Eurovision: Debit and Credit

We know that until almost the very last moment the European Broadcasting Union and some of the participating countries were not sure that Ukraine could stage the 50th Eurovision Song Contest in Kyiv on the proper level. Now we have every reason to state that Ukraine could and did, that it turned out a top quality and memorable show with excellent emcees, and so on and so forth. In a word, Ukraine coped with the task and rated A plus. Even though its own contestant, the group Greenjolly, was placed 20th among 24 others. A setback, of course, but something well to be expected after the group was included in the finals of the national qualifiers, contrary to the rules established by that very group. It wasn’t difficult to predict that Razom nas bahato as the excellent anthem of the Orange Revolution would be out of place on the Eurovision stage. The Greenjolly’s song is a phenomenon born of the times, of political and public life, but hardly of music life. The Ukrainian side ought to have abided by professional rather than revolutionary euphoric criteria when selecting the Eurovision contestant. The group’s producer Oksana Pavliuk insists, however, that “taking part in the contest helped the Greenjolly to access the European music market. Contracts on concert tours in various countries have already been signed.” This will be some consolation for the musicians, except that Ukraine will have to start practically from scratch at the next Eurovision contest.

Tentative data points to 150 million watching Eurovision live in 39 countries. Compared to Istanbul last year, the professional level of the contestants’ songs was considerably higher. Hi-tech means were used for the first time, with stage setting being electronically transformed for every number. In 30 seconds when the TV screens were filled with a video clip about the next contestant’s country, the technical personnel changed the stage setting entirely, electronically as well as physically, removing and replacing material objects if need be. The song contest’s regulations read that a song’s duration must not exceed 3 min. And that’s how it was, without a single deviation or unwarranted pause in broadcasting.

Eurovision ‘05 in Kyiv could also be described as one of the most predictable contests in its history. All bookmakers and experts believed that the Greek singer Helena Paparizou would be the winner, and that the Ukrainian group Greenjolly’s chances were 1:1000. In fact, the group was supported by Poland (12), Moldova (8), Portugal (7), Russia (2), and Spain (1), totaling 30 points and placing the Greenjolly 20th. A small consolation: the “G-4” countries (e.g., countries that organized Eurovision) — Spain, Germany, Great Britain, and France — found themselves at the bottom of the winners’ list.

However, since they are members of the Eurovision organizing committee, they won’t have to pass muster in the next year’s semifinals.

Eurovision proved a true holiday for Kyiv. The concerts held on the Maidan and featuring Ukrainian music gathered audiences numbering up to 350,000. For a week Eurovision in Kyiv made headlines and was on the air all over Europe.

COMMENTARY

Olena MOZHOVA, music producer, UT-1 Channel:

We’ll learn from our mistakes. We ought to have better prepared for the song contest, enlisting experts, rather than following the road of political expediency. We’ll probably think before we decide on qualifiers or on a willful solution (as was the case with Ruslana). I know one thing; Ukraine is a singing nation, but that many foreigners will call this into question after listening to the Greenjolly. This contest was held on a considerably higher level compared to the one in Turkey. I was personally impressed by Moldova’s group Zdob [shi] Zdub. I voted for it in the semifinals and tried to call them in the finals but couldn’t. By the way, a number of my friends complained that they couldn’t get through and cast their votes by phone. Probably because there were too many people on the line and the operators couldn’t cope with all of the calls. I’d like to express sincere gratitude to my colleagues at the National Television Company of Ukraine for their great performance. According to Svante Stockselius, ESC Executive Supervisor, the song contest in Kyiv became an importan milestone in Eurovision’s 50-year history. As for Eurovision ‘06, we ought to start preparing for it now and have real professionals on the team. I’m sure that Ruslana’s victory will be upheld and added to by gifted singers who glorify Ukraine on more than one occasion.

THE DAY’S REFERENCE:

Eurovision was first held in Lugano (Switzerland), in 1956, with only seven countries taking part. The winners were chosen by a jury of 14 persons, two from each country. Since 1998, the winners have been named by TV audiences, and since last year the vote has been centralized. Ireland remains the leader, having scored 7 victories (three times running in 1992-94), followed by France and Luxembourg (5), Sweden and the Netherlands (4), Switzerland, Norway, Spain, Italy, and Denmark (2). Monaco, Belgium, Latvia, Estonia, Yugoslavia, Turkey, Austria, Germany, and now Ukraine have each scored only once.

In 2003, Ukraine was for the first time represented at Eurovision by Oleksandr Ponomariov who placed 14th with his Hasta la Vista, Baby. Ruslana Lyzhychko was the tenth to perform in the Istanbul finals and her fiery Wild Dances album is still at the top of the hit parades in a number of European countries. It was thanks to Ruslana that the fifth song contest was held in Kyiv.