Well, who knew it, the Eurovision Song Contest is still a thing. My memories of Eurovision date from Britain in the 1960s and 1970s, when it was generally looked on as a bit of a joke and an embarrassment. With winning songs with titles like Boom Bang-a-Bang and Ding-a-Dong, I was never totally sure whether it was serious undertaking or some kind of camp subversive conspiracy.
But I'm told it has gone through quite a renaissance, and it is now the most-watched music show in the world, boasting an audience of some 200 million, as well as being considered a bastion of inclusivity and gender rights. It's also a forum for singers and bands from obscure places like Moldova, San Marino, Azerbaijan and Latvia to get major international airplay (and don't get me started on why a "Eurovision" contest includes countries like Azerbaijan, Israel and, of all places, Australia!)
From what I can see from the above-mentioned BBC article, the songs are still pretty middle-of-the-raod and forgettable, but the contest is most definitely alive and kicking, and is regularly the scene of international political scandals. And that can't be a bad thing, can it?
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