In support of OGAE
It's late November. We know who's headed where for the Melodifestivalen Semis, Latvia have done their strange annual thing of releasing the songs for Supernova without actually releasing the songs for Supernova, Armenia have announced the first confirmed artist for Tel Aviv in their singer Srbuk, Estonia have whilst I'm writing this article released the songs for Eesti Laul (https://wiwibloggs.com/2018/12/01/estonia-competing-songs-music-videos-eesti-laul-2019/229271/) and despite my in-depth guide to different formats to pick an artist (http://internationalisteurovisionblog.blogspot.com/2018/10/is-there-best-method-of-selecting-artist.html) - the Brits have chosen the "Whatever the Germans used to do" option with six artists singing one of three songs.
So Eurovision Season 2019 is now right around the corner and this will be the last of my summer season posts designed to get all of us considering different parts of the Eurovision experience. In the last of my posts, I want to talk all things OGAE and discuss why it is more than just an opportunity to get ticket packages for the finals.
OGAE was set up in Savonlinna, Finland in 1984 by Jaripekka Koikkalainen. It has since grown to include clubs in most Eurovision participating countries including countries that used to participate regularly such as Luxembourg and Turkey. Eurovision fans in other countries have their own club for what is referred to as "the rest of the world" which albeit a difficult bucket to throw everybody into, at least means that fans can be part of the Eurovision family from wherever they are. The clubs are non-governmental, non-political and non-profit.
I am not going to go too much into the bureaucracy of how the organisations work nation-by-nation because I am not at the top level of my OGAE branch (nor are most members). However, I can talk about all the fantastic parts of OGAE through my experience of them having been a member myself since 2015.
OGAE Song & Video Contest
In my world, late summer is when the OGAE Song Contest comes around and this is great fun. Participating countries each submit a song in their country's native language made by an artist from the country. The result is a multi-cultural fruit salad of music styles, languages and themes similar to Eurovision itself however keeping the rules on national language that the main contest got rid of in 1999. OGAE members are invited to listen to each of the songs before every individual submits their votes to their nation's spokesperson who collates the votes together. The final video is released around October and includes clips from each song's music videos and a voting segment where each country shares its points. Though the entire contest is admittedly dragged out over many weeks, it is a fantastic opportunity to discover new music from new countries in new languages. Except if you're the British centre in which case you end up sending the most popular British pop song to compete for continental dominance. That said, having sent 'Hello' by Adele in 2016 and 'Rockabye' by Clean Bandit in 2017, we finally took victory this year with 'Scared of the Dark' by Steps so maybe this contest has all the same mysteries as the main one!
The video contest works in very much the same way with voters additionally taking visuals into account and without the national language rule playing a part. This has tended to represent an opportunity to listen to new music from former Eurovision artists (in fact Belgium are the current holders after Loic Nottet's 'Mud Blood' won last year's contest). Both of these competitions are above all, a great opportunity to expand one's musical horizons and are a big part of my enjoyment in participating in OGAE activities.
OGAE Eurovision Vote & Second Chance Contest
Of course, the main focus of OGAE groups is to engage fans around everything that happens as part of the contest itself. As soon as the acts from each country have been chosen, members are able to list their top 10 nations and the votes are compiled together to learn the favourite competing entries of each country's OGAE club. The vote is a fantastic bellwether for the contest itself but is ultimately a vote by and for the Eurovision fandom, offering amazing opportunities for analysis between the result of the vote and the results of the contest itself. This year Netta stormed to victory in the vote as she did in the contest itself, however she was followed by Madame Monsieur and Sara Aalto in the silver and bronze slots in the vote as opposed to Eleni Foureira and Cesar Sampson in the main contest.
Similarly, the Second Chance Contest is the perfect way to reflect on the events of each Eurovision season, specifically the national finals portion. Each OGAE club selects one of the songs that competed in their respective national finals. The songs are then compiled together and OGAE members vote for their favourites out of the participating songs. The contest is not only a reminder of all the wonderful music that starts out on the Eurovision journey without leaving its nation of origin but tends to also be an interesting indicator on singers who countries should perhaps consider for a future entry. The 2007 contest winner is one of my personal favourites who any Eurovision fan will probably recognise...
OGAE Community
However, I think ultimately what OGAE gives to Eurovision fans around the world is a strong sense of community around the contest. From my personal perspective, I am alone in my deep passion for the contest. I enjoy getting my friends and family involved in the contest goings on every year, but they certainly view Eurovision as being a big party on Grand Final night as opposed to a year-round international musical adventure. Through being part of OGAE, I have been lucky enough to meet and interact with Eurovision fans around the UK and around Europe be it through everything listed above, through events (as part of and beyond the contest) or through interacting with fellow members on social media. It is fascinating to consider that after the internet became widely available, Eurovision fans were one of the first fandom groups to use the young technology as a method of communication and interaction amongst each other. The Eurovision community is special in terms of the extent to which are divided and spread out all across the world but how we come together around our love of different cultures, different styles of music and different opinions.
I have written this article to encourage readers who aren't OGAE members to join your national club. Not only is it a fun, interactive experience but it is the perfect way to celebrate you and your identity as a Eurovision fan, something that shouldn't be embarassing to the people around you but instead something you should have the opportunity to wear as a badge of honour. Did I mention all OGAE members get identity cards? I wonder around with mine in my wallet and show it to friends as a point of pride. Check this link to find and join your local OGAE club: https://eurovisionworld.com/ogae
And now to the business end. Eurovision Season 2019 is upon us and following this year's Festival i Kenges, I will be sending out the first of my Eurovision updates with a frank perspective on how things are shaping up as we move gradually towards May 14th 2019, the day of the first Semi Final in Tel Aviv!
So Eurovision Season 2019 is now right around the corner and this will be the last of my summer season posts designed to get all of us considering different parts of the Eurovision experience. In the last of my posts, I want to talk all things OGAE and discuss why it is more than just an opportunity to get ticket packages for the finals.
OGAE was set up in Savonlinna, Finland in 1984 by Jaripekka Koikkalainen. It has since grown to include clubs in most Eurovision participating countries including countries that used to participate regularly such as Luxembourg and Turkey. Eurovision fans in other countries have their own club for what is referred to as "the rest of the world" which albeit a difficult bucket to throw everybody into, at least means that fans can be part of the Eurovision family from wherever they are. The clubs are non-governmental, non-political and non-profit.
I am not going to go too much into the bureaucracy of how the organisations work nation-by-nation because I am not at the top level of my OGAE branch (nor are most members). However, I can talk about all the fantastic parts of OGAE through my experience of them having been a member myself since 2015.
OGAE Song & Video Contest
The video contest works in very much the same way with voters additionally taking visuals into account and without the national language rule playing a part. This has tended to represent an opportunity to listen to new music from former Eurovision artists (in fact Belgium are the current holders after Loic Nottet's 'Mud Blood' won last year's contest). Both of these competitions are above all, a great opportunity to expand one's musical horizons and are a big part of my enjoyment in participating in OGAE activities.
OGAE Eurovision Vote & Second Chance Contest
Of course, the main focus of OGAE groups is to engage fans around everything that happens as part of the contest itself. As soon as the acts from each country have been chosen, members are able to list their top 10 nations and the votes are compiled together to learn the favourite competing entries of each country's OGAE club. The vote is a fantastic bellwether for the contest itself but is ultimately a vote by and for the Eurovision fandom, offering amazing opportunities for analysis between the result of the vote and the results of the contest itself. This year Netta stormed to victory in the vote as she did in the contest itself, however she was followed by Madame Monsieur and Sara Aalto in the silver and bronze slots in the vote as opposed to Eleni Foureira and Cesar Sampson in the main contest.
Similarly, the Second Chance Contest is the perfect way to reflect on the events of each Eurovision season, specifically the national finals portion. Each OGAE club selects one of the songs that competed in their respective national finals. The songs are then compiled together and OGAE members vote for their favourites out of the participating songs. The contest is not only a reminder of all the wonderful music that starts out on the Eurovision journey without leaving its nation of origin but tends to also be an interesting indicator on singers who countries should perhaps consider for a future entry. The 2007 contest winner is one of my personal favourites who any Eurovision fan will probably recognise...
OGAE Community
However, I think ultimately what OGAE gives to Eurovision fans around the world is a strong sense of community around the contest. From my personal perspective, I am alone in my deep passion for the contest. I enjoy getting my friends and family involved in the contest goings on every year, but they certainly view Eurovision as being a big party on Grand Final night as opposed to a year-round international musical adventure. Through being part of OGAE, I have been lucky enough to meet and interact with Eurovision fans around the UK and around Europe be it through everything listed above, through events (as part of and beyond the contest) or through interacting with fellow members on social media. It is fascinating to consider that after the internet became widely available, Eurovision fans were one of the first fandom groups to use the young technology as a method of communication and interaction amongst each other. The Eurovision community is special in terms of the extent to which are divided and spread out all across the world but how we come together around our love of different cultures, different styles of music and different opinions.
I have written this article to encourage readers who aren't OGAE members to join your national club. Not only is it a fun, interactive experience but it is the perfect way to celebrate you and your identity as a Eurovision fan, something that shouldn't be embarassing to the people around you but instead something you should have the opportunity to wear as a badge of honour. Did I mention all OGAE members get identity cards? I wonder around with mine in my wallet and show it to friends as a point of pride. Check this link to find and join your local OGAE club: https://eurovisionworld.com/ogae
And now to the business end. Eurovision Season 2019 is upon us and following this year's Festival i Kenges, I will be sending out the first of my Eurovision updates with a frank perspective on how things are shaping up as we move gradually towards May 14th 2019, the day of the first Semi Final in Tel Aviv!
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