Friday 25 May 2012

It’s all about Sweden. And Spain. And Serbia. And maybe Ukraine...


Fresh from the first run through of the final, with a chance to see and hear how the songs all work in running order and against one another, some are coming up whilst others are getting lost. The draw isn’t the most exciting start, and it’s only really when the grannies come on that things get going, which may be a worry for the casual viewer. Once it dews though it’s cracking. I’m very sorry to say that Italy isn’t quite as promising as it was, and Nina’s frock, which is silver and cut high on one thigh isn’t working. Fear not though, On Europeans, we have sent a message to her right hand man and suggested it’s changed pronto. If she does and it works we’ll pop in a bill for our commission.

Stand outs for me are Cyprus, as it’s come up so much – Ivi looks great and this is fun; Sweden, which has the real feeling of a winner as Loreen slumps down to get snowed on; and Spain which was electrifying as Pastora hit that long note – it’s a real wow moment, and a Spanish win is really – finally – a possibility I think. Serbia sounds great especially with its draw and Ukraine’s placing could see her slip into the lead too. Those of the bigger songs that didn’t really work included Turkey which sounds flat after Sweden, and Germany, which sounds flat after Spain, and whilst I think the home song is great and wonderfully well sung the projections they do onto her frock are a strange distraction and the addition of a wailing man is just incongruous. And of course, even with an early draw we still can’t really discount the grannies, though I don’t think this will actually be enough to win, but they will melt many a heart as the performance is extremely well staged.

So, what will it be? We’ll know in the early hours of Sunday local time. I might be asleep by then, I’m exhausted! There’s a party in our hotel this evening, the OGAE party moved from EuroClub due to ongoing discussions about the music policy. It appears the EuroClub organisers aren’t keen on a blanket, or even majority Eurovision playlist, which is a particularly odd thing for a fan club party and a blow to those who have travelled the distance without access to EuroClub via accreditation. The move to our gaff, and in the open air, somewhat precludes me having an early night, however...

Oh, and there is a small problem with my ticket for the live show: they are issued with names and passport numbers for security, presumably because all the president’s men will be in the good seats, an mine has the wrong name on. I’m hoping to have it in my possession tomorrow, and would like to publicly thank the OGAE UK team who have been so patient in dealing with ticketing issues. You’ve done a great job guys!

Monty x

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