Eurovision 2026 – Guilty pleasure or genuinely interesting live audio production?

[DanielT]

This year's winner. Not a song I'll have in any of my playlists. Decent dance energy, I can give it that.

England must have deliberately sent a bad entry just to tease for fun, or as the English say, "take the piss off" Eurovision. Any other explanation for why the country (and US) that created the best pop and rock songs in history (England can if they want to) is sending this does not exist:

 

[Redacted]

Not England - it's the UK entry.
Ths best entry from 4 countries!
And any score above 'nulle pointes" causes national embarrassment as it's only about taking the piss!

 

[DanielT]

Not England - it's the UK entry.
Ths best entry from 4 countries!

Sorry, yes that's right, of course it should be UK.

And any score above 'nulle pointes" causes national embarrassment as it's only about taking the piss!

Heh heh.

 

[DSJR]

I kind of saw the negative hype about our entry a few months ago, didn't watch this farce last night and only played the first half of our diabolical entry just now. His lyrics suggest he wants a good language to count in - for a Brit, nowt wrong with ours really!!! Bloody 'mockney' style and all acted out.

We put shedloads of money in that we haven't got apparently (not taxpayers money surely?) and thereby miss the heats, in which we'd be roundly rejected otherwise.

 

[Redacted]

I did not watch the show and have not heard a single song from it.

This is a badge of honour.

Send money.

 

[Mart68]

Not England - it's the UK entry.
Ths best entry from 4 countries!
And any score above 'nulle pointes" causes national embarrassment as it's only about taking the piss!

Last time we won was with Katrina & The Waves. 1997.

30 years of hurt, never stopped believing.

 

[Redacted]

We'll be talking about England in cricket and football next....

That was not an invitation

 

[DavidEdwinAston]

Smashing show although drink and fatigue drove us to bed with five songs to go!
Perfectly happy with the winner. She certainly has horrorshow groodies!

 

[DanielT]

I watched the last fifteen minutes when the final votes were to be presented.
Israel was in first place until the last votes were presented.

Imagine if Israel had won, considering everything that is happening in Israel and surrounding countries now. A powder keg. You know all that and we don't need to have (we shouldn't have here at ASR) a political discussion about it but imagine Israel had won. Sensitive if next year's Eurovision final had taken place in Israel.

But Bulgaria saved us from that, starting at 14:30

Edit:
Yes, I realize that what I just wrote could be interpreted as some kind of political aspect, but I really only mean the inconvenience of a final in Israel. With all that would entail with endless discussion about whether it makes sense to have the final in Israel or not. Instead of being able to spend energy on getting angry, hating or love- hating on how bad the songs are instead.

 

[Pauli]

Didn’t watch of course. Nevertheless I feel respect and sympathy for the five countries Spain, Slovenia, Ireland, Iceland and the Netherlands.

 

[Ropeburn]

 

[Pauli]

Imagine if Israel had won, considering everything that is happening in Israel and surrounding countries now.

Not to mention the absurdity it would mean to have an Asian country winning the Eurovision Song Contest

 

[Ropeburn]

Not to mention the absurdity it would mean to have an Asian country winning the Eurovision Song Contest

Angry Turkish noises

 

[DanielT]

View attachment 532839View attachment 532840

An ok Balkan disco/nightclub song. Not my thing but congratulations Bulgaria on your first win in Eurovision.

A good opportunity for Bulgaria to market itself next year. I know embarrassingly little about Bulgaria. Capital Sofia, cheap holiday resorts on the Black Sea. Most famous dish....oh I don't know...that's as far as my knowledge goes.

Bulgarian Black Sea Coast - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[LTig]

I switched to the ESC live stream somewhere close to the end (haven't seen it for decades) and wondered that there are people who really can sing.So I rewatched from around country #9 and there were really good singers. France for example, with a range from pop to opera (coloratur soprano) by a 17 years old girl - wow. I liked also Australia and Finland. Germany getting just a few points was absolutely warranted. Even the winner could sing and the song had some timing variations which made it listenable.

 

[Michou]

Not to mention the absurdity it would mean to have an Asian country winning the Eurovision Song Contest

Well, Israel’s broadcaster has been a member of the European Broadcasting Union since 1957, and Eurovision participation is based on EBU membership, not geography. Israel has participated in Eurovision since 1973 and has already won four times: 1978, 1979, 1998, and 2018. They also finished second both this year and last year.

And Israel is far from the only non-European country involved. Australia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, and even Russia have all participated as members of the EBU.

So the qualification criteria are very simple: if a country's broadcaster is a member of the European Broadcasting Union, it can participate in Eurovision. That has been the rule for decades.

As for the “absurdity,” I’m not sure what exactly would suddenly become absurd if Israel had won this year, considering they have already won the contest four times before without Eurovision collapsing into a space-time paradox.

 

[whereisbrian]

I have never watched Eurovision and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

 

[DavidEdwinAston]

I have never watched Eurovision and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

You don't know the fun you are missing!

 

[DanielT]

I have never watched Eurovision and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

If you've never seen it, you don't know what you're missing (which isn't much; mostly silly and/or mediocre songs, but sometimes there are gems).

Eurovision isn't that bad. A spectacle, sure, but a little silly pomp and circumstance never hurt anyone. Some parts might even be fun to watch. Besides, it's only once a year.

What I however do find sad are these mediocre hit songs that are out now (listen to the ten hottest ones). Can't modern musicians create something more fun and exciting? Of course the same as with Eurovision, that is, sometimes there are gems, but overall brrr.

You don't know the fun you are missing!

You beat me to it with your comment.

 

[Pauli]

As for the “absurdity,” I’m not sure what exactly would suddenly become absurd if Israel had won this year [...]

1. To your best knowledge, what could be the core meaning of or the idea behind the word Eurovison, as part of »Eurovision Song Contest«?

2. Given that meaning or idea – could a country like Israel or Australia really be a perfect representative of it?