The content of this editorial does not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of ESC United, its editorial board or its readers. A couple of days ago the European Broadcasting Union announced that they would tighten measures to ensure voting integrity. I am not going to repeat everything that has been said so feel free to read more HERE as well …
Is Eurovision Culturally and Politically Irrelevant? (No, of course not)
The content of this editorial does not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of ESC United, its editorial board or its readers. Last week I discussed why I thought many Balkan countries were not participating in Eurovision this year. I recently saw an interview with Srđa Trifković, a Serbian-American writer, about Eurovision on RT.com (you can read excerpts or watch …
ESC 2014: Where are the Balkan countries?
The content of this editorial does not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of ESC United, its editorial board or its readers. One of our editors just wrote an article about the number of participants and I agree that it’s unfortunate we’re only going to have 36 countries this year, regardless of the reasons. Eurovision, in my opinion, is about …
36 countries? Ouch!!! (That hurts!!)
The content of this editorial does not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of ESC United, its editorial board or its readers. This morning, the EBU announced that 36 will take part in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark. This number may or may not go up as Slovenia was given a ten day extension to find a …
The Language Rule: How much does English help?
The content of this editorial does not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of ESC United, its editorial board or its readers. Starting in 1999, the EBU allowed countries to sing in any language, whereas before songs had to be in a country’s native language(s). Because English is a widely spoken second language, the older rule gave an unfair advantage …
Eurovision Voting: How Do Televoters Decide?
Since Eurovision is a competition, it’s safe to assume the point is to win. Accordingly, it’s important to consider what makes a winning song and that, of course, depends on the televote and jury vote. So my question is: what motivates peoples’ votes? There’s so much talk about Eurovision being biased and political but there doesn’t seem to be much …
Editorial: Turkey’s withdrawal seems insincere
The content of this editorial does not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of ESC United, its editorial board or its readers. You can follow the author on twitter https://twitter.com/MattDouzePoints Since the new millennium began, Turkey has been one of the most successful countries in the Eurovision Song Contest. Sertab Erener managed to win the contest in 2003 and manga …
Editorial: Conchita Wurst brings out the worst of the ESC fandom
The content of this editorial does not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of ESC United, its editorial board or its readers. Once news broke on Twitter of Conchita Wurst’s participation in Copenhagen for the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest, I immediately knew that I could expect tons of unwarranted hatred for Austria’s choice. When someone who doesn’t look like the …
Conchita Wurst and the Eurovision Gimmick – Friend or Foe?
The content of this editorial does not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of ESC United, its editorial board or its readers. Less than 24 hours ago, it was leaked that Austria will be represented by the gender-bending act known as Conchita Wurst. And within those 24 hours, Conchita has managed to stir up quite a bit of commotion amongst …
Eurovision Cheating Scandal Intensifies: What Must Be Done
Just when you thought things were starting to die down, the Eurovision Song Contest vote rigging controversy saga adds another piece of anonymously sourced information to an already long list of allegations. Torbjörn Wester of Swedish news organization Skånska Dagbladet reported Sunday on an undisclosed source from a national delegation at the 2013 contest who revealed new information about the cheating …