Should the UK withdraw from Eurovision?

[Gully]

Maybe we should give it one more go, but aim to show it up for what it really is...find a really good young female singer, give her a nice poppy song to sing and send her out scantilly dressed...then when she wins we refuse to put the show on the following year and effectively pull the plug on a show that owes more to age old hatred, allegiences and bias rather than nationality and ability. How many songs last night were sung in a language native to the country the singer represented...by my recollection it wasn't many, most were sung in English, some weren't even from the country they sang for.

 

[Giraffe]

How many songs last night were sung in a language native to the country the singer represented

8 apparently, my wife was counting

Although as I pointed out does the Irish one count? Could barely distingusih an accent!

 

[Djmiles]

Eurovision 2009

01 Norway 387
02 Iceland 218
03 Azerbaijan 207
04 Turkey 177
05 United Kingdom 173

Some people have short memories clearly.

 

[Blackadder]

trouble is the mainstream record companies will have nothing to do with it, so you would never get the likes of Robbie Williams, George Michael, Blur etc playing.

Is the right answer!

Big names would have nothing to gain (they would be expected to well) and everything to lose should they do badly.

 

[northampton_seagull]

we made electro dance pop genre, yet for some unknwon reason our entry is always some upbeat bellend who wouldnt even get in to our own top 40.

?

I've edit you post as I assumed you were describing the singer not the song

 

[Strike]

Eurovision 2009

01 Norway 387
02 Iceland 218
03 Azerbaijan 207
04 Turkey 177
05 United Kingdom 173

Some people have short memories clearly.

Well apart from that and the girl in 2002 we have constantly been bottom, or near bottom in recent years of the event. Its not the Eurovision it once was.

I like Gullys idea maybe go for it next year and call it quits block anyone int the week of Eurovision gaining access to Wembley Stadium, O2 Arena or Falmer.

 

[Mackenzie]

I don't really care if 'Royaume-Uni' gets 'nil points' if fact I think its quite funny how neighboring countries stick together (unless they're being invaded by them). One of my favorite games is guessing how many points Georgia give Russia, or Israel give Germany for example.

Harry Hill presenting is a good shout btw.

 

[SUIYHP]

No.

Why? We are British, we don't give up, we supposed to not care if we win, we just try and try again even if its impossible, Germany shared bottom with us two years ago, so now they are hated? It's not about everyone hating england, its more about we aren't trying hard enough and we've developed this psychology that europe hate us, they don't, We were a piss poor entry, last year's eurovision was PROOF that we could do well. Eurovision in the rest of the continent is one of the only few things people can relate to. If we get someone who could absolutely knock the opposition dead, we would win Eurovision. we just need to start thinking that every country will give us points rather than crossing our fingers hoping ireland will give us a couple.

 

[bhaexpress]

I believe we have to have the Eurovision song contest as it's part of an agreement with Eurovision that gives us football. However, the Eurovision song contest is a farce and has been for years bearing in mind it's not in the least be a reflection of the type of music that people buy. Apart from Abba not many winners have go far have they ? Also, look around Europe, you can count the successful artists from any country bar the UK, Eire and Sweden just about on the fingers on one foot. I never watch it and would be more than happy if it disappeared from our screens with immediate effect. I'd sooner watch a season of Big Brother.

 

[jimhigham]

Absolutely not. It's all a bit of fun and nothing more. Lighten up.

 

[Strike]

No.

Why? We are British, we don't give up, we supposed to not care if we win, we just try and try again even if its impossible, Germany shared bottom with us two years ago, so now they are hated? It's not about everyone hating england, its more about we aren't trying hard enough and we've developed this psychology that europe hate us, they don't, We were a piss poor entry, last year's eurovision was PROOF that we could do well. Eurovision in the rest of the continent is one of the only few things people can relate to. If we get someone who could absolutely knock the opposition dead, we would win Eurovision. we just need to start thinking that every country will give us points rather than crossing our fingers hoping ireland will give us a couple.

True maybe we are not like Italy and Austria, the other thing I miss about Eurovision is the close finishes you used to have like the Swiss with a little known Celine Dion edging us by 1 point in 1988 for 1st. Nowadays it seems the winner is decided halfway in the voting. Its a good laugh but think its not as fun as it once was!

!

 

[lethaldrizzle]

Jesus Christ, I can't believe how angry some people get about it. I'd be embarrassed to care that much about something that's clearly only taken seriously by a) 12 year olds or b) Eastern Europeans. Let's not put ourselves on the same level as the Italians and throw our toys out of the pram because no-one is paying us any attention anymore. Also, before getting self-righteous about the amount the BBC pays shouldn't you produce some sort of evidence that the figure is significantly more than the audience share it gets on TV justifies?

That said, I don't understand why they don't make it a Europe-wide X-Factor style audience phone vote. Surely the cash they'd make would pay for the whole thing twice over and end all the vote-fixing too?

 

[Cheshire Cat]

does anyone watch it?
does anyone care?
would anyone miss it?

 

[magoo]

yep, get out of the f***ing thing. it's only the homosexual community that enjoys it anyway for it's campness.

and the rest of europe do hate us simply because they take it seriously and we don't. we "tried" to take it seriously last year but they saw through us lol.

 

[SittingbourneSeagull]

well if we did we'd probably do quite well. i heard the UK entry and thought it was a time warp to 1987 and Rick Astley's young cousin was singing. we made electro dance pop genre, yet for some unknwon reason our entry is always some upbeat ballard which wouldnt even get in to our own top 40.

but really to the original question, should we withdraw? the answer is, should we care?

Not surprising when you see who wrote it. He needs to get back to his model train set. I would rather that we had the balls to go with someone or something that reflects the current music trend in this country. We still wouldn't win because of the political/regional voting but last night we got what we deserved. Ours was the worst entry and we came last.

 

[beorhthelm]

i think the political thing is over played. it means mediocre tunes get more votes than they deserve, but the winner is usually on merit. or something else, that Norwegian rock track that won defies explaination, but it certainly wasnt political. we served up shit this year, regardless.

 

[BensGrandad]

Sorry duplicate post as I pushed the return key too many times.

 

[chinners]

in recent years we have been shocking we shouldnt withdraw just get better

 

[BensGrandad]

The voting has nothing whatsoever to do with the quality of the song and is based entirely on political or geographical position. This is shown by the fact that Greece gave Cyprus 12 points, which was nearly all they got, and Cyprus gave Greece 12 points, but neither gave Turkey many points. The Baltic countries all vote for each other so I would suggest that either we stop the financial funding of it or if necessary pull out altogether and leave the other countries to get on with it and then see how long it lasts for.

I was told that Wogan was paid £150k to present that one show each year.

 

[cannedheat]

Just like the EU it just a joke of a show.