Eurovision 2010

Come every spring Spain is usually busy choosing it's contestant to the Eurovision contest and I always find myself rather fascinated with it. It was first held in Switzerland in 1956 to help pull back together Europe after so many wars and was set up by the European Broadcasting Union (like a European-wide PBS).

Now, to start with, Eurovision doesn't seem exactly confined to Europe, since participants include Russia, Israel, Turkey, Morocco, Georgia as well as most European countries. Although I guess you could dispute whether they are European or not. And other northern African countries are also welcome to join.

Each year, each country chooses its participant and song. Now of course, the song could not have been commercially or publicly broadcast beforehand other than during the selection process so you're never going to see great artists like U2 play there. Spain has chosen its participant on several occasions through Operación Triunfo, which is kind of like a mix between Big Brother and American Idol. Now popular request usually decides who is going to represent Spain.

During the contest there are semi finals and finals and this year 39 countries sang last night at the finals. You'd be amazed at all the talented people out there. And I really enjoy watching these European countries battle it out to the end, but in a peaceful and loving way. Nowadays viewers send text messages voting for their favorite songs (and obviously cannot vote for their own country) although in the past there was a panel.

Spain itself has only won once and tied another time although they have come in second place several times. Spaniards in general aren't as enthusiastic about the whole thing as, let's say, Swedes and more Eastern European countries. They claim that each country tends to vote for its neighbors or political allies, which would be a lot easier for the old Russian and Slavic states than for the Western-European ones.

However Spain has a history of choosing quacks and weirdos with whom the general public oddly enough feel identified. Such is the case with Spanish TV and movie stars who stand worlds apart from their exaggeratedly beautiful and wonderful American counterparts. But this year's artist was a really talented young man from Alcalá de Henares who frequently sings on the Gran Vía, Spain's version of Broadway. Although his song was more appropriate for a children's program, it was really well done and he dignifiedly represented Spain.

Spain's Participant

Eurovision Official Website
Eurovision on Wikipedia