This evening is Eurovision which means an estimated 1,341,000 Europeans will be tuning into their guilty pleasure for the night. Whilst the ‘voting’ element may be as predictable as a North Korean election, the atrocious outfits, nonsensical lyrics and occasional gem of a performance makes for a fun evening of groaning, laughing and general debate.I shall be spending it in luxury with my best friend and her husband, who has taken it upon himself to cook us a three course feast of a dinner (I might live in the North, but I still very much support the concept of breakfast, lunch and dinner). The dessert is a Heston Blumenthal Kir Royale jelly which manages to keep the bubbles in the jelly itself. Who cares about the science part of how it all works – it sounds delicious!
So, as I clock off from work and log out from here, let’s raise a glass of fizzy yet jellified champagne to Eurovision. Yes, Cyprus will give Greece 12 points who will return the favour, the Baltic States shan’t surprise us with their point giving ménage a trois, and you’ll question when Israel became part of Europe… But you’ll also have the pleasure of marvelling at the 80s perms and mullets which are still considered fashionable in Eurovisionland, middle-aged men in skin tight sequin trousers and the inevitable torture of the live video link ups during the results section. It may be 2010, but kitsch is not dead and the Eurovision song contest is testament to that fact.
