Watching Eurovision 2008

[garyoke157]

as an expat living in Cyprus I take a lot of interest in the eastern europe and the middle east (htey're my neighbours) and I watch a lot of foreign and UK tv online.

Believe me there are still a lot of eeastern european individuals who support Russia. This year Cyprus became the first european communist led country. Our president has strong ties with Russia as do many former eastern block opposition party members.

The sad fact is that europe hasn't been the golden ticket the former block countries expected.

Many "new europeans" don't like the Brits changing attitudes to immigration. Russia tends to fuel their opinions now it's flexing it's muscles again.

The result is that the man on the street is beginning to see Russia as a friend again. Watch this space, First the Eurovision then who knows what.

 

[coventrygull]

Just as an aside, could we take the Latvian entry and turn it into a football song, it was pretty catchy!

That was my thought as well. I did sadly sit there trying to think up some footie words.

Also I think Depeche Mode should represent Britain as they are massive in Eastern Europe we would take it by storm. Time to give Martin Gore a call

 

[garyoke157]

I think the Spanish entry Chici Chici would make a good footie song lmao

 

[coventrygull]

as an expat living in Cyprus I take a lot of interest in the eastern europe and the middle east (htey're my neighbours) and I watch a lot of foreign and UK tv online.

Believe me there are still a lot of eeastern european individuals who support Russia. This year Cyprus became the first european communist led country. Our president has strong ties with Russia as do many former eastern block opposition party members.

The sad fact is that europe hasn't been the golden ticket the former block countries expected.

Many "new europeans" don't like the Brits changing attitudes to immigration. Russia tends to fuel their opinions now it's flexing it's muscles again.

The result is that the man on the street is beginning to see Russia as a friend again. Watch this space, First the Eurovision then who knows what.

That wasn't my experience in Croatia when they saw my russian visa's in my passport. Thought I was going to be taken out and shot. Yes Russia is flexing its muscle again but I can't see why countries like the baltics and the Ukraine should love them

 

[Gully]

You could turn "we are the wolves of the sea" into "we are the gulls of the sea"...that is a start

 

[Gully]

That wasn't my experience in Croatia when they saw my russian visa's in my passport. Thought I was going to be taken out and shot. Yes Russia is flexing its muscle again but I can't see why countries like the baltics and the Ukraine should love them

That is true, but the problem lies in the fact that there are people of Russian descent living in those countries who phone in to vote...that is why I incorrectly predicted that the UK would give a lot of points to Poland, based on the growth of that community here...though their song didn't do well either, perhaps they are paying the price of alligning themselves to the west...back to the sodding political voting.

 

[coventrygull]

You could turn "we are the wolves of the sea" into "we are the gulls of the sea"...that is a start

 

[garyoke157]

I agree with the Croatia thing, I found it quite daunting when they saw I came from Cyprus too. That said I did meet a lot of people disgruntled with the west aswell. I suppose the other way to look at it is the number of foreigners in each region. We have a strong Eastern Block presence here as well as many Arabs.

The Eurovision is huge in Cyprus and last year the media put the change in the Cyprus Greece Trade off vote down to the number of immigrants voting in both countries.

Bring back songs like Making your Mind Up, it seems very apt these days lol

 

[Horton's halftime iceberg]

Its about the taking part that counts!

Something needs to be done to limit the block votes of the eastern europeons, I would like to think a great song could break down these divides but unfourtunalty it seems it does'nt. Although how we can all complian after I hear we can never be relegated cause we is so special and talented bunch.

Still always bonkers TV and Wogan as ever bone dry sense of humour. Lets watch another X factor fame star get shot down in flames next year. Hurrah for Eurotrash.

 

[coventrygull]

May be we should put the effort in to writing a bloody good song and having a fairly well known group sing it instead os some has been. The trouble is that the majority in Britain see eurovision as a bit of a joke so what do we expect.

 

[garyoke157]

It's just not the same without Terry. I watched it on Cypriot tv last year and was bored out of my brain. Terry's wit makes it, which is probably why the UK hasn't taken it as seriously as most of europe in recent years.

Long Live Tel!

 

[Gully]

Maybe we should replace Terry with someone like Jonathan Ross, if he decides to hang up his microphone.

 

[garyoke157]

lmao that would be cool

 

[Theatre of Trees]

Yes Russia is flexing its muscle again but I can't see why countries like the baltics and the Ukraine should love them

They actually don't like the Russians at all as they all contain sizeable Russian minorities who the local politicians fear could undermine and destabilise the country if Russia ever did try to flex its muscles.

Latvia pop 2.7 million (27% of whom are Russian)
Estonia 1.35 million (23% are Russian or 0.35 million of the population)
Lithuania 3.35 million (5% Russian most famous being Valdimir Romanov the Hearts chairman)
Ukraine 46.3 million (18% of whom are Russian)

Which is also brings you back to the voting in Eurovision, these Russians are able to vote for their own as they don't live in Russia and hence why both Latvia and Estonia gave them 12 points. If it was political you could guarentee that neither country would give them any.

 

[garyoke157]

but surely that just backs up my argument.

In the UK how many Brits actually vote and how many ethnic minorities?

If only 5% of Brits voted and 90% of ethnic minorities voted, the vote would still go the way of the ethnic minorities.

That's what happened here and in Greece last year. Too few of the Greeks voted compared to the ethnic minorities. This year Greek Cypriots have been urged to vote for Greece for months.

 

[Horton's halftime iceberg]

If our non researched pseudo scientific anaylsis of europeon migration and voting, I have just noticed that Poland came second to last! What happened then, also don't we have millions of ex Pats living in France, Spain, Portrugal and Croatia.

 

[garyoke157]

I think the Polish question was answered in an earlier thread, they have aligned themselves with the UK. Most Brits see the Eurovision as a joke and are, therefore less likely to vote, particularly given the crap we have produced in recent years.

Add that to the fact that other european countries take the competition far more seriously than we do and you have your answer.

 

[coventrygull]

If our non researched pseudo scientific anaylsis of europeon migration and voting, I have just noticed that Poland came second to last! What happened then, also don't we have millions of ex Pats living in France, Spain, Portrugal and Croatia.

I think the trouble with the British is that they don't take it seriously. I wonder how many ex pats bothered to even watch it. To be honest even if I could have voted for the British song it still wouldn't have got my vote.

 

[garyoke157]

That's a good point, as Brits we generally have a sense of fair play, personally I thought there were a couple of songs better than our entry, and no, as an expat I didn't vote

 

[coventrygull]

That's a good point, as Brits we generally have a sense of fair play, personally I thought there were a couple of songs better than our entry, and no, as an expat I didn't vote

Shame on you sir I think it is very sad if people just vote for a country and not the song.