Capital Summertime Ball 2024

[Lucie]

I've been finding Graham Norton's commentary strangely hillarious tonight!

Massive well done to Scott, handled it like a pro. He had *cough* quite a bit of slap on.. and the hair? Looked fine and dandy though I must say.

"ah-may-zing!"

P.S. Glad Germany won, they were my favourite out of the few I saw

[John]

To be fair... the German girl is only 19, she seems genuinely shocked and surprised at winning. Congratulations to her

[Chippy]

Why can't the UK pick a good act?

Though at least they actually have one unlike where I'm from...

[cxx666]

Why can't the UK pick a good act?

Though at least they actually have one unlike where I'm from...

because they dont actually wanna win because its exceptionally expensive and the rest of Europe takes it a hell of a lot more seriously than we do

[E*F*4L]

we shouldn't bother with it anymore

[franzi]

I love threads like this. A whole evening discussing ESC 2010 - great!

Scott was absolutely amezzin', he looked so lovely!

And I'm off now. Good night every1

[MrDoovdeHaxorz]

For a country (for the purposes of Eurovision) that supposedly doesn't take it all that seriously, the UK sure gets annoyed when a bad song deservedly and justifiably comes last...

I thought Germany or Turkey would have deserved to win that, and judging by tonight's result we need to send someone like Lily Allen or Kate Nash next time... It's also been said that Europe loves acts like Coldplay so why not send them and have someone who ISN'T a has-been manufactured pop idiot to write the song too.

As far as the actual show goes, I'd rather have swapped Graham Norton and Scott Mills around in their roles, OR have had Ken Bruce on TV instead of relegated to Radio2 coverage. I miss Wogan doing it really, he was so much better than Graham flavour-of-the-month-who-is-in-every-damn-show-on-BBC1 Norton, much funnier, especially when he did it while drunk.

[E*F*4L]

For a country (for the purposes of Eurovision) that supposedly doesn't take it all that seriously, the UK sure gets annoyed when a bad song deservedly and justifiably comes last...

I thought Germany or Turkey would have deserved to win that, and judging by tonight's result we need to send someone like Lily Allen or Kate Nash next time... although it's been said that Europe loves acts like Coldplay so why not send them and have someone who ISN'T a has-been manufactured pop idiot to write it too.

why do we need someone like Lily Allen to sing for the UK in Eurovision ?

we have had people enter for the UK who have wrote their own songs & they have had the same luck as ones that have been written by top writers, even if Lily Allen, Coldplay or Tom Jones with Louie Spence doing the dancing lowered themselves to enter for the UK they still wouldn't have any chance of wining, the songs or singers we enter make no difference, the rest of the EU hate the UK (= fact) thats the issue, the voting for your pals is still going on the Balkans were at war with each other & they vote for each other, etc etc.

the UK should just not take part in it any more.

[KingTutsWWH]

Clearly the UK doesn't want to win. Hence crap entry. We cannot afford to host it, as mentioned above.

I preferred Belgium, but do think Germany's offering was pretty good.

[E*F*4L]

Clearly the UK doesn't want to win. Hence crap entry. We cannot afford to host it, as mentioned above.

I preferred Belgium, but do think Germany's offering was pretty good.

i agree it wasn't very good, but it was better than a lot of the others much better than some, its block voting simple as that.

[MrDoovdeHaxorz]

why do we need someone like Lily Allen to sing for the UK in Eurovision ?

we have had people enter for the UK who have wrote their own songs & they have had the same luck as ones that have been written by top writers, even if Lily Allen, Coldplay or Tom Jones with Louie Spence doing the dancing lowered themselves to enter for the UK they still wouldn't have any chance of wining, the songs or singers we enter make no difference, the rest of the EU hate the UK (= fact) thats the issue, the voting for your pals is still going on the Balkans were at war with each other & they vote for each other, etc etc.

the UK should just not take part in it any more.

I agree it USED to be tactical voting (isn't that why the system was changed to public votes?) and yes there was a little of it going on tonight, but none of it really changed the eventual winner that much.

If we didn't bother entering, we'd just look like the little boy throwing his toys out of the cot... and no offence, but that's exactly how you sound to me with that post.

With an attitude like that toward it, would it be any wonder if the UK WAS hated? (Which I dont believe for a second by the way, and have seen much evidence against on the likes of Twitter tonight, things like "the UK has such good acts and songs in their charts, why do they send rubbish to Eurovision")

Tonight's entry didn't write his own song, the UK had an egotistical attention deprived has-been write it instead, I think it would help if there was at least a currently charting talent writing. Most of the other countries send established acts who have got big and recent record sales (granted, not the winner this time out) where the UK send unknowns (who haven't been heard of since either, by the way) and a group that was a ripoff of Steps... and whine when they come last

Also, I bet you weren't making comments about the UK 'lowering' itself to Eurovision in years when we've done well, eh? Also if you really see it that way, why are you watching it?

I mentioned Lily Allen etc as the winning song was very much in the style of some of her songs so if that wins, it would make sense to send her (assuming you can get past the phallacy that the UK could only possibly have come last due to tactical voting instead of a bad song), No?

[E*F*4L]

since the UK last won in 1997 we have only had one other good showing & that was when Lord Webber wrote a song for a unknown singer & went off promoting the song all round Europe, what you should be asking yourself is why the likes of Lily Allen & Coldplay don't enter the competition.

the tactical voting is still going on, more so in fact when you look at the last ten years,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_top_ranking_countries_of_the_Eurovision_Song_Contest

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voting_at_the_Eurovision_Song_Contest#Regional_block_voting

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurovision_Song_Contest_2007#Controversy

as for the UK having such good acts in the charts, what all those X-Factor acts :hahaha: strange how all those unknowns get a number one single & album & nobody complains about the destruction of the UK music industry by all this X-Factor shit (except me).

i watch it so i can take the piss out of all the other acts.

[MrDoovdeHaxorz]

as for the UK having such good acts in the charts, what all those X-Factor acts :hahaha: strange how all those unknowns get a number one single & album & nobody complains about the destruction of the UK music industry by all this X-Factor shit (except me).

I'm going off the opinions I've seen voiced on Twitter from people on the continent (as I'm pretty sure I said above), not my own opinion at all. I agree there is a lot of crap polluting the chart, but we also have artists like Dizzee, Fyfe Dangerfield, Plan B, Muse, Kelis, Pendulum, Scouting For Girls, even Nas... don't remember any of those being on X-Factor?

If you genuinely watch it for that reason, I have to wonder why are you apparently taking it so seriously? :confused:

[yorkieboy]

Haven't watched it but from the trailers we deserved to finish last. We can go on about political voting but our entry was awful.

[the_grove]

the rest of the EU hate the UK (= fact)

That's because you lost the war in Iraq. Oh wait. We lost THE war.

First, it is not true that the rest of Europe hate the UK, and second, Germany isn't the most-loved country either. It is still about music, mainly. The german song was doing very well in the german charts and parts of northern and eastern europe, so although I would not have thought that we won, I thought that we would do alright with Lena.

As for the UK, the song was just - bad. Boring, average plastic pop stuff. Did it even enter the Top40? Don't think so. It was just not good.

When Lloyd Webber wrote the single last year, you did pretty well. That was because someone who actually knew how to arrange a piece of music professionally (and I mean professionally, not on a "I know how to get pop beats out of a computer"-basis) worked on the entry.

I would never have guessed that Germany wins. I thought getting in the top 5 would have been a huge success. Now we won, but did Turkey or Denmark lose just because they didn't become first? I don't think so. Their songs were good, they got points from all over Europe. The UK's entry, and most people in the UK seem to have realised, just wasn't good, so it didn't get points.

[MrDoovdeHaxorz]

It is not true that the rest of Europe hate the UK

Correct, there does seem to be a hatred for Germany here, it sounds to me like a lot of daft racists living 60 year old History because whatever Germany wins, there's always idiots here who refuse to give them any credit for anything and even make accusations of cheating (Oh look, see above ).

From everything I have seen, however, Germany and the rest of Europe directs their hate elsewhere (no-one in Germany goes on about how they lost the 1966 World Cup final the way the Bad Winners here do, because they don't care anymore and don't live in the past, they have other rivalries) and saying the EU hates the UK just sounds bitter and uninformed, especially as there is NOTHING to back it up.

If that's the way many in the UK think, then quite frankly I wouldn't blame the EU for hating the UK, but I see no evidence that this is actually the case (and by Evidence, I don't mean pieces in The Sun and The Daily Fail or any other tabloid bog roll).

[DaNNiP15]

The whole "the rest of the EU hate the UK" Is total crap. I'm sorry but it is. We lost because our entry was shit. He wasn't even in tune. We just need a decent act and a decent song. It cant be that hard... surely? There are plenty Europeans that love the UK. But we aren't going to get votes unless we get a decent performance. Or at least someone who can sing.

Saying the EU hates is is just a petty excuse for why we lost.

[Jono]

I like that we gave Greece twelve points. Were we hoping to bankrupt them some more so we didn't look as bad?

I thought Scott was told no to the tie on Twitter. Obviously he went with it! I was expecting the blue suit off of Trigger.

I'm £21 the richer for betting Germany, although I lost a fiver for saying Greece would come Top 5. My friend bet on Azerbaijan so I only went with Germany to piss her off a bit. It paid off.

[MrDoovdeHaxorz]

Nice, not sure I actually would have bet on Germany to win, but glad to be wrong on that. I bet the odds were pretty high on UK losing?

[Jono]

Nice, not sure I actually would have bet on Germany to win, but glad to be wrong on that. I bet the odds were pretty high on UK losing?

Yeah UK losing had it's own bet. For some reason I didn't have the confidence we'd come last but it was certain we'd do poorly.

[E*F*4L]

we may have had a bad song, but Lena cannot sing for toffee.

nobody can deny that political voting isn't going on either,

i cannot believe the UK is loved throughout Europe, there are many reasons why, Spain for example have given the UK 13 points in the last 15 years,

2001 - 1,

1999 - 4,

1998 - 3,

1997 - 7,

now forgive me for thinking about the ongoing Gibraltar issue Hmmmmm.

in answer to Bob's (MrDoovdeHaxorz) question;

If you genuinely watch it for that reason, I have to wonder why are you apparently taking it so seriously?

somebody's got to

[MrDoovdeHaxorz]

I have no doubt a little political voting was going on, but I definitely don't think it affected the results higher up the table. You're just sounding more and more bitter.

I asked elsewhere about the whole EU Hates UK thing that you claim is such a fact... this was a response I got from a German no less.

It is a rather dangerous thing to assume that "Europe hates us" if one's country ends up in last place at that contest. We ended up there as well last year or something and look at us this year. It has little or nothing to do with "hating a nation", it has to do with the song and the performers. I mean seriously, if there is a country some Europeans roll their eyes at it's France (lol) but they got a fair share of points as well. So, the assumption "we are hated because no one votes for us" is a rather weird one, to say the least.

IMO, of course.

Me personally? I love the UK. Mmm, British accents.

You guys just need a badass performance and everyone will vote for you. I wouldn't worry. One day. It's what we told us as well! One day.

that was just the longest and best phrased answer, the others were from people in Finland, Norway and France all saying basically that it ain't true.

Got any more phallacies you're stating as fact?

[Jono]

Mr Mills must have gone somewhere sunny

[E*F*4L]

I have no doubt a little political voting was going on, but I definitely don't think it affected the results higher up the table. You're just sounding more and more bitter.

I asked elsewhere about the whole EU Hates UK thing that you claim is such a fact... this was a response I got from a German no less.

that was just the longest and best phrased answer, the others were from people in Finland, Norway and France all saying basically that it ain't true.

Got any more phallacies you're stating as fact?

the thing is that, it depends on who you ask, there are lots of people who love the UK & as many who dislike it, as for taking your quote as how everyone loves the UK i draw your attention to;

Me personally? I love the UK. Mmm, British accents.

of course the song has to be good, thats not what i'm suggesting, what i am saying is that there is more to the voting than the song, lots of people (on Twitter) were saying they were voting for the hottest guy or girl etc, & i would think that the majority of people who watched in the UK are also fans of X-Factor who therefor wouldn't know a good singer/band or song if it ran them over.

[the_grove]

Correct, there does seem to be a hatred for Germany here, it sounds to me like a lot of daft racists living 60 year old History because whatever Germany wins, there's always idiots here who refuse to give them any credit for anything and even make accusations of cheating

Just to make this clear, I don't really feel hated by people from other European countries because of being German. If discussions come to the war, 1966 or whatever else I think that there is lots of irony going on and people don't actually mean what they say - so don't care if people go on about those things.

As for political voting: yes, it is still happening, but it affects those on top more than those on the bottom side. Even if you give 8, 10 and 12 point to your neighbours, there's still all the other point left to give - to countries with decent entries. Germany got 12 points about 5 times I think, many countries gave us 3, 4 or 5 points...

If you manage to get int the top 5, you've done a very good job. the rest is luck, and political voting. It's very hard to create a song that people all over Europe and in the Midde East and Asia like. Norway did it last year - I hated the song

But with a good entry, the UK good end up in the top 5. France, Spain, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland to name but a few would vote for the UK rather than for Serbia, Russia or Azerbaijan - if the UK had a good entry.

Germany ended up on the bottom half during the last years. This time, we got a famous TV-guy doing an X-factor style show. Result: Lena got 3 songs in the top 5 of the German charts - something that has never been achieved before in Germany.