TV/Specials

Georgia is one of the youngest nations to compete at the Eurovision Song Contest but their record is reasonably solid. This will be the fourth year they will participate in the competition and they have improved every time. They finished 12th on their debut in 2007 whilst a year later, they finished 11th, despite receiving fewer points. They sat out of the 2009 Contest as a result of Russia’s involvement in the 2008 South Ossetia war – the competition that year was in Moscow and it was adjudged that the lyrics of the Georgian entry were too political. They were [...]

Dana International has admitted that she let her manager persuade her to go on Eurovision 2011. The transsexual singer represented Israel in 1998 and stormed to glory with her track ‘Diva’. This was the third time that her nation had won the contest, following up successes in 1978 and 1979. Her performance 13 years ago was controversial, with many orthodox Jews and conservatives criticising her representing Israel. This merely meant her success took on a new dimension and proved to be one of the most defining moments in Eurovision history. This time around, Dana is more realistic about her chances, [...]

Western European nations like the UK, France and Italy have an odd relationship with Eurovision. They universally recognise that the show is camp and dated, yet somehow worthy of respect. The UK seems to struggle more than most. A young entrant with a poor song will tend to be followed by a more serious attempt, as if to reclaim national pride. In 2010, Josh Dobovie represented the UK after winning a mostly-ignored reality TV show on Channel 5. After scoring a total of 10 points (just edged out by the winning German entry with 246 points), the UK has returned [...]