The winning country is revealed at the end, thus making it a true song contest where the best song wins.

Of course, these days, within minutes of going live the identities and nationalities of all contestants would be known and all over the internet, so it would be impossible.

 

[JonasB]

Sweden have a very rigorous selection process via an annual competition called the Melodifestivalen, that decides their competition entrant through a process similar to how Britains got Talent (and equivalents around the world) decide their winners, with multiple semi-finals feeding into one final and a public vote decides the finalists and eventual winner. While we have that style in a way, there are far less entrants in our one these days and I feel like the competition to decide it is of a very low profile compared to the Swedish competition in Sweden.

We certainly do. Here is one of the semifinals from 2014. They are performed with a live audience, and the final is usually held at Friends arena in Stockholm, one of the largest arenas in Sweden. The winner is usually decided through a mix of public votes and jury votes. And it is far from low profile.

 

[Loppylugs]

The other option is for the professional judges to listen to the songs 'blind', so that they do not know which country they represent. That should remove any political element in their voting patterns.

Wouldn't that mean all songs would have to be sung in one language ?

 

[Spamcan81]

Wouldn't that mean all songs would have to be sung in one language ?

In that case I suggest Swahili.

 

[DarloRich]

There are a number of countries who are hostile to European values who shouldn't bother to participate in the Eurovision song contest, not the least because when votes are cast, they are likely (partly for political reasons and dislike by other Europeans) to receive null points (or something close to it). These include (in alphabetical order) Belarus, Israel, Russia, Turkey and the UK.

Only one of those score 0 points. 2 of those nations hostile to "European values" (?) scored quite well. In fairness Belarus and Turkey failed to make it past the group stage.

The fact is the UK pays to be in the final and that itself doesn't sit right with many

The winners, Italy, also paid to be in the final. Seemed to sit alright for them..............

 

[Berliner]

Only one of those score 0 points. 2 of those nations hostile to "European values" (?) scored quite well. In fairness Belarus and Turkey failed to make it past the group stage.


The winners, Italy, also paid to be in the final. Seemed to sit alright for them..............

For the first time in a very long time.

In recent times only Germany (in 2010) and Italy (in 2021) have actually won from the "big 5", so it's not exactly a common occurrence. Most of the times these countries hover around the middle or worse. It really is mostly to do with the song.

 

[JonasB]

Only one of those score 0 points. 2 of those nations hostile to "European values" (?) scored quite well. In fairness Belarus and Turkey failed to make it past the group stage.

Belarus was disqualified this year and Turkey has boycotted Eurovision since 2013. Turkey officially left because they didn't like the new voting system, but I can't be the only one to suspect that LGBT rights might have something to do with it…

 

[brad465]

Belarus was disqualified this year and Turkey has boycotted Eurovision since 2013. Turkey officially left because they didn't like the new voting system, but I can't be the only one to suspect that LGBT rights might have something to do with it…

Seeing as the new voting system was first used in 2016, that can't be the reason for boycotting years before then, so your suspicion (or something else) seems plausible. Belarus as you probably know came up with lyrics deemed political, with suspicions they were designed to stifle opposition further in Belarus, leading to an order to devise new lyrics, which again were not appropriate, leading to disqualification.

 

[Scotrail314209]

In order for the UK to actually do well, we need to go nuclear and send something completely unexpected instead of:

- Pop Music
- Ballads

Shock factor works well, as does doing the unexpected.

 

[yorksrob]

But Casualty was cancelled! (well, postponed).

Seriously is that still going ?

Charlie Fairhead must be nearing retirement.

 

[Ianno87]

Seriously is that still going ?

Charlie Fairhead must be nearing retirement.

Yep, series 35!

 

[nlogax]

There seems to be a lot of people online getting het up about the UK's dismal performance in Eurovision. I just don't get why. It's bloody hilarious. It's always hilarious.

 

[yorksrob]

Yep, series 35!

Yep, series 35!

Ah yes. Saturday night television was for me Allo Allo followed by Noels House Party.

Then beer came along !

 

[Ianno87]

There seems to be a lot of people online getting het up about the UK's dismal performance in Eurovision. I just don't get why. It's bloody hilarious. It's always hilarious.

Yes - who cares. Drink booze and laugh yourself silly. That's what it's about.

 

[nlogax]

Yes - who cares. Drink booze and laugh yourself silly. That's what it's about.

Absolutely, and it always has been.

 

[birchesgreen]

I find it interesting the number of people who profess outrage at our result then they say they've never heard our song before or watched the show for years. Yeah.

 

[duncanp]

Of course some people just have to make political capital out of this.

The irony being that the person who posted this tweet was a candidate in the elections for the Scottish parliament but she, er, failed to win enough votes to get elected.

SNP official tells Europe 'Scotland hates the UK too' after Eurovision entry flops

Rhiannon Spear, an SNP office bearer and convener of Glasgow Council's education committee, eventually apologises after backlash

www.telegraph.co.uk

A senior SNP official has apologised after telling Europe that Scotland “hates the United Kingdom too” after Britain’s entry flopped at Eurovision.

Rhiannon Spear, a Glasgow councillor and the SNP’s national women’s convener, initially defended the post on her Twitter account, which she wrote after the UK’s entry received “nil points”.

She wrote: "It's ok Europe we hate the United Kingdom too. Love, Scotland."

There have been claims that the UK’s poor Eurovision performance was partly the result of hostility towards the UK on the continent due to Brexit.

Ms Spear later urged those taking offence to “have a word with yourself” and attacked UK Government policies.

She said: "The UK has a billionaire Chancellor who won't give NHS staff a fair pay rise during a global pandemic" and claimed Boris Johnson is "more interested in lining the pockets of his Tory donors than feeding hungry children".


However, after SNP headquarters became involved, an apology was issued on her behalf and she deleted her Twitter account.

Ms Spear said: "I have now deleted this tweet about the UK's results in the Eurovision Song Contest, and apologise for any offence caused."

The 30-year-old activist is also convener of Glasgow Council’s education committee and was an SNP candidate in this month’s Holyrood elections, but was not elected.

Stephen Kerr, Scottish Conservative chief whip, said: “The mask has again slipped from the SNP and this is another example of their toxic obsession with division.

“This is abhorrent language from one of the SNP’s most prominent campaigners and a 2021 election candidate, not to mention chair of Glasgow City Council’s education committee.

“We should be teaching tolerance and inclusion, not hate and division.”

 

[J-2739]

I find it interesting the number of people who profess outrage at our result then they say they've never heard our song before or watched the show for years. Yeah.

What? I tend to find them as two separate groups of people.

 

[Sad Sprinter]

The voting in the Eurovision Song Contest is political, and has been for years.

I cannot help but think that Brexit has something to do with us getting "Nul Points" this year.

It is worth noting that the last time the UK won the Eurovision Song Contest, in 1997, was only a few days after Tony Blair won the general election, thus bringing about a more EU friendly government instead of those pesky Tories. (from the EU point of view)

The ironic thing is New Labour wanted Europe like a hole in the head.

 

[gg1]

The British entries can generally be summed up in 3 words, safe, bland and forgettable.

That is a rather generous comment. In my opinion, our song was boring, and, sadly, not performed very well on the night.

I wouldn't say that. When describing music, safe, bland and forgettable are all synonyms for boring, so you could argue I'm saying it's 3 times as boring compared to your review

The trouble is that the songs are chosen by the same types of so-called experts who decide play lists on pop radio, and who mostly cannot think beyond what they (or the music industry) have decreed is currently "trendy / fashionable". Anything outside that category has near zero chance of being chosen, or even being played on the radio.

Even when the British TV audience chose the song, they were limited to what the "experts" had allowed onto the short list.
And singers / bands with real talent, or originality, are unwilling to damage their reputations to participate, except the occasional few who are often somewhat past their sell-by date (e.g. Engelbert H.). So, I fear there is little chance of getting someone like Adele, Muse, Coldplay, etc. to produce a song for European Song Contest.

And the solution ?? I don't know. But I think we need some way to improve the way songs are chosen.

I think it's a classic case of chosen by committee, any song of substance will be disliked by at least one person on the panel so we end up with something inoffensive which will never elicit any emotional response in anyone. British Eurovision entries are to music what extra mild cheddar is to cheese.

 

[adrock1976]

In order for the UK to actually do well, we need to go nuclear and send something completely unexpected instead of:

- Pop Music
- Ballads

Shock factor works well, as does doing the unexpected.

A possibility for Sex Pistols to reform?

There was a shocking moment back in 1976 when they did the famous interview with Bill Grundy (never heard of him, but was apparently a drunken pervert). Grundy soon disappeared after that.

There again, in true punk style, would the Pistols then be accused of selling out if they were to appear on Eurovision?

 

[birchesgreen]

What? I tend to find them as two separate groups of people.

Try reading more widely, plenty of people online in various places who go on about the show is "all political now" or "not about the songs now" but then add that they haven't seen it for years.