{"id":1605,"date":"2018-05-07T15:31:26","date_gmt":"2018-05-07T14:31:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.edgehill.ac.uk\/eurovision\/?p=1605"},"modified":"2018-05-07T15:31:26","modified_gmt":"2018-05-07T14:31:26","slug":"esc2018-the-launch-of-another-titanic-eurovision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edgehill.ac.uk\/eurovision\/2018\/05\/07\/esc2018-the-launch-of-another-titanic-eurovision\/","title":{"rendered":"ESC2018: the launch of another titanic Eurovision\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Europe\u2019s longest running television show is back on our screens this week as the good ship Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) sets sail on it\u2019s 63rd\u00a0<\/sup>voyage. For regular viewers it\u2019s the now familiar passage through two semi-finals (Tuesday 8 and Thursday 10 May) with each sending 10 songs to the Grand Final (Saturday 12 May), where they will be joined by the \u2018Big Five\u2019 and host country Portugal.<\/p>\n

In 2018 the ESC is a popular as ever, with a record-equalling forty-three countries taking part, battling gamely to take the Grand Prix de la chanson Eurovision. Be prepared for more hours of Eurovision telly this year than we have ever had. Some of it is going to be a bit of a stretch, as I\u2019m not sure that this is a vintage year for songs. There are a lot of good tunes, but boy do we have some songs to sit through that we are never going to want to hear again! More so than in recent years. That said, there\u2019s plenty to delight the eye and ear again this year, as we will see and hear\u2026<\/p>\n

Here in the UK it\u2019s the hottest May Bank Holiday since this early Bank Holiday was introduced in 1978. Over in Portugal things are also hotting-up in Lisbon, the host city for this year\u2019s ESC. After eight days of rehearsals Sunday evening saw the official launch of ESC2018, with the opening ceremony. All of the forty-three participating countries walked the ocean blue carpet \u2013 suitably tying in with the nautical and sea related theme for this year\u2019s Contest \u201cAll Aboard\u201d. I will try to not have too many sea\/water\/Portugal related puns. Oh, who am I kidding!<\/em><\/p>\n

Should you have wanted to, you could have watched the live stream from the blue carpet (well, you still can \u2013 via www.eurovision.tv). That would be three hours of your life that you will not get back! I dipped in (I can\u2019t help myself!<\/em>) at the end to see the UK\u2019s SuRie being interviewed after she\u2019d walked the blue carpet. She seems really nice and comfortable with the whole process. Mind you, it\u2019s not her first time at the rodeo as she has previously been involved with two entries representing Belgium, both of which finished in a rather respectful fourth place. We need not think this bodes well for the UK entry this year – it doesn\u2019t – but more on that in a later post.<\/p>\n

Click on the clip below for a sneak-peek at some rehearsal footage of the \u2018Big Five\u2019 countries and hosts Portugal from yesterday (Sunday), and some of the action from the blue carpet opening ceremony\u2026<\/p>\n