eurovision

paddyc

wheres the bookies betting for the eurovision, whos the favourite ectetc any links would be nice, I googled but its firewalled :mad:

Mossy Monk

Terry Wogan thinks the UK will win if that's any good to you

Mr E

http://www.paddypower.com/bet?action=show_type_by_main_market&ev_class_id=44&id=437&category=SPECIALS

Greece 5 - 1
Ukraine 11 - 2
Ireland 8 - 1
Sweden 9 - 1
Belgium 10 - 1
Germany 10 - 1
Russia 12 - 1
Serbia & Montenegro 12 - 1
Cyprus 14 - 1
Denmark 16 - 1
Iceland 16 - 1
Malta 20 - 1
Poland 20 - 1
United Kingdom 20 - 1
Belarus 25 - 1
Finland 25 - 1
Netherlands 25 - 1
Turkey 25 - 1
Romania 25 - 1
Bosnia-Herzegovina 33 - 1
France 33 - 1
Norway 40 - 1
Spain 40 - 1
Albania 50 - 1
Andorra 50 - 1
Estonia 50 - 1
FYR Macedonia 50 - 1
Croatia 66 - 1
Israel 66 - 1
Latvia 66 - 1
Lithuania 66 - 1
Slovenia 66 - 1
Monaco 100 - 1
Switzerland 125 - 1
Austria 150 - 1
Portugal 200 - 1

Each way odds 1 / 4 places 1,2,3,4
Saturday 15th May 2004, 12:00

UnrealQueen

Nooooooooooooooooo, anyone but the UK.:)

Sarky

Oh, God, is it that time again already?

*Hopes the almighty finally gets around to that Armageddon idea of His*

frantic_mel

that bloody germany song from last year stuck in my mind for months.

Lets be happy and lets be gay la la la la la la la la

Asok

A sad day for all germans.

Tbh its a joke of a contest the only way i would watch it is for international totty and wogans commentary.

Imposter

Vote turkey. There are so many turks in Europe that they should win it every year until they change the voting system back.

DMC

As long as another Scandinavian country doesnt win. Since 2000 we've had it hosted by Sweden, Denmark, Estonia and Latvia. Turkey is a welcome diversion, as long as it doesnt go back up north. 9-1 Sweden is a dangerous bet.

alleepally

Eurovision isn't what it used to be. There was always great excitement in our house when we were younger, all sitting around watching it with our glasses of fizzy minerals (which came in real glass bottles in those days and had to be spared - no such thing as huge 2 litre plastic bottles), bag of tayto and a curly wurley (proper sized ones, not the measly little ones they have now)

Ah, the small pleasures of life in Ireland way back when.. (cue violin). Life was slower, we had less, there was a real sense of community and I think people were happier overall.

DMC

I agree alleepally, for me it was the phoneline breaking down when getting the votes from Portugal, the mammoth taks of all the public broadcasters linking up pre-satellite links for one night a year, seeing what sort of a show Belgium would throw and my sig image!

Its too slick now, its lost a lot of its charm.

hedgetrimmer

I am constantly astonished how big the Eurovision is here on the mainland though. Every shop in Brussels has not only compliations, but *albums* by the Eurovision bands, and the singers, etc are actually big national celebrities .


Maybe it;s just us Irish with our combination of good taste and cynicism

BuffyBot

Lets be happy and lets be gay

Damn damn damn damn damn...

sceptre

Originally posted by Asok
A sad day for all germans.

Oh, you might enjoy this year's German entrant as much. It's, well, you'll see it.

The UK entry, while apparently rubbish is not as rubbish as last year's.

Obviously I've better things to be doing now that I'm not eleven any more (1986, cute thing from Belgium)

I reckon the last time I watched it was 1990[1]. That truly dreadful Italian winner put me off it forever. Have I missed anything?

Here's a page with some, er, interesting reviews fo this year's songs. Having had to put up with a listen to most of that Istanbul 2004 album, I'll save you the trouble and say that most songs are pretty goddam awful. Special terrible mentions for Lithuania, the UK and Ireland, though a few of the more campy songs are pretty awful as well.


[1]though I tuned in for five minutes last year to watch the Iceland (I think) entry and to check out the BBCs backstage thingie using the red button. Doesn't count really

Sarky

I lost all hope in the contest when songs like Rock'n'Roll Kids stopped appearing.

DMC

Originally posted by sceptre
(1986, cute thing from Belgium)

Cute? She was 13 at the time. Careful now.

DMC

Ladbrokes.com odds for the 8:00pm race on Saturday in Istanbul for the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest steeplechase, with 24 runners (12 reserves)

*note: never seen such short odds. 3/1? Greece?

Greece 3/1
Sweden 7/1
Ukraine 7/1
Ireland 8/1
Belgium 10/1
Germany 10/1
Denmark 12/1
Russia 12/1
Serbia/Montenegro 14/1
Cyprus 16/1
Malta 16/1
Norway 16/1
Turkey 16/1
United Kingdom 16/1
Iceland 20/1
Poland 20/1
Romania 25/1
Spain 25/1
Albania 33/1
Andorra 33/1
Belarus 33/1
Bosnia/Hercegovina 33/1
Croatia 33/1
France 33/1
Latvia 33/1
Netherlands 33/1
Estonia 40/1
Finland 40/1
Israel 40/1
Macedonia 40/1
Slovenia 40/1
Austria 50/1
Lithuania 50/1
Switzerland 50/1
Monaco 66/1
Portugal 66/1

sceptre

Originally posted by DMC
Cute? She was 13 at the time. Careful now.

I was 11.:p

Johnny Versace

Originally posted by DMC
Israel 40/1

eurovision

Dewey

The eurovision isnt what it use to be, but i still watch it every year with my family. I cant see us winning it this year. the other EU countrys like woman daning around half naked putting on a big show unlike Doran standing with a crap westlife song.
I can see us getting relagated like a few years ago. I'm looking forward to good ol' Terry Wogan slagging off all the crap songs.

DMC

Winners in 1978, 1979 and 1998 dont forget.

They are there as the Israeli state broadcaster, IBA is a member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) who organise the Song Contest. Israeli soccer teams play in UEFA competitions too.

kelle

I remember that one "Hallellujah!" back in 1979, and, my God, Dana International, in 1998!!!!! Wonder where she/he is now?

mike65

3 hours once a year I can take but 5 hours over two nights....Christ its getting like the Rose of Tralee!

Mike.

*Yes I will watch the voting* :ninja:

eirebhoy

Originally posted by mike65
3 hours once a year I can take but 5 hours over two nights....Christ its getting like the Rose of Tralee!

Mike.

*Yes I will watch the voting* :ninja:

2 nights? what night is the results?

BTW - Didn't the UK get no points last year, how come they are in it again this year?

DMC

Two nights this year, a semi-final TOMORROW night and the final on Saturday.

ENTERTAINMENT: Eurovision Song Contest
Channel: RTE Network 2
Date: Wednesday 12th May 2004
Time: 8:00 pm to 10:05 pm (starting in 1 day)
Duration: 2 hours and 5 minutes.
Coverage of the Eurovision Song Contest from Istanbul, presented by Meltem Cumbul, Turkey's answer to Madonna. Some 22 countries will fight it out for just 10 places in Saturday's final.


AND

MUSIC: 49th Eurovision Song Contest
Channel: RTE 1
Date: Saturday 15th May 2004
Time: 8:00 pm to 11:10 pm (starting in 4 days)
Duration: 3 hours and 10 minutes.
Coverage of the 49th Eurovision Song Contest from the Abdi Ipecki Stadium in Istanbul presented by last year's winner, Meltem Cumbul, and Korhan Abay, a Turkish show business icon. With commentary from Marty Whelan.

Copy and paste courtesy of Digiguide

Why are the UK in it this year? They pay good money. Germany, France, Spain and the UK pay the most into the ESC budget, and so they get an automatic place in the final. And anyway, with the semi-final, all willing participants get a shot every year now. In the past (bar the big four) they would've had to take a year off.

So, 22 countries tomorrow night fight it out for 10 spots on Saturday's show, where 24 countries compete to win it outright.

sceptre

Originally posted by Johnny Versace
eurovision

Oddly enough this has come up every Eurovision since i started posting on boards. Someone else /will/ ask it next year. I'm actually surprised no-one ever asks it about Cyprus, though I suppose we pretend that's a part of Europe too.
(anyway, DMC answered it up the page so I digress)

billy the squid

Rock'n'Roll kids was a good song

I think the UK song has an acoustic guitar feel to it but it is not very memorable this year.

I would put my money on Cyprus this year well in an ideal world without the "giving your neighbours a 12 point vote" system that they have at the moment Cyprus should win. The song is catchy and

if you have broadband you can watch all the songs here but be warned at 325Kbps they will eat into your download allowance fairly quickly

The Semi Final is on 12th of May The top ten countries from the Semi final will go forward to the final. the other fourteen countries are France Germany Spain and the UK. the ones that can't get relagated and the other ten are the top ten scorers from last year I think

all the detail can be found here

jor el

Give one reason why the Eurovision should be banned and stricken from our memories for ever:
Celine Dion. 'nuff said.

Give one reason why it should stay as on as one of the most hilariously entertaining shows on TV:
Jemini. Damn funny stuff that was
Didn't actually see the program as I'm not quite that sad (almost, but not quite) but Sky News couldn't stop showing it the next day.

eirebhoy

Originally posted by sceptre
Oddly enough this has come up every Eurovision since i started posting on boards. Someone else /will/ ask it next year. I'm actually surprised no-one ever asks it about Cyprus, though I suppose we pretend that's a part of Europe too.
(anyway, DMC answered it up the page so I digress)

Israel and Cyrus are in Ireland's group for the European section of World Cup qualifiers.

penguinbloke

just had a look at sceptres link and thought it was brilliant

Ireland
Chris Doran - My World Stops Turning
This isn't ironically bad, like Alf Poier or Pay TV, this is genuinely, toe-curlingly bad. The lyrics sound as though they come from one of those pseudo-inspirational change management videos, or for a car advert, with the family man standing proudly outside his semi with his trophy wife and his new Mondeo: "..because behind it all, you're the one who made a winner out of me." Ugh.

his review of the U.K. song doesn't quite cut it though.

Redleslie

Sweden or the Ukraine are my favourites to win cos they sound like proper Shakira type pop songs with hooks and stuff, and they're sung by v.v.sexy birds.

sceptre

Originally posted by eirebhoy
Israel and Cyrus are in Ireland's group for the European section of World Cup qualifiers.

Oh I knew that (er, well, actually I didn't[1] but I knew Israel & Cyprus are part of UEFA), it's just that Cyprus is about as part of real Europe as Israel or Egypt apart from the Greek population so I'm half-surprised that no-one questions the participation of Cyprus in the Urobhizhion every year. Israel's been part of UEFA since about 1968 if I remember rightly, ever since the Arab countries got peeved with them winning the Asian Cup ever time it was on (and the whole invasion thing as well I suppose). I'm guessing they joined the EBU around the same time when their neighbours stopped talking to them.


[1]I tend not to notice until the thing begins. Sometimes not even then.

article6

Originally posted by sceptre
I'm guessing they joined the EBU around the same time when their neighbours stopped talking to them.

That's precisely why Israel are in Eurovision and not Middle Eastvision. Well, that, and the inevitable "Israel... nul points" which would come from everybody else.

Dont be at yourself

So are Ireland in this semi-final? That should be a right laugh, the very bottom of the barrel - featuring songs not good enough to get into the actual Eurovision!

eirebhoy

I watched a bit of tonights Eurovision (how sad) and I'm gonna stick a few quid e/w on Malta.:)

BuffyBot

Ireland pre-qualified for the final on the strenght of last years result...

Chinafoot

i want that Disco song to win!

Big Ears

lets not talk about UEFA(too much ), Kazakstan are members of UEFA that shows ya how european they are .

eirebhoy

How the hell are Greece 3/1 BTW, the song and act was diabolicol.

billy the squid

Greece are 3/1 because that is the one most people put their money on.

Gonna put a score on Cyprus now that their in the final

The singer Lisa Andreas is a resident of Kent in England so you know where their 12 points are going to come from.

DMC

Very simple song sung well, that Cypriot one.

Big gay song has to be the Bosnian effort, "In the disco"

And Switzerland got "null points"!

So the results of last night:

The 10 winners, who will participate in the final:

Serbia & Montenegro
Malta
The Netherlands
Albania
Ukraine
Croatia
Bosnia & Herzegovina
FYR Macedonia
Greece
Cyprus

Note: drawn at random, and no points results given for the top 10.

The ones who didnt get into the top 10, and the accumulative points given from the televotes around Europe.

11. Estonia - 65
12. Israel - 57
13. Denmark - 56
14. Finland - 45
15. Portugal - 37
16. Lithuania - 26
17. Latvia - 21
18. Andorra - 12
19. Slovenia - 11
20. Belarus - 10
21. Monaco - 10
22. Switzerland - 0

And so for the Saturday Finale, the running order is.....

1.Spain
2. Austria
3. Norway
4. France
5. Serbia & Montenegro (from semi final)
6. Malta (from semi final)
7. Netherlands (from semi final)
8. Germany
9. Albania (from semi final)
10. Ukraine (from semi final)
11. Croatia (from semi final)
12. Bosnia & Herzegovina (from semi final)
13. Belgium
14. Russia
15. FYR Macedonia (from semi final)
16. Greece (from semi final)
17. Iceland
18. Ireland
19. Poland
20. United Kingdom
21. Cyprus (from semi final)
22. Turkey
23. Romania
24. Sweden

billy the squid

For anyone who does not have the broadband you can get to see the songs on the bbc website.

quarryman

Originally posted by fcddunne
For anyone who does not have the broadband you can get to see the songs on the bbc website.

omg, the switzerland "entry" is actually physically painful.

alleepally

I've put my money on Norway - if that doesn't win the contest or come close I will eat my hat. Greece is being bet on because of the assumption that fast pop a long songs are the flavour du jour of the last few years.

DMC

There was a voting problem last night, though it didnt affect the 10 countries who went through.

"On Wednesday evening, an hour after the broadcast of the Semi-Final of the Eurovision Song Contest, the EBU received the brief report of the results from the televoting partner, Digame (an affiliate of Deutsche Telekom). This report showed a problem with the calculation software during the processing of the result from Monaco and a problem with SMS voting in Croatia.

According to the report issued by Digame, the technical errors which occurred during the voting in these two countries will NOT change the results of the ten countries that have qualified for the Final on Saturday."

The EBU are apparently furious, as the pre-match material boasted that this was the mutts nuts in score gathering.

So Switzerland still get null, some of the others change from what I printed above......

ESC 2004 SEMI FINAL RESULTS CORRECTED BY DIGAME AFTER THE SHOW
11. Israel 57
12. Estonia 57
13. Denmark 56
14. Finland 51
15. Portugal 38
16. Lithuania 26
17. Latvia 23
18. Andorra 12
19. Belarus 10
20. Monaco 10
21. Slovenia 5
22. Switzerland 0

Slutmonkey57b

The eurovision is GHEY GHEY GHEY.

Though I'd admit I'd watch it if I knew in advance that a lighting rig was going to fall on the participants, or ebola was going to break out, or a mass riot, or Al-Quaida or something. That'd be good.

davej

Its worth it to hear Terry Wogan slowly get pissed as the evening progresses. Some of his comments are legendary...

http://www.balticsww.com/eurovision_terry_wogan.htm

davej

article6

After hearing all the songs, they still can't match the Turkish entry, in my opinion.

Besides, all the Turkish ex-pats in Europe will vote for their one again.

halkar

I still get good laugh out of Eurovision but not sure if I like the idea of having semi finals Can't wait for Saturday night
Turkish song is good, was crap when I first listen it but after hearing few times sounds good :cool: My favourite Shake Shake Greek

BuffyBot

I honestly don't think I could bear it without Wogan's commentary. Better than the god-awful Pat Kenny on RTE anyday

alleepally

Originally posted by BuffyBot
I honestly don't think I could bear it without Wogan's commentary. Better than the god-awful Pat Kenny on RTE anyday

Kenny hasn't done it for a good few years now I think. It's Marty "sure yis'll be grand" Whelan.

Never watch the Eurovision on the BBC. I'm the total opposite - Wogan annoys me so much because he takes on the mantle of British superiority. I'd say in all the years I've watched it I've gotten maybe 10 minutes of Wogans' commentary and every little bit I heard made me want to punch him.