Eurovision Power Broker Criticises Terry Wogan
HOW embarassing it must be for the BBC to have to admit that it "celebrates the variety...and fun side" of Eurovision in its defence of it veteran presenter Terry Wogan.
Terry Wogan Gets Up the Noses of Europeans
The rearguard action came about after Bjorn Erichsen, the powerful Danish director of Eurovision TV, the Swiss-based company that produces the competition, complained that neither the broadcaster nor its audience treats the gala performance with the seriousness it receives in other countries.
Erichsen adds: "Terry Wogan is a problem because he makes it ridiculous. I know he is very popular, and maybe that is the reason why a lot of people watch. But one day he will have to retire and the BBC will have to find someone else. It will be interesting to see if that attitude changes. The BBC gets a very large audience but it chooses to represent the contest in a certain way.
"The UK has double standards in the contest. It is something you love to hate. It's something to laugh at. It's something continental. It's a scam. It's ridiculous. The British like to distance themselves from it."
Well Mr Erichsen if you want to know why we behave in this manner I am sure there are plenty of Eurovision fans out there who can tell you why we jest. It's another form of ridicule which comes about because we can't bear losing the contest for yet another year. So sorry, it's a case of Johnny Foreigner gets it from Wogan, and we love it to bits!
Comments
The only reason we watch the Eurovision Song Contest is Terry Wogan. He makes the buddy vote at the end bearable. If this contest wants to be taken more seriously it needs to clean up its act. Back in the day, when the judging was done by experts rather than the masses and the women did not strip on stage, it had at least the appearance of a serious competition.
Posted by: Daniela Charest | May 14, 2008 02:50 PM
Terry is funny, yeah. But it's true there's a discrepancy between saying Eurovision is a joke and then scream "war in Iraq" if you don't do well. You either care or you don't. And if you care, have a good laugh at the ridiculousness of Eurovision, but also acknowledge the good parts of it, and THEN you can get upset if you don't do as well as you think you should.
For Andy Abraham, much as the song is ok, it's still only ok. No winner. And it won't be due to whatever war or whatever wrongly perceived hatred of the UK.
Posted by: griet | May 15, 2008 01:09 PM