The Goofy Glory that is Eurovision Reaches Its Nutty Climax for 2017
Eurovision, the highly nationalistic talent competition that pits country against country across Europe (and Australia, for some reason), comes to a conclusion for 2017 Saturday.
This year has been goofier than usual with 2017 host Ukraine fighting with Russia regarding contestants and the songs they’ve chosen to sing. The contestant from Slovenia (since eliminated) was a convicted sex offender. And there was an attempt to have Bulgaria disqualified because he performed in Crimea.
What to expect? I’m glad you asked. Here are a few examples from the 26 finalists who will perform Saturday night.
Romania: Rap and yodelling punctuated by cannons.
https://youtu.be/b1ngnC3NrjE
Croatia: A pop/opera duet performed by a solo singer. Yes, I know that doesn’t make sense.
Portugal: Man bun sings a love song.
Italy: Religion, philosophy and a dancing gorilla. No, really.
Azerbaijan: A Kate Bush-like singer who requires a horse on a ladder for her act.
Moldova: Sax and weird leg thingy.
Naturally, the continent is laying wagers on who will win. Here are the odds out of the UK:
- Italy – 11/8
- Portugal – 2/1
- Bulgaria – 4/1
- Belgium – 20/1
- Romania – 25/1
- United Kingdom – 28/1
Looking back over the decades, Irish entries have taken the most crowns with seven, followed by Sweden (6), the UK, France and, er, Luxembourg (5 each) and The Netherlands (4).
