Well, it’s been almost two months since So So Gay declared Eurovision-season officially open with the selection of the first song (Switzerland). Lots more has happened since then – rest assured that from now on, your slice of everything Eurotastic will be more regular and more jam-packed than ever as we edge closer to the big day in Azerbaijan in May.
Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a venue!
First and foremost is the rather comforting news that the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 will actually have a home. When Azerbaijan won in Germany last year, concerns were raised as to whether or not the Caucasian state would have the infrastructure to host such a huge pan-European event. Many venues were mooted, most of which were too small for what has become an arena event. So in the end, the host country opted for building a completely new complex, the Baku Crystal Hall; an aptly camp name we feel. Due to be completed at the end of March and with an audience capacity of 23,000, the hall will hopefully provide a more than suitable home for this prestigious event.
Theme art and slogan revealed
The slogan for this years Eurovision Song Contest has been revealed by the show’s organisers. ‘Light Your Fire!’ is a reference to Azerbaijan’s nickame of ‘land of fire’. The meaning behind the logo, however, is slightly less clear. Bearing fiery colours, in keeping with the slogan, it appears to be a floral shape for some reason. Whatever the thinking, it is certainly striking – appropriate given the fact that this will be the most ‘easterly’ Eurovision Song Contest ever.
Twelve songs selected already
This year’s contest is being held relatively late (22, 24 and 26 May). However, three months in advance, twelve participating countries have already selected their entries – Iceland, Montenegro, Switzerland, Cyprus, Denmark, Hungary, Israel, Macedonia, Malta, Norway and France. February really is the time when the pre-selection season kicks off in earnest and the coming weeks will see a veritable avalanche of national finals. One country notable by its lack of any Eurovision-related announcements is the UK. The BBC were very early in announcing the internal selection of Blue in 2011. Who knows what they have up their sleeve for us this year? As long as it’s not Pete Waterman again, we should be fine.
Norway: does it look and sound familiar?
Norway selected its entry for Baku on 11 February. Tooji, a Norwegian singer, TV personality and model of Iranian descent, will represent the Scandinavian nation with ‘Stay’. It’s an upbeat number with an extremely catchy hook and definite resonances of Tooji’s middle-eastern heritage. Overall, we like it. However, those of us whose hearts skipped a beat last year thanks to a certain Swedish heartthrob will notice more than a passing resemblance to the now-legendary Eric Saade. From the look to the sound to the equally aesthetically-pleasing acrobatic backing dancers, the similarity is inescapable. Take look and tell us what you think.
Cyprus: catchy, summery, fun
Ivi Adamou, winner of the second Greek series of The X Factor, has been selected to represent Cyprus with ‘La La Love’, a bouncy Europop affair, reminiscent of a sun-soaked summer in Ayia Napa. It’s all completely harmless fun and we must admit, it had us hooked from the first set of many ‘la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la love”s in the song. Adamou is certainly loving her work, as you can see in the video from the national selection. However, we will reserve judgement as to whether it’s likely to qualify from the semi-final and how successful it’s likely to be until we actually hear it performed live.
Ireland: Jedward two years in a row?
Following Ireland’s success at last year’s contest, where they placed a respectable 8th in the grand final, Jedward are hoping to become the first act to represent Ireland two years in a row. The twins are hoping to represent their country with the song ‘Waterline’ and are being mentored in the national final by previous Eurovision winner, Linda Martin. Jedward will discover whether they have been successful on 24 February. In the meantime, you can check out their song below.
Jedward – Waterline by Dave Cunningham 2
Watch out for the next instalment of EUROvisual. Au revoir – Adios – Auf Wiedersehen – Ciao!
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