Eurovision - a game for all the family!

"It's all about me darlings!"

If the rumours are true, then Eurovision 2012 could turn out to be something of a family affair. It would appear that President Aliyeva has appointed his wife Mehriban to head the 2012 contest organising committee. There is even a whisper that his 25 year old daughter Leyla will be the presenter. Of curse none of this has been confirmed and no one has commented on exactly how qualified for any of these tasks the Aliyeva family are.

It would never have happened in Katie Boyle's day . . .

Baku to you!

Are you planning on going then? Hmm. Someone costed the planned trip to Azerbaijan next May at around £5K for the two weeks - which sounds like a lot of money. At this stage, I can't envisage the six hour plane trip to Baku and, given the time difference, settling down in the audience to watch the contest at midnight. Maybe I'm not being adventurous enough. Maybe I should throw caution - and five grand - to the wind. Not Wind, the German band I hasten to add.

Only seven months until the Swiss final . . .

Musings on Saturday night

We have a winner! I have to honest and say that, for me at least, Azerbaijan's victory is a bit ho-hum. A pleasant enough song give an Ok performance but not much more than that. Congrats to the Azeris anyway.

A lot of last night's show, I thought, was extremely good. The settings were, on the whole, inventive and eye-catching. Serbia's psychadelic offering was just this side of epilsepsy-inducing and the UK backdrop was a bit dull but other than that it was a handsome looking contest!

As ever, the results defy belief. An average and generally unrated song from Ukraine found itself in fourth place, despite Mystic Meg and her playgroup sand images. The UK threw a whole bunch of votes at Moldova's unicycling fairy. Georgia's 'headache on wheels' entry did well in spite of a vile frock and too much shouting.

Some of the favourites came a little unstuck, most spectacularly France. Amaury Vassili hit a bum note at the begining of his performance and never recovered. The favourite to win suddenly was anything but. Defending champion Lena was moody but generally found wanting whereas Blue just looked wrong in their 'accounts department' suits. Despite the hype, the UK song was just not distinctive enough to warrant a higher placing.

There were lots of contenders for the infamous Barbara Dex Award (given out annually in honour of the 1993 Belgian entrant and her grim outfit). Georgia aside, there was the bat-winged monstrosity from Hungary, the feathered nightdress from Ukraine & Slovenia's thigh length boots.

Full marks to Jedward for a spirited display, especially as one of the lads seemed to have a look of terror in his eyes on occasion.

Personally I was sad to see Switzerland finish last but delighted that Italy did so well on their return. Forza Italia!

A note to future Eurovision directors and producers though - please do not try to inject comedy into the presentation! The interaction between the three hosts in Germany was laboured to say the least. Straightforward introductions are all we need. Maybe a memo to jury spokespeople too about their bizarre antics. The Polish woman was a particular worry this year as were all the old has-beens who seemed to think that Europe knew who they were.

That's that then. We can throw the CD on the shelf with the rest, bin the scoresheets and ponder on what lies ahead in Baku 2012.

Heute abend in Düsseldorf . . .

Well, I've spent a couple of weeks following some excellent blogs (take a bow All Kinds of Everything, Schlagerblog and OnEurope) and have to admit - I'm none the wiser!

Back in the day, when I attended such things, by the end of Eurovision rehearsals, I never had a clue who was going to win. Suddenly everything sounds wonderful and everything has a chance. You spend days at press conferences, listening to enthusiastic delegates and to the singers themselves, often finding yourself warming to them all. There are some exceptions but let's not spoil the mood!

As I approach tonight's grand final, I can only ruminate on the following:

Europe - you have been warned . . .

• Blue have put in rehearsals of a varying quality so I'm not sure they can come out on top.
• Jedward are scarily popular and victory is (almost) theirs for the taking.
• France seems to be the only obstacle to an Irish victory.
• The Swedish entry is rather annoying.
• Why is Moldova in the final? Fairy on a bike? Pointy hats? Let's all shout . . . yawn.
• I used to love the Danish entry but now, for some reason, I don't.
• Lithuania's entry continues to sound like an unloved track from a forgotten musical.
• I have a sneaking regard for the Swiss entry.
• Austria's Nadine Beiler wins this year's SONIA award (the singer being far better than the actual song).
• I have no idea how old Hungary's Kati Wolf is. 28? 35? 63?
• Are the Azerbaijan act 'mother and son'?
• Ukraine. Why?
• Georgia - stop shouting. Now.
• I have ten quid on Iceland to win. Money well spent?

And so I approach this 56th contest as confused as ever. Here's wishing one and all the very best of luck and for those in attendance, a memorable and drunken after-party!

Welcome! Bienvenue! You get the message . . .

"And something like three people could be reading this blog at this moment . . ."

A cheery, cheesy hello from the latest in a long line of blogs dedicated to the weird and wonderful world of the Eurovision Song Contest - EUROVISION NETWORK! Does the name sound familiar? It may to the older (but of course, not THAT old) Eurovision fan.

Way back in the 1980s  - you remember - big shoulder pads, big hair, monetary greed, but enough of me - Eurovision Network was launched as a way of bringing like-minded fans together. For fourteen years this was achieved through a mixture of magazines, conventions and endless voting. And then it came to an end. The club had been born ina time before the internet or easy access to Eurovision material. By 2003, we all agreed that the needs of fans were being served better elsewhere - plus, after fourteen years we were all a bit jaded.

Eight years have passed and it's time for EUROVISION NETWORK to rise like a phoenix from the ashes. Or maybe a budgie from in front of a gas fire. Whatever, we are back, in blog form, rattling on about the Song Contest and any related bits.

Hope you can join us for the journey!