Stages of Success
There's an update post coming soon but I am hoping to know the identity of some of the entries (cough, cough France, Spain & Switzerland) before getting into the meat and potatoes of some of the other exciting national finals going down. With that in mind, I thought I would take this opportunity to explore one of my personal favourite elements of the contest... the stage. Now, if you're not a die-hard Eurovision fan, you will probably have stopped reading by this point, but if you haven't, let me give you an opportunity to sway you on why this is so fascinating.
Stages are in many ways representative of the identity of the contest, often they will be the biggest statement of the host country as to how they want their culture presented on an international scale. My personal favourite in this respect is the 1992 stage from Malmo where the stage was literally backed by a massive Viking ship motif (pictured below).
(Eurovision 1992 Stage)
In more modern times, this sense of culture has been abandoned in many cases in favour of the host country being able to use the contest as a demonstration of their wealth and technical wellbeing. Baku 2012 was an example of one of these contests when the Azerbaijani authorities successfully (albeit controversially) erected the entire Crystal Arena in the space between winning the contest in May 2011 and having it ready to host initial rehearsals by May of the following year. No stage however was a larger statement of a country demonstrating power than Moscow 2009 when Russia paid for one of the most spectacular stages in Eurovision history. The stage had multiple moving screens all around the stage and it was simply massive, completely engulfing the performers and filling the arena.
(Eurovision 2009 stage)
Nowadays, Eurovision stages are technical masterpieces. The contest has always held itself to be leading the way on technological advancements, but anybody who goes back through the contests on Youtube will be able to see that there was one year that jumped Eurovision straight into the new age and perhaps not surprisingly, that was the year 2000 and even less surprisingly, that was when Stockholm hosted the contest in the Globen.
(Eurovision 2000 stage)
But let's of course spare a thought for the classic stages of old. There are so many that one could highlight from the early days of Eurovision to the '90s when those associated with Eurovision spent a ridiculous amount of their time in Ireland. I would like to spare a thought for the stage from the 1969 contest. This was the only contest to have been held in Spain and took place during the controversial Franco-ist years. Nevertheless, the Spanish broadcaster hosted the contest with the utmost flair and excitement in the beautiful Teatro Real in Madrid. Though the picture of the stage below is in black and white, it is worth noting that for many countries, this contest was the first to be broadcast in colour. Whilst the contest itself is better remembered for the voting fiasco that happened towards the end, I will always have a place in my heart for the Salvador Dali-designed metal sculpture which was the centrepiece of the stage and of the entire event.
(Eurovision 1969 Stage)
One of the most impressive things about Eurovision is its ability to recreate itself annually anew in a new country with a new style, motif, host city, etc. But in 1979, Israel won the contest in Jerusalem for the second time running and consequently were offered the chance to host again. Their refusal to host the contest a second consecutive time sparked the contest being offered to Spain and then reportedly to the UK. The reluctance to host was mainly down to the high cost of the contest during an economically difficult time for Europe. In the end, the Netherlands stepped in and offered to host the contest in the Hague, but only on the condition that they could use the same stage designer in the same venue. The opening film of the 1980 contest shared footage with the opening film of the 1976 contest but impressively, there were two completely different stage designs by the same set designer in the same venue. See what you make of it.
(Eurovision 1976 stage) (Eurovision 1980 stage)
And frankly, I could go through every Eurovision stage and refer to the interesting elements of each stage that reflects the personality of the host country and the contest that year. However, seeing as we're building up to Lisbon, we should talk about this year's stage.
(Eurovision 2018 stage)
In a very unique twist of events, the stage is representative of the host nation. The arches holding the lights are meant to represent the hull of a ship. The sculpture in the background is meant to represent waves and on either side of the stage, there are two bridges which lead out to a kind of round catwalk out into the arena. I am a big fan of catwalks and thought they were sorely missed at the 2017 contest because they add a lot to the final performances. Portugal have announced that they are trying to spend less money on the contest than has been spent in the past on hosting. Some fans have been in uproar that there will be no LED screens in the back of the stage whilst others are convinced that there will nonetheless be some kind of screen that each broadcaster will be allowed to work with on the acts. Overall, I would say that this year's stage is an improvement on last year but I won't yet go as far as to say that it beats the stage from Stockholm's hosting in 2016.
I will end this post by telling you that my favourite stage is the stage from the 2014 contest in Copenhagen. This was a year that had a lot going for it in terms of the technical elements used. The glass panels were all individual screens which could be used (not to mention the massive screen in the background), Romania successfully included a hologram in their performance and the two catwalks either side of the stage were utilised perfectly by many of the performances (including infamously the Polish one). Rather uniquely, the stage also included a pool of water which went around the stage and not only added a nice aesthetic but was useful when Emmelie De Forest returned to the stage to perform the contest's official song 'Rainmaker'. 2014 was a fantastic year and for me, it was represented by a fantastic stage that allowed every single act to show off what it could do to its full potential.
(Eurovision 2014 stage)
That's all from me. I'll be back next week with more views from the continent. Until then, happy listening to all of this year's currently competing entries. If I had to pick a song now of all of the songs competing in national finals, I'd be in support of Yerevan 2019, so let's see how that ends up!
Stages are in many ways representative of the identity of the contest, often they will be the biggest statement of the host country as to how they want their culture presented on an international scale. My personal favourite in this respect is the 1992 stage from Malmo where the stage was literally backed by a massive Viking ship motif (pictured below).
(Eurovision 1992 Stage)
In more modern times, this sense of culture has been abandoned in many cases in favour of the host country being able to use the contest as a demonstration of their wealth and technical wellbeing. Baku 2012 was an example of one of these contests when the Azerbaijani authorities successfully (albeit controversially) erected the entire Crystal Arena in the space between winning the contest in May 2011 and having it ready to host initial rehearsals by May of the following year. No stage however was a larger statement of a country demonstrating power than Moscow 2009 when Russia paid for one of the most spectacular stages in Eurovision history. The stage had multiple moving screens all around the stage and it was simply massive, completely engulfing the performers and filling the arena.
(Eurovision 2009 stage)
Nowadays, Eurovision stages are technical masterpieces. The contest has always held itself to be leading the way on technological advancements, but anybody who goes back through the contests on Youtube will be able to see that there was one year that jumped Eurovision straight into the new age and perhaps not surprisingly, that was the year 2000 and even less surprisingly, that was when Stockholm hosted the contest in the Globen.
(Eurovision 2000 stage)
But let's of course spare a thought for the classic stages of old. There are so many that one could highlight from the early days of Eurovision to the '90s when those associated with Eurovision spent a ridiculous amount of their time in Ireland. I would like to spare a thought for the stage from the 1969 contest. This was the only contest to have been held in Spain and took place during the controversial Franco-ist years. Nevertheless, the Spanish broadcaster hosted the contest with the utmost flair and excitement in the beautiful Teatro Real in Madrid. Though the picture of the stage below is in black and white, it is worth noting that for many countries, this contest was the first to be broadcast in colour. Whilst the contest itself is better remembered for the voting fiasco that happened towards the end, I will always have a place in my heart for the Salvador Dali-designed metal sculpture which was the centrepiece of the stage and of the entire event.
(Eurovision 1969 Stage)
One of the most impressive things about Eurovision is its ability to recreate itself annually anew in a new country with a new style, motif, host city, etc. But in 1979, Israel won the contest in Jerusalem for the second time running and consequently were offered the chance to host again. Their refusal to host the contest a second consecutive time sparked the contest being offered to Spain and then reportedly to the UK. The reluctance to host was mainly down to the high cost of the contest during an economically difficult time for Europe. In the end, the Netherlands stepped in and offered to host the contest in the Hague, but only on the condition that they could use the same stage designer in the same venue. The opening film of the 1980 contest shared footage with the opening film of the 1976 contest but impressively, there were two completely different stage designs by the same set designer in the same venue. See what you make of it.
(Eurovision 1976 stage) (Eurovision 1980 stage)
And frankly, I could go through every Eurovision stage and refer to the interesting elements of each stage that reflects the personality of the host country and the contest that year. However, seeing as we're building up to Lisbon, we should talk about this year's stage.
(Eurovision 2018 stage)
In a very unique twist of events, the stage is representative of the host nation. The arches holding the lights are meant to represent the hull of a ship. The sculpture in the background is meant to represent waves and on either side of the stage, there are two bridges which lead out to a kind of round catwalk out into the arena. I am a big fan of catwalks and thought they were sorely missed at the 2017 contest because they add a lot to the final performances. Portugal have announced that they are trying to spend less money on the contest than has been spent in the past on hosting. Some fans have been in uproar that there will be no LED screens in the back of the stage whilst others are convinced that there will nonetheless be some kind of screen that each broadcaster will be allowed to work with on the acts. Overall, I would say that this year's stage is an improvement on last year but I won't yet go as far as to say that it beats the stage from Stockholm's hosting in 2016.
I will end this post by telling you that my favourite stage is the stage from the 2014 contest in Copenhagen. This was a year that had a lot going for it in terms of the technical elements used. The glass panels were all individual screens which could be used (not to mention the massive screen in the background), Romania successfully included a hologram in their performance and the two catwalks either side of the stage were utilised perfectly by many of the performances (including infamously the Polish one). Rather uniquely, the stage also included a pool of water which went around the stage and not only added a nice aesthetic but was useful when Emmelie De Forest returned to the stage to perform the contest's official song 'Rainmaker'. 2014 was a fantastic year and for me, it was represented by a fantastic stage that allowed every single act to show off what it could do to its full potential.
(Eurovision 2014 stage)
That's all from me. I'll be back next week with more views from the continent. Until then, happy listening to all of this year's currently competing entries. If I had to pick a song now of all of the songs competing in national finals, I'd be in support of Yerevan 2019, so let's see how that ends up!
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