EUROVISION 2022 - General Discussion Thread

[escYOUnited]

Please post any and all discussions regarding the contest itself, host country and city, organisation, rumours and other topics not related to any specific country's selection process.

 

[Matt]

So the first rehearsals will be closed to the press, why?

I think the idea is to put less pressure on the artists and delegations.

 

[Matt]

If you guys aren't allowed there, then it will be a huge disappointment as I love your coverage on there, and as the letter says, these generic media outlets, will talk a lot of rubbish mostly and have no idea about previous entries, artist backgrounds etc.

P.S. I love WiwiBloggs and everything they do

I appreciate the kind words, we'll still be there, just in a VERY different capacity. And we are good friends with the folks at wiwi. I know there are folks out there who want us to be be butting heads for drama but that couldn't be further from the truth.

 

[Jonkonfui]

I cant stand wiwibloggs... You cannot write the word 'shit' there. And they dont just cover it. They 'inspect' your message and then delete it. Inspect and terminate. Sounds kinda scary and only because of the word 'shit'. But "we are so open minded"... This forum is way better and humbly I must say it has improved a lot since I am contributing.

 

[Jonkonfui]

I have several questions:
1. Who from here actually votes at Esc?
2. When you vote is it one call, sms or whatever 1 vote? Or can you 'rate' the songs?
3. If you do vote. How many times? Do you vote more than once for a given song?.

 

[Preuss]

I think the idea is to put less pressure on the artists and delegations.

Like, the only delegation I've ever heard complain about that was Australia because Jess Mauboy had some sort of nervous meltdown after the bad reviews. But okay, it's a pity because the long rehearsal weeks are always enjoyable, especially seeing the differences made between the 1st and 2nd. Well, okay, guess the artists' mental health is more important than me getting some entertainment, so I guess it's not the worst thing happening

The limited coverage by various ESC sites is just what sucks.

 

[Lance Esgard]

I can understand the desire to get broader coverage of Eurovision by changing who is given accreditation, but it seems stupid to me to have gone this far in this direction. A smaller trial would seem far more appropriate, because changing the mix of who is accredited in such a drastic way could easily have negative consequences which could be harder to manage by going 'all-in' on this different approach.

It isn't knowable at this point whether the contributions (i.e. interviews, etc.) done by influencers or whoever else replaces the ESC fan media will do more or less (or a lot less) to promote the artists/Eurovision. We don't know whether the resulting content will be more self-serving, or repetitive. We don't know whether artists will be more bored or irritated at having to do press as a result.

Historically the mainstream media have relied on the ESC fan media to do the groundwork and research they draw on for their own quickly written stories/reports. Less of the fan media may well mean that coverage of Eurovision becomes more superficial, especially outside of the given national representative (in the case of media from a Eurovision-participating nation).

 

[crashworld]

Now with limited coverage from the fan "experts" on the ground, it could mean one thing - there could be an element of "surprise" in the sense that the ESC community won't get to have the level of details we have on the performances like in the past until we actually watch the shows.

This may also results in the betting odds to move in a different manner I supposed as usually they tend to move in tandem to the people on the ground reactions.

This is getting weirdly interesting if I may say.

But having said that, I'm not supportive of this idea of restricting access to the fan "experts" because I'm just afraid whoever is going to "replace" them do not have sufficient background knowledge of the competition and the history. And we could get very watered down content.

 

[hijirio]

Weird......

 

[Jonkonfui]

If the Festival was in Spain this things would not happen... But Italy, what can you expect??

 

[hijirio]

It's sad that fans are seen as a disturbance at this year's contest.

Eurovision is more than 1 night, it's a whole series of rehearsals, dress rehearsals, fan votings etc etc

This mentality that they're trying to impose is reducing the whole contest to 1 night.

 

[MopManMoss]

I have several questions:
1. Who from here actually votes at Esc?
2. When you vote is it one call, sms or whatever 1 vote? Or can you 'rate' the songs?
3. If you do vote. How many times? Do you vote more than once for a given song?.

The UK has never been allowed to vote by SMS for some reason

 

[Jonkonfui]

The UK has never been allowed to vote by SMS for some reason

You might not have the technology to do so.

 

[I bims]

It's sad that fans are seen as a disturbance at this year's contest.

Eurovision is more than 1 night, it's a whole series of rehearsals, dress rehearsals, fan votings etc etc

This mentality that they're trying to impose is reducing the whole contest to 1 night.

Which is weird. If anyone should know how to drag out an event, it would be Italy.

 

[Etanna]

It's sad that fans are seen as a disturbance at this year's contest.

Eurovision is more than 1 night, it's a whole series of rehearsals, dress rehearsals, fan votings etc etc

This mentality that they're trying to impose is reducing the whole contest to 1 night.

Not to mention the fact that it is the fan websites who cover all the things that happen throughout the year. I'm certain that for many artists being given attention from all over the world not only on the one night but throughout the season & afterwards is an important part of the experience that motivates them to participate, do well and think&talk fondly about Eurovision (even if things don't work out in the actual contest). For this alone the fan sites should be allowed to attend.

 

[Lance Esgard]

It's sad that fans are seen as a disturbance at this year's contest.

Eurovision is more than 1 night, it's a whole series of rehearsals, dress rehearsals, fan votings etc etc

This mentality that they're trying to impose is reducing the whole contest to 1 night.

That is something the producers may find a positive from a TV perspective - the less people know of the performances beforehand, the greater the draw of the show... the increasingly reduced coverage of rehearsals may also be part of that.

Yet reducing the event to the main shows is a negative for the artists, because it is the longer exposure that comes not just from the interviews but the speculation and discussion about the performances that increases the connection the core Eurofans have to the artists and while that may be a small audience, guess what - a small number of people buy albums, or go to concerts or repeatedly stream artists that aren't already in the mainstream.

That small number of people can make a big difference (and not just financially but emotionally), especially if you're an artist that didn't have a dedicated audience of any size before.

There's a reason why Eurovision artists and National Final artists have done long interviews (i.e 30 minutes) not just with larger outlets but ESC fan media that literally get only a few hundred views or less for their average interview.

 

[Jonkonfui]

You dont understand cultural differences as I can see... Spain, Italy we are similar in our cultural thingies (Spain far more advanced, naturally). Mediterranean people are not thinking about giving passes because we assume you will sneak in anyway. And being Italy you can expect doors unguarded, holes on walls... Plenty of chances to get in uninvited.

 

[Mainshow]

Come to think of it, maybe that´s how the EBU responds to the positive comments about Nikkie Tutorials "Lab" interviews? - Maybe they just thought that these were the best ones/most watched interviews and therefore, they would like to attract more influencers?

Even though I loved these videos, I think that Nikkie was the reason - she was funny, charming and really lovely BUT her questions were rather basic and universal and I´m afraid of getting only these "superfical/basic/short" interviews from Eurovision participants this year.

We won´t be getting any 20-30 in-depth interviews about national finals, their entry/composition, questions about the music videos etc. Like you´ve already mentioned, I can imagine this turning into a snoozefest for the artists as well (because they don´t really have the chance to elaborate on their entry/visuals/concepts and rather have to stick to basic questions about what´s your favourite pizza topping or what do you like most about Turin?).

 

[Sammy]

I think the idea is to put less pressure on the artists and delegations.

Makes sense. When I think of how Blanche was attacked from the fandom after the first rehearsal…. that was pretty harsh. This way they can get comfy with the concept, the stage and everything around. I don‘t mind getting the first impression a little bit later.

 

[empo21]

My crackhead theory is that they're cautious because they're worried for technical difficulties during the 1st rehearsal and want to avoid potential bad press and complaints from delegations

This is the most ambitious stage they've ever done and the construction of it started almost a month earlier than usual. For me it seems like they're trying to perfect and control everything until they feel comfortable....at the expense of euro fan blogs. And that's where local influencers enter - as 'production people' the organisers will have a better grab on the press and what/how to promote.

Someone mentioned greater draw for the show, but the people who run/read/follow eurovision blogs and rehearsals are people who were already going to watch the show, anyway.

 

[mikademaeyer]

I've created this running order for semi-final 1 (without Armenia) Let me know what you think!

1) Ukraine
2) Bulgaria
3) Slovenia
4) Latvia
5) Moldova
6) Lithuania
7) Switzerland
8) Albania
9) The Netherlands
BREAK
10) Austria
11) Croatia
12) Portugal
13)Denmark
14) Iceland
15) Greece
16) Norway

Let me know what you think!