One Down, About 4,782 To Go….

OK, so we might still maintain it is too early to declare the Eurovision 2009 season open (it probably should be 2009 for that really…..), but nonetheless Albania have been first off the mark once again with selecting their song for the forthcoming contest. The words ‘everything bar the kitchen sink’  immediately spring to mind…..

Tellier Us All About It……

For those who haven’t seen it…..Sebastien Tellier proves there is life after comparative Eurovision obscurity with this tiny gem of a car commercial. What next, we wonder, Scooch being used as a musical backdrop to British Airways ads?

While we were away….

….here are some of the things that happened in Eurovision land….

Andrew Lloyd Webber announced he would be writing next year’s UK entry, with the singer to be chosen in an I’d Do Anything style Saturday night elimination show starting on BBC1 in January. Will this see a change in the UK’s fortunes on the Eurovision stage? Probably depends on whether the massed ranks of voters in former Soviet nations know who the good Lord Lloyd Webber actually is….

It was announced that jury voting will return for Moscow 2009, with a percentage of points from juries to count alongside public votes. Not because of any political voting patterns, you understand. No. Of course not. Then WHY, exactly??

The Bulgarian selection process started. Actually we think it may have done the day after the last contest finished (kind of similar to the lengthy Icelandic selection process of 2008, although we fear Iceland has other things on its mind this year….)

Slovakia announced they would be returning in 2009. Er, woo-hoo?

Monaco and Austria continued to flounce. Possibly because too many of us still remember Le Coco-Dance, and are not prepared to forgive that easily…..

Terry Wogan announced, to the surprise of absolutely nobody, that he would be standing down as UK commentator, to be replaced by Graham Norton.Half the nation is plunged into despair at the news while the remainder rejoices. Quite how sales of Baileys will be affected remains unclear.

EuroBeat: The Eurovision Musical came to London and was a big hit, even if the winner, decided by audience vote, did seem to be Russia or Poland every night. Team Eurovision saw it twice, got a bit hysterical and hadto be reminded it wasn’t real. And got published on Guardian Unlimited.

Dima Bilan came to London and played live.  Team Eurovision was washing its hair that night and misses it.

Elvir Lakovic Laka and his sis confirmed they are not mad in any way when they turn up to the VMAs in Glasgow looking as though they are on their way to a fancy dress party.

Mr Kipling produced a special orange-flavoured Halloween fondant fancy. Yum! (and no, this is not relevant to Eurovision in any way but we just couldn’t think of a tenth thing…..)

We’re back……

…..again! Welcome to the run-up to the run-up to Eurovision season 2009, to the return of juries,  to Moscow hosting for the first time ever, and to a Bulgarian selection process that seems to be lasting even longer than James Cameron’s Titanic…..