Eurovision 2016

[mike carey]

Well, it's 2016 so every gay person naturally thinks about Eurovision! Well, maybe not. For some reason the Eurovision powers that be have included Australia for the second year in a row. At the Opera House Conchita Wurst announced the Australian contestant, it will be Dami Im.

 

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-03/dami-im-australias-2016-eurovision-contestant/7219094

 

I'm sure Eurovision will be a hot topic in here over the coming months! Maybe.

[nynakedtop]

I watch it every year, and even attended the live performance in Copenhagen not all that many years ago.

 

I am particularly interested in Ireland's entry this year, as I remain a huge fan of Westlife (even traveled to Sheffield for part of their farewell tour):

 

http://www.eurovision.tv/page/news?id=nicky_byrne_with_the_song_sunlight_for_ireland

[marylander1940]

Ukraine's Jamala has won this year's Eurovision Song Contest, held in Stockholm, Sweden.

 

The country scored 534 points with its song 1944, about the deportation of Crimean Tartars under Josef Stalin.

 

Australia finished second with 511 points, while Russia - which was the favourite going into the competition - was third with 491 points.

 

Joe and Jake, who represented the UK with their song You're Not Alone, finished in 24th place with 62 points.

 

Jamala is the first Crimean Tartar to perform at the contest and her song caused controversy because of alleged political overtones.

 

 

It references the year when Stalin deported almost all of the Tartar ethnic group from its native region of Crimea in what was then the Soviet Union.

 

The song has angered Russia, which annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, as tension between the two countries grew

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5C4AJ4JoFCc

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-36295168

[+ glennnn]

It's good that the arts still have some power to provoke controversy and address issues beyond sex, drugs and violence for Violence's sake. Many "artists"" wouldn't know a sincere emotion or worthy cause if it bit them in the ass. Not all, obviously, but many are just poseurs, and not even entertaining.