Eurovision would not be complete without one man, stage manger of the last 10 Eurovision Song Contests, Henric von Zweigbergk. While the rest of the production and organisation team changes from year to year, along with the host countries, this Swedish man is as indispensable as the opening theme tune. When he appears on stage, we know the show is about to begin. The crowd just loves him. With his flowing grey hair and beard, he is simultaneously cool, yet authoritative. He runs through all the areas of audience participation; cheering, flag waving, the voting countdown and which songs to turn on our mobile phone lights for then leads us through a final song to rev up the crowd into the flag waving frenzy that signals the start of Eurovision. During the show he calms nervous contestants and makes sure that the stage transitions are seamless. In Europe, the show is broadcast live, so the sets must be changed during the time it takes to play a postcard.
This year’s hosts have been great. Nikolaj, Lise and Pilou (is it just me or does he look like Ewan McGregor?) have been funny without trying too hard and worked well as a team without trying to outdo each other. Before filming begins, they have fun with the audience, taking selfies and talking to the crowd. The breaks in between songs have kept short and snappy and the show feels that it has moved quickly, with the focus on the music.
The show started with the procession of flags and all the finalists. While we have already seen most acts in the semi finals, the Big 5 and the host country have had automatic entry into the grand final.
Basim from Denmark and his “Cliche Love Song” is just that, a poppy song with a rock’n roll feel and lots of words that don’t make sense in any language, that anyone can sing along to. It’s a lot of fun. His back up dancers are very energetic, if not quite in time.
Twin Twin from France also have a fun, energetic act. I would imagine that the simple lyrics and bright costumes, big hair and random African character would make them a hit with preschoolers across the globe. Their energy was infectious. You just couldn’t help but sing and bop along to this one, regardless of what you think of the actual song.
Ruth Lorenzo from Spain presented another powerful, if rain themed, bilingual ballad. The wet hair was a little novel but may have been achieved tonight by just sticking her head outside the green room. The stage production looked beautiful, but I was a little disappointed by the lack of back up dancers.
Even the Germans I spoke to were disappointed in their entry this year. It’s an indecisive song about indecisive love. But it sounded fine live and hey, it included an accordion. On Wednesday, we saw the German girls with a film crew in the old harbour area and tried to casually wander by in the background.
Italy provided a Eurovision essential that had been missing so far. Not women scantily clad as Roman goddesses but a guitar/keyboard. Thank goodness! My Eurovision checklist is now complete. This song delivered all the passion and glitz I was hoping for in an exciting live performance.
Molly delivered the first serious UK contender in this competition for several years. But what was with that costume? Did she hunt down & kill something? Did she attach locks of her own hair?
So the competition went fairly seamlessly for another year. The television audience may never have noticed a sudden cross to Lise to cover the delay in removing a stubborn flag after Denmark, but may have noticed Slovenia’s poor timing in miming the flute.
Eurovision 2014 has been fantastic, but there can only be one winner. While Eurovision is traditionally based around pop, ballads and folk music, there are also some surprise favourites.
I have seen Sanna and Conchita already perform twice, in the semi finals and at at the outdoor stage in Eurovision Village, and they both blow the audience away. I love them both, they are talented, passionate performers, with commanding stage presence, and both appear to be genuinely moved and humbled by the strong audience reaction. Conchita is clearly the favourite with the audience watching the shows. During semi final 2, the crowd erupted every time her name was mentioned. When Lise spoke to her in the Green Room during the voting, they had to show Conchita a shot of the audience, cheering and chanting her name. I didn’t know what the audience would do if she didn’t get in to the final.
Armenia’s song is very clever musically, and the live performance is simple, but strong, and is certainly boosted by the judicious use of fire. The song by The Netherlands is also refreshingly different. I guess it just goes to show that the Eurovision audience does appreciate originality.
So one question I have been asked is, was tonight’s winner worthy? On the basis of talent and the strength of the song, undoubtedly yes. Was there also a political element to the voting? Well, yes. But is there anything wrong with supporting peace, freedom and unity?
The audience reaction was just overwhelming, it was incredible to experience this Eurovision win. I will treasure my piece of gold confetti. My only question is, when will someone make a Conchita lamp with light up dress? I want one!
