December 25: Dani

This is it - Christmas day and the end of this calendar. In Sweden or Finland, yesterday would have been the last entry but I include also the 25th. Because I can. And because I want to share one more jewel that never made it to Eurovision.

Not because it was rejected in any national heat. This one won the internal selection held by French television in 1974 and was all set for going to Brighton and collect a lot of points there.

Then something came between Dani and Brighton. Georges Pompidou, president of the republic, died unexpectedly four days prior to the ESC and was buried on the very day of the final. Not a chance that France would take part. Dani had to unpack her bags and stay at home.

I have often found myself wondering how this one could have changed the history of the contest. Hardly a winner - not direct enough for that, I'd guess - but could it have stolen points off Abba? And would the French jury have preferred the Italian ballad instead? The voting could have been much more of thriller had France made it to the starting line.

The message of the song - there's nothing bad with doing yourself a bit of good - is also a good motto for the holiday and for the new year. Cheers!



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

Turkvision - a good idea?

I think it is fairly safe to assume that Turkey is in no hurry to come back to the Eurovision Song Contest. Copenhagen seems to be completely ruled out and the future doesn't look too bright either for fans of Turkish eurosongs.

TRT is still claiming to be upset about the current rules, how the juries seem to be keeping the Turkish entries down in the ranking and - the latest thing that transpired - how they feel Turkey lacks influence at the EBU. Oh dear.

So instead of trying to court Europe and insist on changes being made to the ESC format, TRT decided to stage their own song contest instead.

Copyright: TRT

Why not? A song contest, slightly modelled on the ESC, to bring the various Turkic people together in friendly competition. That can't be all bad. Can it?

It depends what your goal is, of course.

Turkey has been spending quite a lot of time and effort to market their own progress in the fields of democracy and human rights. With that in mind, it seems strange to snub the EBU - with their current discussions of perhaps adding a human rights index of some sort to the participation criteria - for a new set of best friends with rather different views on the matter.

Countries like Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan all have very poor human rights records and oppressive regimes. Inviting them to an international event can only give these regimes a chance to shine and do their best at coming across as respectable and acceptable. Why would you want to do that?

Also, allowing Northern Cyprus to take part under their own flag is a problematic move. So be it that this contest is aimed squarely at a Turkic audience, but Turkey is the only country in the world to recognise this republic as an independent country.

In short, Turkey's new choice of playmates doesn't look great from a political point of view.

Maybe this can still be a musically interesting event where will get sights and sounds from countries we seldom interact with and know very little about, but attaching too much attention to Turkvision will also contribute to promoting and normalising an unpleasant thing or two.

ESC 2014: how few can we be?

It feels like the Malmö final was just the other weekend, doesn't it, and yet we are beginning to know a little bit more about next year's final already. We know that Copenhagen is the chosen city, we know the venue and we know the dates.

Unfortunately, we had some bad news in the shape of withdrawals as well.

In Malmö, I thought 39 countries felt a bit few to fill up two semi finals. With thirty-three countries going through the semis, it left one semi with no more than 16 songs. Honestly, I already find that number balancing on the edge of being too few.

What do we know about the Copenhagen lineup, then? We know that Croatia and Cyprus have decided not to take part. Apart from being a lean year for countries beginning with the letter "C", it would bring the number of participants down to 37 unless the EBU members absent in 2013 decide to come back.

That doesn't look too promising either. Out of the non-participants of 2013 only one - Portugal - seems to have stated any sort of ambition to be back. That would leave us with 38 countries and 16 songs per semi. Acceptable, I guess.

But what if the hard times pushes another country or two out of the Copenhagen final?

The problem with having too few songs per semi final is that it makes non-qualification even worse. Say that you have thirteen songs in a semi and only three songs fail to make it to the final - the national press would rip their flunked performers to shreds.

So where do we draw the line? Is it acceptable to have 15 songs per semi? Or 14? At the same time as you cram the final with more songs than you really have time for?

I'd still push this old idea of mine and have fewer songs in the final. If there are sixteen songs per semi, it is more than enough if eight songs qualify per heat. That would make a neat and manageable final of 22 songs.

And the day all countries come running back to the Eurovision Song Contest - then you just change it back again. Well worth a try if you ask me.

Absent friend: Poland

I really don't know how this happened. Poland was such a revelation, such a powerhouse, such a fantastic new force in Eurovision. They kept sending in good, modern, eccentric and progressive entries that were so good, so good, so good.

They were supposed to come in, crush all resistance, work their way to victory and drag this old contest kicking and screaming into the future. It all looked so promising.



Edyta Górniak - To nie ja! (Poland 1994)

Their sensational debut, when Edyta made a coup and sang her song in English during the jury final and scored a phenomenal second place in the end, really left the feeling that Poland was on to something big. And then they opted for something seriously different.



Justyna - Sama (Poland 1995)

Justyna's etno-pop-yoik did take some getting used to, admittedly, but in the endless ocean of toothless ballads that was ESC 1995 it stood out like a monument of anarchy. Violently, provocatively different and modern. And the judges just didn't get it.



Anna Maria Jopek - Ale jestem (Poland 1997)

The juries would continue not to get the Polish entry. The quirky and folksy dance that was Ale jestem also ended outside the top ten (not by much, but anyway) and maybe now Polish tv was getting a bit exhausted. They were doing their best but kept getting ignored.

In 1998, I was convinced that TVP had finally hit the bull's eye again. The group Sixteen had a very fresh sound and their song was engaging and instant, but at the same time it kept growing on you for every listen.

Sophisticated and hit-friendly. Would this be Poland's return to top five?

On the night of the final in Birmingham, Poland passed under the radar of almost everyone and ended in a shockingly low 17th place. I could not believe my eyes.

Since then, the Polish entries never regained that original sparkle that they used to have. Some of their entries have been good, but never as overflowing and captivating as their early efforts. After having missed out in one semi final too many, TVP withdrew after the 2011 contest.

If they stay away in order to evaluate the situation, re-group and try to find their own self, then this absence is well worth it. I just hope they won't stay away too long.



Sixteen - To takie proste (Poland 1998)

Absent friend: Morocco

Only once did an entry from Morocco grace the Eurovision stage: in 1980, Samira Bensaïd sang about peace, love and understanding in Arabic and was rewarded seven points and a second last place.



Samira Bensaïd - Bitaqat hub (Morocco 1980)

Many things have been said about this one-off participation: that Morocco took the opportunity to participate a year when Israel sent no representative, that it was the Moroccan king that decided for his country to withdraw after the poor showing in The Hague.

What we do know is that the singer moved to Egypt and went on to achieve significant stardom all over the Arab world under the name Samira Said. Not only an admired singer, she has also promoted HIV/AIDS awareness as well as  inter-religious understanding and co-operation.

In these times when the muslim countries of northern Africa undergo radical changes in many areas of society, I think it could be a good idea for them to turn their eyes towards Eurovision again.

Of course there are many more urgent, truly important matters for them to deal with. But out of the unimportant matters I think ESC participation could be an important factor, for many reasons.

It wouldn't be a bad thing if these countries felt close to Europe and it wouldn't be a bad thing if they felt Europe took an interest back and embraced their presence. They would have a chance to show their culture, their performers and their mere presence on the most popular tv show in Europe and they would be an active part of this important cultural manifestation.

It would also be a good opportunity for these countries to meet Israel in a friendly competition, shake hands and realise it is nothing dangerous about singing a song in the same song contest as Israel.

Lebanon pulled out of the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest because they could "not guarantee" that they would show the Israeli entry in their broadcast. This is where the EBU could step in, actively invite the tv companies of northern Africa and the Middle East and help build bridges. A small but not important step, if so.

I'm sure Samira Said would agree that this would be a good thing. Make it happen!



Aline Lahoud - Quand tout s'enfuit (Lebanon 2005 withdrawn)

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)

ESC 2012: exit Armenia

Yesterday, Armenian television finally made their minds up and decided not to send any representative to the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest. The reason for this is, of course, the strained relations between them and host country Azerbaijan.

Politics have always been present at Eurovision, but this kind of action has still been rare. In 1979, Turkey made a last-minute decision not to send a song to Jerusalem (some sources claim this was the result of pressure put on Turkey by Arab countries) and in 2009 Georgia ultimately did not participate in Moscow (although they made an attempt of sending an anti-Putin song into competition).

Also, Morocco would have been far less likely to take part in 1980 had Israel participated, just like Lebanon withdrew in 2005 due to not wanting to be in competition with the Jewish state.

I can't blame Armenia for not taking chances, but I can't estimate the effort the EBU and Azeri television made in order to have them in.

However, if Armenia knew already from the beginning that they would not participate, it would have been better to make a dignified exit already before the regular deadline and saved us the last-minute drama.

Now I just hope that Armenian television will still broadcast the ESC from Baku, so the national fans won't miss out, as well as for them to be back with a vengeance in 2013.



Sirusho - Qele Qele (Armenia 2008 preview) 

ESC 2012: Poland stays at home?

It seems Poland will not be present at the next Eurovision Song Contest, according to unofficial messages made by broadcaster TVP.

The demanding task of co-hosting the European Football Championships in combination with a disappointing run of results is, seemingly, what lead up to this decision.

I do think that Eurovision should be one big, great European party and the more participants, the merrier. I would really like for each and every European country to be represented and every country that drops out is a shame.

And there was a time where a Polish withdrawal would stand out like a disaster to me. Back in the day, Poland was one of my favourite countries that kept providing artistic entries with style, class and grace.

But ever since their first relegation in 1999, it felt like Polish television struggled. The average Polish entry was no longer particularly original or exciting. Other countries filled that space and Poland fell behind.

Maybe it is a good thing for them to pause and figure out what they really want. With a music industry like the Polish, winning the ESC would be piece of cake. If only you wanted to.

So Poland, speaking as your friend - take a year, take two, and get your act together. Then come back with something as brilliant as you used to send in. You will be most welcome.



Anna Maria Jopek - Ale jestem (Poland 1997 preview clip)