Eurovision Season 2018: Who Needs the Win the Most?
Hello all!
So as promised, today we're going to be having a look at the favourites and looking at what a win would mean to them as a country, for their Eurovision futures and for the singer themselves.
Israel
Israel have won Eurovision three times but only hosted it twice (in 1979 and 1999) after they opted not to host it again when they won on home soil in 1979. To be honest, after our fears at the end of the 2017 contest that Israel would compete at all this year after the main national broadcaster went bust, it is amazing to not only see them back but leading the pack in the betting odds. A win for Israel would be massive! After a run of not making it to the final in the early 2010s, 2015's 'Golden Boy' sent them back to the top 10 and they have become regular qualifiers since. Netta's 'Toy' is almost certain to reach the top 10 but a win would definitely not be a surprise. Whether Netta will have much of a career beyond the contest is anybody's guest, but if 'Toy' wins, it's a shoo-in to be one of the songs of the summer played on radio all across Europe. From a wider national perspective, Israel would be hosting the biggest TV show in the world and would be a welcome piece of good PR for the country. My guess is that the country would opt for hosting the contest in Tel Aviv making it the first time Israel doesn't host the contest in Jerusalem's International Convention Center although whether the 10,000 capacity Menora Mivtachim arena is large enough to host the contest is perhaps another question. Jerusalem have a bigger space but only with a capacity of 11,400. Whilst it's not clear exactly how Israel would go about the hosting duties, it is clear that hosting Eurovision would represent a big opportunity for the country to show themselves to the world as a modern nation.
Estonia
One of my favourite Eurovision stories of all time comes from 2001 when plucky Estonia beat the odds to fend off strong entries from Denmark, Greece & France to bring the contest to Tallinn. Everybody was doubtful about how the Estonians would be able to host it, but the country pulled together. The Saku Suurhall was a perfect modern venue for the contest, Tallinn was a perfect host city and 2002 was one of my favourite editions of the contest ever with some absolute gems from countries like Malta, Spain, winners Latvia & Estonia themselves. Seventeen years on, this is a good chance to drive some tourism to the country. Elina would probably be one of the hosts. We would probably see a return to the Saku Suurhall. And of course, there would be an automatic final slot up for grabs in Estonian selection show Eesti Laul! Purely on a personal level, I think Estonia is a beautiful country with a rich cultural history and would happily use Eurovision as an excuse to finally make my way over there.
Czech Republic
With all the hype this year around Mikolas Josef, it's very easy to forget that the Czechs have made the final once in the Eurovision history and when they did they came 25th with no vote at all from the televote. Mikolas is set to give the Czechs their best score at the contest yet, but winning it would be nothing short of incredible. It would increase the profile of the contest in the country and would increase the ability of the Czech delegates to select high quality acts or put on high quality selection shows. It could also mean that they go down the route of the Portuguese and go for Junior Eurovision as well! From a tourism perspective, Prague is already one of the most popular cities in Europe, but Eurovision 2019 there would surely get a proper party atmosphere going in the Czech capital. Prague's O2 arena holds 18,000 people and the Czechs are organised enough that you would trust them to be able to run the contest smoothly.
Belgium
Believe it or not, Belgium is my least favourite Eurovision country of all time. There's no logical way to explain it but with the exception of their most-recent winner 'J'aime la vie', there is nothing that has particularly stood out for me. Whilst I don't think any of the countries I am writing about will win the contest this year, I would be particularly surprised if this year's entry did better than Blanche last year and actually won the contest. There are many discussions that need to be had if Belgium win, the main one being where the contest will be hosted. As the Flemish broadcaster are responsible for hosting it, will they go for a more Flemish city such as Antwerp or will they stick to the capital and host it in Brussels. The contest will be a good opportunity to showcase Belgian identity, something that I don't think the world has seen enough of ever really (sorry Tintin). It would probably create some sort of tension between the French and Flemish broadcasters. Most importantly however, it will be a suitable reward for many years of strong Belgian entries and will rubberstamp Belgium's reputation as a Eurovision powerhouse.
Australia
Finally we come to ultimately what will be the most interesting winner of them all if they pull it off. Again, it's worth emphasising that 'We Got Love' is nowhere near the level of 'Sound of Silence' but we are going to give the Aussies the benefit of the doubt and play out the scenario of an Aussie win! Firstly, the Eurovision traditionalists will lose their minds, Australia wasn't exactly welcomed with open arms in 2015 and the idea of a non-European country actually hosting the contest would annoy a lot of people. From a practical perspective, the Aussies will still have to host the contest in Europe which leaves two very distinct options. In 2015, it was said that the Aussies would choose to host the contest in Germany if they won, but hosting the contest in London is also a very distinct possibility. In any case, everybody will be bending over backwards to please the Australian delegation. They will pick whichever city suits them but how much they will be able to do in terms of imposing an Australian identity on the show itself is unclear. The hosts will probably be Australian and perhaps they will find a way to work Australian culture into the postcards but it will be a show defined by how well it was run as opposed to how much the audience would get immersed in the culture of the host country.
On a personal level, it's worth noting that I think Spain will win this year's contest and that it will mean a lot of things for the Iberian nation. However, as they are 12th in the odds, I am choosing not to talk about it unless a) it happens or b) they go up in the odds.
That's your lot for now, we will be coming at you with some staging talk and some rankings very soon!
So as promised, today we're going to be having a look at the favourites and looking at what a win would mean to them as a country, for their Eurovision futures and for the singer themselves.
Israel
Israel have won Eurovision three times but only hosted it twice (in 1979 and 1999) after they opted not to host it again when they won on home soil in 1979. To be honest, after our fears at the end of the 2017 contest that Israel would compete at all this year after the main national broadcaster went bust, it is amazing to not only see them back but leading the pack in the betting odds. A win for Israel would be massive! After a run of not making it to the final in the early 2010s, 2015's 'Golden Boy' sent them back to the top 10 and they have become regular qualifiers since. Netta's 'Toy' is almost certain to reach the top 10 but a win would definitely not be a surprise. Whether Netta will have much of a career beyond the contest is anybody's guest, but if 'Toy' wins, it's a shoo-in to be one of the songs of the summer played on radio all across Europe. From a wider national perspective, Israel would be hosting the biggest TV show in the world and would be a welcome piece of good PR for the country. My guess is that the country would opt for hosting the contest in Tel Aviv making it the first time Israel doesn't host the contest in Jerusalem's International Convention Center although whether the 10,000 capacity Menora Mivtachim arena is large enough to host the contest is perhaps another question. Jerusalem have a bigger space but only with a capacity of 11,400. Whilst it's not clear exactly how Israel would go about the hosting duties, it is clear that hosting Eurovision would represent a big opportunity for the country to show themselves to the world as a modern nation.
Estonia
One of my favourite Eurovision stories of all time comes from 2001 when plucky Estonia beat the odds to fend off strong entries from Denmark, Greece & France to bring the contest to Tallinn. Everybody was doubtful about how the Estonians would be able to host it, but the country pulled together. The Saku Suurhall was a perfect modern venue for the contest, Tallinn was a perfect host city and 2002 was one of my favourite editions of the contest ever with some absolute gems from countries like Malta, Spain, winners Latvia & Estonia themselves. Seventeen years on, this is a good chance to drive some tourism to the country. Elina would probably be one of the hosts. We would probably see a return to the Saku Suurhall. And of course, there would be an automatic final slot up for grabs in Estonian selection show Eesti Laul! Purely on a personal level, I think Estonia is a beautiful country with a rich cultural history and would happily use Eurovision as an excuse to finally make my way over there.
Czech Republic
With all the hype this year around Mikolas Josef, it's very easy to forget that the Czechs have made the final once in the Eurovision history and when they did they came 25th with no vote at all from the televote. Mikolas is set to give the Czechs their best score at the contest yet, but winning it would be nothing short of incredible. It would increase the profile of the contest in the country and would increase the ability of the Czech delegates to select high quality acts or put on high quality selection shows. It could also mean that they go down the route of the Portuguese and go for Junior Eurovision as well! From a tourism perspective, Prague is already one of the most popular cities in Europe, but Eurovision 2019 there would surely get a proper party atmosphere going in the Czech capital. Prague's O2 arena holds 18,000 people and the Czechs are organised enough that you would trust them to be able to run the contest smoothly.
Belgium
Believe it or not, Belgium is my least favourite Eurovision country of all time. There's no logical way to explain it but with the exception of their most-recent winner 'J'aime la vie', there is nothing that has particularly stood out for me. Whilst I don't think any of the countries I am writing about will win the contest this year, I would be particularly surprised if this year's entry did better than Blanche last year and actually won the contest. There are many discussions that need to be had if Belgium win, the main one being where the contest will be hosted. As the Flemish broadcaster are responsible for hosting it, will they go for a more Flemish city such as Antwerp or will they stick to the capital and host it in Brussels. The contest will be a good opportunity to showcase Belgian identity, something that I don't think the world has seen enough of ever really (sorry Tintin). It would probably create some sort of tension between the French and Flemish broadcasters. Most importantly however, it will be a suitable reward for many years of strong Belgian entries and will rubberstamp Belgium's reputation as a Eurovision powerhouse.
Australia
Finally we come to ultimately what will be the most interesting winner of them all if they pull it off. Again, it's worth emphasising that 'We Got Love' is nowhere near the level of 'Sound of Silence' but we are going to give the Aussies the benefit of the doubt and play out the scenario of an Aussie win! Firstly, the Eurovision traditionalists will lose their minds, Australia wasn't exactly welcomed with open arms in 2015 and the idea of a non-European country actually hosting the contest would annoy a lot of people. From a practical perspective, the Aussies will still have to host the contest in Europe which leaves two very distinct options. In 2015, it was said that the Aussies would choose to host the contest in Germany if they won, but hosting the contest in London is also a very distinct possibility. In any case, everybody will be bending over backwards to please the Australian delegation. They will pick whichever city suits them but how much they will be able to do in terms of imposing an Australian identity on the show itself is unclear. The hosts will probably be Australian and perhaps they will find a way to work Australian culture into the postcards but it will be a show defined by how well it was run as opposed to how much the audience would get immersed in the culture of the host country.
On a personal level, it's worth noting that I think Spain will win this year's contest and that it will mean a lot of things for the Iberian nation. However, as they are 12th in the odds, I am choosing not to talk about it unless a) it happens or b) they go up in the odds.
That's your lot for now, we will be coming at you with some staging talk and some rankings very soon!
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