JOY Eurovision

9 Mar 2012

Musings – 2012: Palace of Varieties ?

Posted by Andrew “Ladies & Gentlemen” Bell

Is this year’s field for the Eurovision shaping up as the most varied ever ?

Someone, somewhere will no doubt opine about the line-up in ’59 at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes or at the Scandivarium in ’85, but you would have to work prety hard to find a field of singers & songs to trump what’s already known about this year’s comp.

There’s Austrian hip & hop & rap, a British septuagenarian crooner, Afro-Ukrainian pizzazz and some good old fashioned Russian babushkas.

Hooley dooley.

And the selections aren’t even over.

Any more curve balls to come ?

Singing puppets, dancing marmosets, ukulele strumming parrots anyone ?

This leads me to this question: Is Eurovision 2012 going to be an old fashioned TV variety show ?

It does have form.

When you nose-dive into the archives you find some very dubious/interesting/amazing examples of “variety” over the years.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5u0CWyae6S4]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hO6jstvuUmc]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lzjb2dZajH8]

However at the rate we are going this year the interval act in Baku is in grave danger of being eclipsed by the competitors.

And the great thing about all this “all over the place” business is that it will make May 26th (May 27th Australian telecast & broadcast time) truly an event for every member of every conceivable kind of family.

This is really shaping up as a special year … let us relish it and cherish it.