Daria Bocicova
Arts & Culture Section Editor
@Eurovision
I've spent all of the love I saved
We were always a losing game
Small-town boy in a big arcade
I got addicted to a losing game.
If the music in your head hasn't started playing upon reading that, you've clearly been living under a rock for the past two years. Arcade by Duncan Lorens, Euphoria by Lareen, Fairytale by Alexander Rybak, Toy by Netta, the list can honestly go on forever, for it is but the tip of the Iceberg that is the Eurovision Song Contest. Speaking of Icebergs, Celine Dion competed for Switzerland in Eurovision 1988 and won with her song Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi. Not impressed yet? Well, what if I told you that ABBA became as popular as it is now due to Eurovision 1974 and the win they brought Sweden with their song Waterloo, which turned the eyes of the world towards them the very next morning. Another winner that made it to your FYP is an Italian band, Måneskin, who brought their home country its third win since the creation of the contest with their song Zitti e Buoni in 2021. Although you are probably more familiar with their relatively recent, I Wanna Be Your Slave. I feel like now I definitely got your attention, and I'm going to use this momentum for a little walk down history lane.
Origins
In 1950, in an effort to unite European countries following the second world war through cross-border television, The European Broadcasting Union or EBU, was created. Five years later, an idea for a pan-European singing contest was conceived at a conference of the European Broadcasting Union in Monaco in 1955, inspired by the Italian Sanremo Festival. It was determined that the very first ever Eurovision Song Contest would be held in the Swiss resort of Lugano the next year. Although several cameras were recording the contest for the very few Europeans who had a telly set at the time, the 1956 Eurovision Song Contest was predominantly a radio programme.
Voting
Over the years, the voting systems utilised in the competition have evolved. While everything started in 1956 with only two judges from each participating country taking part in a secret vote, the current system has been in place since 1975. Each country has to assemble a panel of national judges who then award songs from other countries with points ranging from 1 to 8, then 10 and eventually 12 — with the favourite receiving the now-famous douze points. Traditionally, only an internal jury chose a country's set of votes, but in 1997, five nations experimented with televoting, allowing members of the general public in those countries to vote en masse for their favourite songs. The trial was a success, and all nations were invited to employ televoting if feasible beginning in 1998. Today, while the judges still attribute their points, the public is invited to cast theirs as the hosts communicate with the presenters through broadcasted video calls. When all the juries announce their decisions, the voting stops, and after the final recap, the winner is announced, ranging from least votes acquired to most.
Structure
While initially, Eurovision was a one-day event, the contest has now been separated into three parts. The conclusion of the Cold War in the early 1990s resulted in a surge in participation, with many former Eastern Bloc countries popping up at line up for the first time to participate. This process is still going on, with additional countries entering every day. As a result, the EBU developed the Semi-Final format in 2004, which was expanded to two Semi-Finals for the Eurovision Song Contest in 2008. To qualify for the Final, all countries except the 'Big Five' — France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom – and the host country must be in the top-10 of a Semi-Final. In turn, the contestant or the contestants who will be fighting for the chance to represent their country are chosen months prior, usually through a more minor song contest within each country.
While there is still a month to go until Eurovision, I am already playing some of this year's songs on repeat. Yes, you read that right. The entries are by no means a mystery, and even their official music videos are already at your disposal online. You can listen to all of them if you look up the Eurovision 2022 playlist on the contest's official Spotify account.
Now, I'm gonna go play Give That Wolf a Banana by Subwoolfer a few more times, but you should really take a look at the running orders for the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 Semi-Finals taking place on Tuesday the 10th and Thursday the 12th of May, respectively:
First Semi-Final: Tuesday the 10th of May
🇦🇱 Albania: Ronela Hajati – Sekret
🇱🇻 Latvia: Citi Zēni – Eat Your Salad
🇱🇹 Lithuania: Monika Liu – Sentimentai
🇨🇭 Switzerland: Marius Bear – Boys Do Cry
🇸🇮 Slovenia: LPS – Disko
🇺🇦 Ukraine: Kalush Orchestra – Stefania
🇧🇬 Bulgaria: Intelligent Music Project – Intention
🇳🇱 Netherlands: S10 – De Diepte
🇲🇩 Moldova: Zdob şi Zdub & Frații Advahov – Trenulețul
🇵🇹 Portugal: MARO – Saudade, Saudade
🇭🇷 Croatia: Mia Dimšić – Guilty Pleasure
🇩🇰 Denmark: REDDI – The Show
🇦🇹 Austria: LUM!X feat. Pia Maria – Halo
🇮🇸 Iceland: Systur – Með Hækkandi Sól
🇬🇷 Greece: Amanda Georgiadi Tenfjord – Die Together
🇳🇴 Norway: Subwoolfer – Give That Wolf A Banana
🇦🇲 Armenia: Rosa Linn – Snap
Voting in First Semi-Final:
🇫🇷 France: Alvan & Ahez – Fulenn
🇮🇹 Italy: Mahmood & Blanco – Brividi
Second Semi-Final: Thursday the 12th of May
🇫🇮 Finland: The Rasmus – Jezebel
🇮🇱 Israel: Michael Ben David – I.M
🇷🇸 Serbia: Konstrakta – In Corpore Sano
🇦🇿 Azerbaijan: Nadir Rustamli – Fade To Black
🇬🇪 Georgia: Circus Mircus – Lock Me In
🇲🇹 Malta: Emma Muscat – I Am What I Am
🇸🇲 San Marino: Achille Lauro – Stripper
🇦🇺 Australia: Sheldon Riley – Not The Same
🇨🇾 Cyprus: Andromache – Ela
🇮🇪 Ireland: Brooke – That's Rich
🇲🇰 North Macedonia: Andrea – Circles
🇪🇪 Estonia: Stefan – Hope
🇷🇴 Romania: WRS – Llámame
🇵🇱 Poland: Ochman – River
🇲🇪 Montenegro: Vladana – Breathe
🇧🇪 Belgium: Jérémie Makiese – Miss You
🇸🇪 Sweden: Cornelia Jakobs – Hold Me Closer
🇨🇿 Czech Republic: We Are Domi – Lights Off
Voting in Second Semi-Final:
🇩🇪 Germany: Malik Harris – Rockstars
🇪🇸 Spain: Chanel – SloMo
🇬🇧 United Kingdom: Sam Ryder – SPACE MAN