Yesterday, for the first time in my life, I watched Eurovision from start to finish. Some of you may gasp at how I've lived my life without Eurovision, while others may have no idea what Eurovision means. For the latter, Eurovision is a fun filled, crazy evening where the nations of Europe and Australia (don't ask me why) compete in a singing competition. Every nation chooses an act to represent them in front of the continent (and Australia). Essentially, watching Eurovision is an excuse to be really judgmental....and eat lots of food. Did I find it worth the watch? Definitely.
The excitement of Eurovision had been built up throughout the day. Due to my first GCSE exam taking place in just over a week, I'd been doing lots of revision (4 hours to be precise). The curiosity about what Eurovision contained motivated my endless map mind and flash card creations. I imagined bright lights, roaring crowds, a sea of flags and wacky acts. Well, that certainly was the case. My expectations from the start were high. I expected the majority of acts to be slightly strange, but decent singers. After all, why would nations select rubbish stars to perform before over 100 million people? Each member of my family had the list of countries performing, which we praised, scathed and, most importantly, ranked out of 12. Pizza was at our fingertips, allowing a celebration of Italian culture. The lighting was perfect, the camera (or TV) was set. It was time for the action to begin... I enjoyed the brief montage of all 26 acts to begin the show. Unlike the Olympics, the opening didn't go on for 4 hours, but 10 minutes. Far more suitable. The hosts however, were another matter. Nice as I'm sure they are in real life, on Eurovision, I found them unbelievably annoying. Every time they appeared I wanted to throw the remote at the TV, instantly tweeting 'Go away!' My excitement for the songs to come made their cringey, cheesy remarks even more ghastly. Thankfully, their appearances were only occasional. The short video clips before each act were a really nice touch. It gave a wonderful impression of each country and the people taking part, however poor their singing. Portugal's (the winner) clip was aesthetically pleasing, showing a beautiful library. Armenia's clip contained a picturesque landscape, making me want to visit it as part of my future world tour. The clips weren't too drawn out, instead short, snappy and positive. Salvador Sobral, the Portuguese winner, gave an excellent, thoughtful victory speech. Instead of thanking everyone involved in Eurovision, though of course that is important, he rightfully critisised 'disposable music' and wished 'music with feelings' would return. As Sobral rightly said, his victory was a 'victory for music.' The slow melody with perfect piano backing was heartfelt and emotional. Though I couldn't understand a word of the lyrics, that wasn't important - emotion is universal. And Britain? Well, Lucie Jones could certainly sing, if nothing else, which already puts her above previous UK entries. She came 15th, our best ranking since 2011 and received 111 points, our best score since 2009. Even the Brexit shenanigans didn't prevent the UK's somewhat successful result. While the UK will depart from the EU in 2 years, I'm sure we'll be in Eurovision for many years to come. Bring on Lisbon!
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