It seemed as though not much was happening Eurovision-wise, at least as far as the adult version was concerned but then it all exploded twelve days ago. The above document, the Public Rules, was released (Public Rules of 61st ESC) and Jon Ola Sands attended the Host City 2015 Conference, admitting the following:
41? That was a bit of a jump from the 39 already confirmed - all the usual suspects from last year except cash-strapped Portugal, plus Ukraine and Bulgaria returning (or so we thought, it's still uncertain as far as Bulgaria is concerned). Of course, the rumour mill started immediately - would these guys be back?
"But the EBU said that they would only be here for the 60th ESC, that they'd only appear in 2016 if they won"
Remember that sentiment earlier in the year, probably all meant in earnest to placate any dissention by the Eurovision fans and participating broadcasters? A lot of people believed it and to be honest, having Australia there in Vienna worked really well. They went for it big time, sent someone high profile who could sing and write his own excellent material, they made lots of friends and came a very respectable fifth in their first ESC. Not low enough to be a disaster, not high enough to really annoy the purists and as we all thought at the time, not a win so no 2016 for the guys 'down under'....
Job done...nice anniversary twist...back to normal in 2016...
Or so everyone thought. Until 17th November...
Is Australia really a WILDCARD now?
It is highly likely that they no longer are. Maybe they will now be regular entrants, granted full EBU status, with a guaranteed slot in the SF (a good move to soften this blow to the purists, Jon Ola), option to dip in and out as every country has now. There has been no mention of their continued participation past 2016 but given the turnaround after Vienna, I believe that the Aussies are here to stay at Eurovision. It will be interesting to see, however, what the response will be from the Aussie public is if their next act DOESN'T qualify for the Final, seeing there is now no guaranteed slot for the Saturday night. Another pop heavyweight is a sure-fire guarantee to make sure this nightmare scenario doesn't happen. I would be very surprised if Sweden doesn't fall over itself to welcome our new 'regular' country and endeavour to help them reach the Final.
For me, this was the LEAST unexpected announcement there could be this year - I have no real opposition towards Australia participating regularly. As a Brit there are advantages - similar cultural ties, possibility of building up a new 'cultural link' as far as voting is concerned and the probability of a new 'us and them' battle as we already have in sport. Ironically, we might recognise the entrant from Australia more than the one from our own country in Stockholm! A lot of people are annoyed with the EBU for going back on their word concerning this issue - as a 48 year old ever-cynical 'citizen of the world', such u-turns are now totally expected and in a way totally understandable. Everything in the internet age is global, not regional - I am not surprised that a major brand such as Eurovision, the biggest Song Competition in the WORLD (remember we all say that each year?), and the organisation behind it, feels the need to expand, open up new markets and attract new fans and viewers. I can almost equate this to Formula 1 - the old European based competition has been superseded by a worldwide show, race tracks across the globe and a fan base to match. Maybe the 60th ESC was a 'watershed moment' - the Contest that saw the start of a move towards globalisation from the 'European' norm...
Secondly and probably the most surprising of the recent Eurovision news was that Germany were the next nation to announce their artist to go to Stockholm. This is Xavier Naidoo:
As soon as the announcement was made, however, there was a major uproar within the nation - partly because there will be no NF this year (the first time since Lena defended her Eurovision crown in 2011) but mainly because of what Xavier has said and done in the past, with regards to possible homophobic and nationalistic comments and behaviour. The whys and wherefores have been covered to death already by Eurovision journalists over the last few days but one of the most balanced articles I had read was here - context is everything and we have seen many times that quotes in interviews and words in songs can be viewed however you want to read them. Not being German and knowing all the facts, I had hoped that this was all a 'storm in a teacup' and that maybe ARD/NDR had put the selection out early to get all of these issues sorted way before the Eurovision season started properly. Eurovision Germany would have been hoping that everyone would be concentrating on the bit that the public COULD decide on this year - the actual song itself that would be sung in Stockholm. Six songs were to be selected for a National Song Final and the public to choose, with university art students getting involved to create the nation's stage show in Stockholm. To be honest, a lot of German Eurovision fans will have be looking for an assured live performance with a solid vocal that propelled Germany up the scoreboard come May next year - maybe something like this:
However, the shock news today (Saturday 21st November) by NDR, the official broadcaster, was this:
And this translates into English:
"Xavier Naidoo is a brilliant singer who is, according to my own opinion, neither racist nor homophobe. It was clear that his nomination would polarise opinions, but we were surprised about the negative response. The Eurovision Song Contest is a fun event, in which music and the understanding between European people should be the focus. This characteristic must be kept at all costs. The ongoing discussion about Naidoo could harm the image of the Eurovision Song Contest. This is why Naidoo will not represent Germany. We will quickly decide now, how the German entry for the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest will be found".
48 hours and Germany have gone from being the fifth nation to announce their artist to becoming almost a laughing stock again with Eurovision! After Andreas Kümmert relinquished his chance to represent his nation live on television after the landslide victory earlier this year, picking an established artist and just having a song selection process must have made NDR feel on safer ground. The backlash that has gone on over the past two days on social media and national press, with the offending videos and speeches being posted for all to see together with his previous links to a nationalistic organisation, became too much, even at this early stage of the 2016 Eurovision season (Stockholm is still over FIVE months away), for NDR to cope with and accept. They decided to withdraw Xavier's invitation. The questions I would pose to be deliberated upon are:
Were NDR not aware or really expecting the animosity towards Xavier Naidoo?
and
Will German Eurovision fans now accept anyone else gladly?
Are Germany's hopes in Stockholm already over?
Are Germany's hopes in Stockholm already over?
To be honest, I wondered if NDR could have 'ridden the wave' and waited a week or so before making such a decision. Their song selection process will not start until the New Year and with a decent PR machine they might have been able to placate critics to a degree, much in the same way as Aram Mp3 and Mans Zelmerlow both overcame comments about homosexuality made in past interviews. That side of things might have been doable but I suspect the major issue was the previous support for 'Reichsbürgerbewegung', people who believe that modern-day Germany should not exist within its current borders but revert back to the territory the Reich (yes, really - 78 years on) held in 1937. As some German Eurovision fans have pointed out to me, this would be the 'hot potato' for Germany amongst international journalists and politicians - maybe NDR big-wigs realised this too over the past couple of days. Xavier has since indicated that he was asked a few MONTHS ago by ARD/NDR to represent Germany and he accepted then, as he does their 'unilateral decision' to change their mind. Two days as a Eurovision entrant will not hurt his career as far as his fans are concerned and I suspect he might be financially compensated for the turnaround. You'd have thought that someone in the broadcasting corporation might have made some background checks earlier and quietly have asked Naidoo to step aside LONG BEFORE announcing it to the world! And we think that we make poor decisions about Eurovision here in the UK...
So four entrants became five but quickly went back to four again - maybe I should have not bothered with this relatively minor episode in the grand scheme of things Eurovision-wise but once you start with a story, you just have to finish it...
-------------------------------------------------------------
And Finally (as they would say at the end of the ITV News At Ten, in other words something a little lighter)...
Some Eurovision artists are more communicative with their fans than others - the delightful Suzy from Portugal being no exception! She is one of those people that seems to love being around people who enjoy what she does - from Eurovision itself to the recent OGAE Spain event - and is even happy to reply to jokey quips by certain people:
Will there be any more news about Eurovision over the next few weeks? Will we have any more internal selections before the first NF? There is one certainty...
The JESC will soon be over - just a month until Albania's NF...