December 22: Anna Mjöll

One of my universal truths is this: nice is a bad idea at Eurovision. Nice won't do. People enjoy nice things, but nice will never stand out and nice will never win.

Nobody votes for nice.

Iceland has had a bad case of nice for the last couple of years, where most of their entries have been sweet, lighthearted and inoffensive. It goes some way but never far enough.

This little ditty is a good case for my point. Everything here is very enjoyable; Anna Mjöll is a terrific performer whose company feels like a treat, the homemade dance moves, the infectious rhythm that is the result of Blame it on the Bossa Nova meets a geyser or two. I have a very good time for the two minutes and fifty seconds that this goes on.

And - mark my words - at Eurovision this wouldn't have gone anywhere. A few polite points from here and there and that would be it. Anna Mjöll represented Iceland in 1996 with an equally nice entry and ended up in the very middle of the result.



Anna Mjöll / Eins og skot (Iceland NF 1993)

December 5: Mieke

Every country has its singing stars. The ones that everybody knows, the ones that are always invited everywhere and the ones whose albums are always met with anticipation and enthusiasm.

Then there is that other large group of singers that sort of make up the larger mass. The ones who sing when the stars are fully booked. The ones that sing in smaller venues. The ones who record songs more in the hope of getting heard on the radio rather than aiming at the charts.

If I understood things right, Mieke clearly belongs to the second group. She has been around for many years, she is well liked and she sings well. People like her but she wouldn't sell out a large concert hall on her own.

In 1993, all of that could have changed, had the Belgian jury been more perceptive. Mieke made it through the semi finals with this old-fashioned but seriously well-crafted schlager. Given that the eventual winner scored a meagre three points in Millstreet, Mieke would surely have done better. Maybe that would have upgraded her local star status a bit? It's a good song either way.



Mieke / Waarom zou er vrede zijn (Belgium NF 1993)

Runner-up: United Kingdom 1993

It was a popular formula for the BBC: employ one famous act to perform all the songs in the national final. Great visibility for the singer and they were sure to send a big name to the international final.

How big a name Sonia was could possibly be debated, but she had been a Stock-Aitken-Waterman starlet with a couple of hit singles under her belt. Now she had new producers and needed a fresh reboot for her career.

I have no idea what she really thought about the songs she was set to perform. Previous UK entrants had complained about their lack of artistic control and several of them publicly stated their dislike for the entries they had to perform at the ESC.

Sonia's song was the same old UK eurovision song - a moderately updated version of a 60's-esque kind of pop song - but she really belted it out like her life depended on it and really made it work on the night.

A deserved 2nd place?
Well, why not? There were better songs in the running but Sonia give it one hell of a performance, and that alone could be worth a couple of 12-pointers.



Sonia - Better The Devil You Know (United Kingdom 1993)

Fingers crossed for Slovenia

It was so close that we wouldn't have Slovenia present in Copenhagen, but in a surprise move they decided not only to participate but also to organise a national final.

That's an unexpected twist, but I am genuinely happy to have Slovenia in the competition. I have always been very fond of their entries even if they, like an ex-Yugoslav equivalent of Finland, have a hard time getting anyone to vote for them.

I haven't listened to the songs for tonight's EMA but wish them the best of luck. Also very much like Finland, they have been notorious for not selecting the best songs on offer through the years, but that is no excuse for not getting it right this time.

I'm hoping for a song that could make it into the final again, but in my book it is still worth more being good than being successful. Like their first ever entry - possibly still my favourite Slovenian entry - which was melodic, original, colourful and scored a grand total of nine points.



1 X Band - Tih deževen dan (Slovenia 1993)

Belgium: is it Petra's turn?

Sanna Nielsen has tried and tried and maybe this is her time lucky in Sweden. In Belgium, there is a candidate who has tried fewer times but for a longer period of time.

Petra gave it her all and was often best in show. But did Flanders vote for her? Nope.



Petra - Ga door (Belgium NF 1993)

A nifty choreography and ice-cream hairdos? Nah, Belgium preferred to send off a quiet little ballad that not only ended last in Millstreet but also will remain associated with a dubious sense of fashion forever.



Petra - Diep in mijn huid (Belgium NF 1999)

So Petra went all sophisticated and offered a smooth and catchy little pop song with a tasteful change of language in the end. Belgium turned a blind eye to the whole package and sent off a stylish but unspectacular little lullaby instead.



La Sakhra - Wonderland (Belgium NF 2006)

I'm not even going to pay attention to Petra's attempt to bring some life to an outright hopeless entry in the 2000 Walloon final by choreographing and providing backing vocals to a song that obviously would not make many people happy. Six years later, she reinvented herself as La Sakhra and came really close to winning the whole thing. Unfortunately a certain Kate Ryan would stand in her way and go to Athens to defend the Belgian banner (with moderate success).

I was very happy to see Petra back in business this year. In the audition shows where hopeful singers performed old eurovision entries in order to secure a spot in the final, Petra blew the judges away and won her heat.

We haven't heard her song yet, but wouldn't it be nice to finally see this talented woman in a Eurovision final? Her own version of All Kinds Of Everything - suitably dealing with the ordeal of entering over and over without winning - is certainly worthy of a gold star in the margin.



Petra - All Kinds Of Everything

Preview clip: Bosnia-Herzegovina 1993

In the ever-smiling glamourous world of television entertainment, the debut entry of Bosnia-Herzegovina arrived like a punch in the stomach. While everyone else chose their stage outfits and perfected their dance routines, the Bosnian delegation risked their lives to travel to Millstreet.

At the airport they were shot at while boarding the plane and even before that, they had put their lives at stake filming a preview from Sarajevo under siege.



Fazla - Sva bol svijeta (Bosnia-Herzegovina 1993)

There had been traces of reality making its way into eurovision also before this: there had been songs about the fear of nuclear war, about pollution of the planet, about the Cyprus conflict. But suddenly it all became very tangible during these three minutes that the Bosnian preview lasted.

Fazla had won a national final held in studio with sub-zero temperature in the partially destroyed tv-house of Sarajevo. They had to film their preview after sunset, so that the snipers in the surrounding mountains wouldn't spot them so easily. They had to borrow petrol from the army to run a spare aggregate for the cameras to work.

"To survive, we need food also for our souls" said Bosnian head of delegation Ismeta Krvavac in response to why they put so much effort into participating at eurovision during such troubled times.

In Millstreet, Fazla sang well but came across as a bit cold, serious and static. The urgent feeling of reality that had been very present in the preview got a bit lost and Bosnia-Herzegovina had to content themselves with a 16th place and twenty-seven points, twelve of which came from Turkey.



Fazla - Sva bol svijeta (Bosnia-Herzegovina 1993)

Absent friend: Bosnia-Herzegovina

It has only been twenty years since they made their debut as an independent country, but yet Bosnia-Herzegovina feels like an old friend indeed. Possibly because of the incredible transformation they went through in front of our very eyes.

They started out as a war-torn country - a small miracle in itself that they managed to take part during the civil war - that impressed people by their sheer presence and perhaps gained the occasional sympathy vote.



Fazla - Sva bol svijeta (Bosnia-Herzegovina 1993)

Then peace came. The country had a change of flag and constitution and set out to re-invent themselves. After a few confused years where ambitious national finals ended in tactical (political) voting and not particularly user-friendly winners, Bosnian television started selecting most of their entries internally. A very good move, indeed.



Deen - In The Disco (Bosnia-Herzegovina 2004)

Suddenly, Bosnia-Herzegovina turned into one of the bravest pupils of the entire class. A chrysalis-to-butterfly that set new artistic standards and often challenged the idea of what the perfect eurovision entry should look and sound like.

Many of their entries were more like short pieces of conceptual art rather than typical pop songs, often conveying some sort of message at some level. The often quite reserved grand public let themselves be amused and Bosnia never missed a final since the implementation of the semi finals.



Laka - Pokušaj (Bosnia-Herzegovina 2008)

Then suddenly, like a flash of lightning out of a clear blue sky, there were news from Sarajevo that Bosnia would not take part in Malmö. So, what are the reasons for this?

Lack of money was the official reason. The Bosnian delegations have been travelling light lately with very few people apart from the participants, but curiously enough the local broadcaster declined several offers from various parties willing to sponsor the participation.

Lack of enthusiasm could be another factor. Rumours have it that Bosnian tv had to struggle finding acts that were willing to do the ESC and that would at the same time match the high artistic standards they had set for themselves. The withdrawal could be a warning shot for the local artists - unless they contribute there will be no participation.

Then again, I can't shake the political suspicion I've felt at the back of my head. The Bosnian withdraval was announced at the same time as Turkish one and explained with equally vague reasons. Is Bosnia absent to back up the Turkish absence? And will the Bosnians be back even if Turkey stays out?

This is just a thought. I have no evidence in this case. I'm just thinking out loud. If anyone knows better, please enlighten me. Feel free to discuss this matter in a comment.

Regardless, I hope there will be a change of tune in Sarajevo soon. I think Bosnia-Herzegovina should be winning and hosting instead of withdrawing. And that's my final word.



Hari Mata Hari - Lejla (Bosnia-Herzegovina 2006)

Absent friend: Portugal

Eurovision 2013 is shaping up to be quite a good year with a solid selection of songs, perhaps not the strongest edition ever but more than acceptable.

Too bad then that there are several good friends from the past who decided, for various reasons, to give the Malmö party a miss. I thought I'd lend some of them a thought, at least. To show them they are not forgotten.

Portugal being absent isn't really a big shock, there were indications already last year that the budget of RTP might not allow any kind of excesses. As far as I can understand, they plan on being back as soon as the figures have improved.

Portugal has the less than flattering distinction of being the country with the biggest number of participations and no victory - but they have had some really good entries through the years.



Anabela - A cidade até ser dia (Portugal 1993)

Already from an early age I had an ear and an eye out for the underdogs of the contest, the countries whose songs stood out but kept scoring poorly, and was happy whenever they did a bit better than expected. I was cheering when Anabela got two top marks during the voting, but still would have wanted this very sweet song to do even better.

But regarless what the Portuguese opted for, the juries remained unimpressed. Ballads got thumbs down as well as this truly bang-up-to-date pop number from Dora.



Dora - Não sejas mau p'ra mim (Portugal 1986)

Well, whatever the Portuguese say or do, the remain the only country to date to ever enter a piece of revolutionary socialist disco. That must be worth something.



Os Amigos - Portugal no coração (Portugal 1977)

During the days of the Portuguese dictatorship, the local musicians and intellectuals gladly made use of this naive and innocent song contest in order to whip up some controversy and - if possible - protest about the regime without the censorship picking up too much of it.

Maybe it didn't result in fantastic scores or high placings, but it created some really original and engaging songs, most of which really should have done better.



Simone de Oliveira - Desfolhada portuguesa (Portugal 1969)

These are just a few of my personal favourites - I could easily have added at least ten more - and I really hope Portugal soon will burst back into the ESC in top form. I know they have it in them - it was only three years ago that they contributed a masterpiece like this.

And typically for Portugal it should have scored much better.



Filipa Azevedo - Hà dias assim (Portugal 2010)

France goes World

Up until the early 80's, France owned the Eurovision in many ways. They had a very distinct formula that most of their entries kept close to, and they almost exclusively landed among the five best placed songs every year.

In the 80's, however, the formula grew tired and the votes stopped coming in. France Télévisions (or Antenne 2 as the channel was still called) first scrapped the national final, then decided to depart from anything France had ever sounded like before.

In 1990, the head of entertainment Marie-France Brière called up the mythical Serge Gainsbourg and asked him to create another eurosong - twenty-five years after winning with "Poupée de cire, poupée de son" - and he brought in a very exotic element indeed.

Joëlle Ursull was part of the zouk movement - exotically flavoured music from the Caribbean - and she was taken in to perform "White And Black Blues", a song rending hommage to the diversity and colourfulness of the French population.

France, who in all fairness never cared much for minorities and such through history, found themselves pushing the limits for how you could look and sound at Eurovision. The likes of Turkey, Greece and Yugoslavia had tried being exotic, but when an established country like France did the same thing - then the votes started flowing in. See the live performance here.



Joëlle Ursull - White And Black Blues (France 1990)

This was the start of something new and given the commercial success of "White And Black Blues", the French decided to push the limit even further. Given the tension surrounding the current Gulf War, it was a strike of genius to select Tunisian-born Amina to perform a distinctly Arab-flavoured song that contemplated the world order in a quiet, understated way.

The new formula worked again, and Amina was only a tiny rule paragraph away from winning the whole thing in Rome. See the live performance here.



Amina - C'est le dernier qui à parlé qui à raison (France 1991)

By 1992, more countries had picked up on the exotic vibe, making rastaman Kali stand out less with his creole entry in Malmö. Some negative publicity, emerging from some not too cleverly formulated statements given by the performer, may also have been the reason for a slight decline compared to the previous years. And honestly, maybe this song was slightly less striking as well.



Kali - Monté la riviè (France 1992)

It might look like France tried to go back to their old formula a bit in 1993, but selecting a song partially in a national minority language was, in fact, a statement in its own right. The song fared well at Eurovision, less so in the charts, but the performer was to carve a solid place in French showbiz in the coming years.




Patrick Fiori - Mama Corsica (France 1993)

The two following years, France2 (the new name given to Antenne2 in 1993) explored other musical landscapes, but were back on the etno track in 1996 - now putting a more serious emphasis on minority matters as the French entry - for the first time - was performed completely in a minority language - Breton.

It was a clever idea, given the Irish domination as well as the Celtic flavour of the 1995 Norweigan winner, but the selected song was ultimately too thin to break through to the juries. This was the first real French flop at Eurovision for ten years.




Dan Ar Braz & L'Héritage des Celtes - Diwanit bugale (France 1996)

The last entry to date selected by France2 (but we didn't know it yet at that time) was another truly exotic offering. Legend has it, it was favoured by the channel after one of the old masters of television entertainment (Pacal Sevran) openly called the song unsuitable for Eurovision.

Maybe the old monsieur was not all wrong, after all. 1998 was the first year when televote was in (almost) full use, and what had impressed the juries did not necessarily work with the viewing audience. Despite enthusaistic reviews from the press, the French entry crashed and burned, ending second last.



Marie Line - Où aller (France 1998)

Since then, France has gone in different directions, again trying to broaden the idea of what a eurovision entry could look and sound like. But one thing is for sure - culturally, the importance of these French entries in the 90's could not be over-estimated. They helped breathing new life into the Eurovision formula, as well as promoting less square and uniformly "european" expressions on stage.

Hats off to France - it didn't get them a victory, but in the long run it did change the public perception of what was possible to get away with and not. Well done.

Song Of The Day: Netherlands 1993

Many moons ago, the world looked mighty different in many ways. Imagine the Netherlands being a progressive, exciting and interesting competitor - a competitor that would send in progressive, exciting and interesting songs, sung by impressive performers.

Hard to picture after some ten years of Treble, Re-Union, Sieneke and Toppers.

But once upon a time, the Dutch were determined to make a difference and decided to enter a splendid artist like Ruth Jacott. Not only, they also dressed her up with a song like "Vrede".

Maybe it didn't age all that well, but back in 1993 it was shockingly modern for Eurovision. The song incorporated modern elements and Ruth wrapped it up in a warm and sensual air of sparkle and sexiness, back in the day when sexy didn't necessarily mean "minimal outfit".

I would be so happy if the Dutch would find that sparkle again, burst through to the final and achieve their best placing since 1993. So happy. Not to mention so surprised.



Ruth Jacott - Vrede (Netherlands 1993)

Tobson's Winners: 1991 - 1995

Seriously, there had been some downhill ever since the early 80's, as commercial success started to evade the contenders. The winners didn't necessarily have any serious impact on the charts around Europe, not to mention that fewer and fewer of the non-winners found success internationally (or domestically).

But in the early 90's, the downhill turned into free falling. The contest failed to attract modern sounds and new styles, and, added the juries' clear inability of finding commercial winners, Eurovision soon turned into a big has-been of an event.

Some countries still wanted to win it and host it, some countries made the sporadic effort to modernise and update their national selections, but the ratings were dropping to all time lows in most countries.

Ireland's win-athon, with four victories in five years, did nothing to improve things. When a country like Ireland failed to chart internationally with their winners, what could countries like Switzerland, Greece or Belgium hope for?

However, the thing that would eventually save the old contest came in through a back door, not being hugely popular at the time. But with the new countries, "the Eastern bloc", came a real breathe of fresh air and a will to keep the ESC alive.

1991 - Greece



Sophia Vossou - Anixi (Greece 1991)

More of a monument than a simple song, this elegant creation with its delicate verses and explosive verses is an evergreen in Greece. On home ground, they can not still quite grasp how it didn't fare better than 13th.

I can only agree. What were the juries thinking? (And did the Greek delegation give the saxophone player the beating he deserved after ruining his solo like that, or did they let him get away?)

Greece really made an effort in the early 90's before realising nothing was to come out of it, that the juries would never go their way, and threw in the towel.

Real winner:
Carola - Fångad av en stormvind (Sweden)


1992 - Greece



Kleopatra - Olou tou kosmou i elpida (Greece 1992)

1992 does in no way offer the strongest line-up ever, but it does offer more quality Greek drama than any other year. In fact, my personal runner-up this year is the very intense delivery Evridiki did for Cyprus.

But the Greek entry is again like a modernised tragedy with a drum beat, Kleopatra is like a Medea with a taste for Bond themes.

Elegant, convincing and, above all, catchy and very modern-sounding compared to most songs in competition. Not unimportant during these years.

Real winner:
Linda Martin - Why Me?


1993 - Norway



Silje Vige - Alle mine tankar (Norway 1993)

A soft little ballad with a bouzouki flavour was not what the contest needed at this time, really.

The best move would have been if one of the two really modern entries could have won. If the Spanish rap-sprinkled pop fest would have sounded as updated as it wanted to. If Dutch Ruth Jacott could have been a bit more easily accessible.

But Silje Vige's soft little plea for love (of the very platonic kind girls only want when their fathers wrote their lyrics) is so pretty that I shiver and go to pieces a bit.

Nothing short of wonderful.

Real winner:
Niamh Kavanagh - In Your Eyes


1994 - Poland



Edyta Górniak - To nie ja! (Poland 1994)

The year when Ireland completed its famous (infamous?) hat-trick and scored its third consecutive win, there were a couple of other winners that would steal the thunder from the Rock'n'roll Kids.

Riverdance, of course. The spectacular interval act that set out to conquer the world in its own right.

But also the countries from the East. Seven of them were let into competition, after a few years of EBU hesitation.

They were all to mark the future of the ESC in many ways, and on this first edition three of them impressed Europe and made top ten. Russia ninth, Hungary fourth and Poland second.

Of course, the Polish Mariah Carey should have won with her powerful chorus and flawless delivery. But Eurovision wasn't ready just yet.

Real winner:
Paul Harrington & Charlie McGettigan - Rock'n'roll Kids (Ireland)


1995 - Poland



Justyna - Sama (Poland 1995)

Poland really gave eurovision their best during the 90's. Few countries sent in entries as headstrong, as obstinate, as original.

Justyna was a real shocker of an entrant, opening the 1995 contest with her odd mixture of a beat, weird strings and high-pitched notes. A Swedish tabloid described it like "a Björk track played in reverse".

Complete with a dark set of lyrics full of doom, depression and Catholic imagery, this was the very opposite of what a eurosong should sound like in the mid-90's.

Poland sent it in anyway, convinced that quality would bring them success in the end. What they got was 15 points and an eighteenth place.

Well done, juries.

Real winner:
Secret Garden - Nocturne (Norway)

Scoreboard extravaganza: Irish variations

In the 90's, Ireland won Eurovision four years out of five consecutive years (which, frankly, made me develop a certain allergy towards Irish entries which lasted for at least ten years after their last victory) and also made history by hosting it after each victory.

In the past, countries had always handed over the task of hosting to someone else had they won two years in a row (or even if they won too often - Netherlands gave it up after winning in 1959, France after winning in 1962).

What surprised me and many others is that RTÉ managed to stage very individual contests, that did not feel like repeat runs. New stage designs, new hosts, new creative teams.

They even managed to make the scoreboards look fairly different to one another, even if they are clearly all variations on the same look.



Millstreet 1993



Dublin 1994



Dublin 1995



Dublin 1997

They all follow the same pattern and are all programmed the same way, but connect nicely to the colours and themes of each year. Clean-cut and easy to follow.

It would really be rather nice to see a new RTÉ scoreboard again someday. But then they have to break their trend and start winning again...

Fingers crossed for Slovenia tonight

Tonight, I might lend an eye to EMA 2011, the Slovenian national final for Düsseldorf. I have always had a soft spot for Slovenia.

Maybe it is because they mainly like the same things I like. Fun, uptempo songs with choruses you can hold on to.

They were also the odd-one-out in Former Yugoslavia, just like Finland is among the Nordic countries. Maybe I feel some kind of kinship here?

Just too bad that the last two Slovenian entries have been such complete disasters. First a neverending string orgy with nothing going for it, then a headless car crash of a mix between polka yodel and fossil rock.

No, no, no, Slovenia! That's not the way to do it. Tonight there are a few contenders that sounded promising and that could be good ones to send off to the ESC.

And while you get ready to pick, I will share one of my all-time Slovenian favourites. It didn't do particularly well either, but at least it is a sweet song.



1 X Band - Tih deževen dan (Slovenia 1993 preview)



1 X Band - Tih deževen dan (Slovenia 1993)

Back in the day, when Spain made an effort

While waiting for the not too exciting revelation which of tonight's nine rather tame candidates will represent Spain, the land of temper and passion, in Düsseldorf, I will close my eyes and remember the day when Spain pushed things forward in this contest.

Here are five Spanish entries with sparkle and attitude, five entries that wanted something, five entries that have left an impression.



Salomé - Vivo cantando (Spain 1969)

This entry is great fun from beginning to end. Salomé is in a great cheerful mood, she dances and sways and her dress dances along. Catchy, with several key changes and an explosive ending.



Lucia - El (Spain 1982)

A tempestuous tango, energetic and sexy, performed with grace and sensuality. Very Spanish at the same time as it pokes fun at some Spanish stereotypes.



Remedios Amaya - Quien maneja mi barca? (Spain 1983)

Bold and dignified, exotic and seductive, chanceless at a time when all eurosongs should sound the same in order to score. Nul points was a hard blow on Remedios personally, but unlike most most other entries of the night, she has not been forgotten.



Azucar Moreno - Bandido (Spain 1990)

Almost shockingly contemporary back then with a heavy backing track and an exotic flavour that hit home better with the juries than Remedios did. The performance got a false start when said backing tracks wouldn't start like they should, but in the end the sisters left Zagreb with a fifth place.



Eva Santamaria - Hombres (Spain 1993)

Yet another remarkably modern entry, unfortunately without the strong backing track. In the hands of the Irish orchestra, most of the modern parts were left in ruins, but this was anyhow the first entry ever with rap elements in the contest.

Lisa missed her big chance

The following phenomenon is typical in some countries with national finals: a performer takes part and does well, but doesn't win. Then the next time they enter, they win more because of that other entry rather than the current one.

Like a bit of a consolation prize.

Karmen Stavec should know what I'm talk about. Tor Endresen likewise. And, of course, Lisa del Bo from Belgium.



Lisa del Bo - Vlinder (Belgium NF 1993)

The 1993 Belgian final was a tough race - one of the best selections ever song-wise, if you ask me. Many good, convincing, contemporary numbers, which proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that it is not enough with a good final. You need to be able to pick a winner as well.

The Flemish have always been heartbreakingly bad at selecting the most suitable winner out of their national finals (very much like Finland or Slovenia) and so they rejected Lisa's slick and original xylophone-based pop song and opted for Barbara's ballad instead (which ended last with three points in Millstreet).



Barbara - Iemand als jij (Belgium 1993)

Three years later, Lisa del Bo was back in the national final, this time equipped with a more safe, old-fashioned kind of full-blooded schlager entry. She won quite convincingly, crushing the more modern and progressive entries in the end.



Lisa del Bo - Liefde is een kaartspel (Belgium 1996)

Playing it safe didn't help much, as the juries probably found the entry a bit too stereotypical and classic and left it in a 16th place, shared with Switzerland offering an equally over-classical ESC ballad.

Conclusion: Lisa would have been so much better off had she won her ticket the first time around. The end.

Or, not quite the end. Who would believe that "Liefde is een kaartspel" would live a life of its own and come back to the ESC again? Five years later it was good enough for fifth place in Copenhagen...



Friends - Listen To Your Heartbeat (Sweden 2001)

Quite a striking similarity, eh?

When reality hits Eurovision

There will be a long shadow over this year's Icelandic national final as one of the participants, Sigurjón Brink, died unexpectedly at the age of 36.

Apart from the obvious personal tragedy, it creates a delicate dilemma for the Icelandic television who needs to relate to the situation in the best of taste and find a solution that will still look tasteful and fair once the shock fades away and more critical eyes start analysing what you have done and what you haven't done.

I'm not claiming to know everything about Eurovision (is there any such person - and what would he/she look like?) but I can't remember any other situation like this, that a main performer would have passed away right before their planned Eurovision performance.

The closest I can come to think of is Sammy Babitzin (brother of Kirka), who competed in the 1973 Euroviisut and then died in a car crash later than a month after the international final.



Sammy Babitzin & Koivistolaiset - Riviera (Finland NF 1973)

Death did play a part in the 1974 ESC, though. Four days before the final, held on April 6, the French President George Pompidou dies due to an illness largely unknown to the public. France was in shock and, obviously, withdrew from the contest. The French delegation, already on location in Brighton, never performed.



Dani - La vie à 25 ans (France 1974 preview)

However, the grim realities of life were perhaps never more present than in 1993, when Bosnia-Herzegovina debuted under their own flag in Millstreet and produced a preview clip from Sarajevo at war. At that time, we were used to seeing images of civil war from former Yugoslavia on the news, but here they were, singing a song, on our favourite entertainment show. There was no way we could ignore them this time.



Fazla - Sva bol svijeta (Bosnia-Herzegovina 1993 preview)