{"id":38,"date":"2008-05-21T10:25:18","date_gmt":"2008-05-21T09:25:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edgehill.ac.uk\/eurovision\/2008\/05\/21\/did-the-turkey-get-a-good-stuffing\/"},"modified":"2009-04-28T11:06:56","modified_gmt":"2009-04-28T10:06:56","slug":"did-the-turkey-get-a-good-stuffing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edgehill.ac.uk\/eurovision\/2008\/05\/21\/did-the-turkey-get-a-good-stuffing\/","title":{"rendered":"Did the turkey get a good stuffing?"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>Day four<\/strong> (Tuesday) – a somewhat muggy day in Belgrade.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As I\u2019ve been moving around Belgrade there are places where the presence of Eurovision is prominent \u2013 and the logo as been plastered all over the place.\u00a0 On my way to the press centre yesterday I managed to snatch a photo of the billboards dotted around the city \u2013 given that I\u2019ve posted some low quality images (I\u2019m no photographer) the one below isn\u2019t too bad\u2026 we were travelling on a tram at the time.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\"ogon-in-town.JPG\"\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

So far I have not really got a feel for Belgrade, as much of my activities have been based at the press centre and Beograd Arena.\u00a0 That should change over the next couple of days as there are fewer rehearsals and our commitments free us up. I\u2019m staying in an apartment in old Belgrade, and I have to cross the Sava (via a bridge, you understand) to get to the new part \u2013 where the conference facilities and Arena are.\u00a0 So far we have all agreed that we are being well treated, and the cost of living is generously in our favour. Can you imagine getting a taxi at 2.00am and paying only four quid?\u00a0Anyway, the main duty of the day (Tuesday) was to attend the final dress rehearsal at 1400hrs. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\"me-at-semi.JPG\"\u00a0<\/p>\n

The two-hour run through was much slicker than the first rehearsal, and as you can see (below) we have really good seats \u2013 although probably just outside of the camera pan by a couple of rows if you are going to look for me during the broadcasts (we have seats to the left of the stage, second block of seats on the front row \u2013 worth paying \u00a3250 for a whole-week package!) This was the scene moments before the start:\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"01-dress.JPG\"\u00a0<\/p>\n

Whilst it might look we have an obscured view,\u00a0 the cameras do move! I only took a couple of shots \u2013 I\u2019ll get more at the next semi-final as that\u2019s the more interesting group of songs, where qualification will be tough!\u00a0 I adore the Bosnian song, so I wanted to capture a moment of the magical madness on stage…<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\"02-bosnia-dress.JPG\"<\/p>\n

<\/a>There is a stunning set design for Finland, and with all the impressive pyrotechnics it\u2019ll be sure to get to the final (mind you, it\u2019s a complete rip-off of Lordi \u2013 the Finnish winning entry from 2005)…<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\"03-finland.JPG\"\u00a0<\/p>\n

And so to the events of last night\u2026\u00a0My last post included my predictions for the semi-final last night \u2013 and if I\u2019m right that means that I got 9\/10. Not bad!\u00a0 This \u2018Eurovision expert\u2019 seems to have got it right for once (or as I said during an interview with Liverpool radio station citytalk.fm, \u2018I know my bacon\u2019).\u00a0 I have to say that being in the Beograd Arena really does change your perspective on the songs \u2013 and it underlines just how crucial performance can be.\u00a0 We\u2019ve seen a few songs undermined by bizarre staging, and even more bizarre-looking performers\u2026 and we\u2019ve seen some excellent performers perform song excellent songs very well!\u00a0<\/p>\n

Reflecting on the events of last night I think that ALL the right songs got through. I can imagine what Terry Wogan will be saying \u2013 that the attempts to stop block voting haven\u2019t worked. Well if that\u2019s what\u2019s being said then personally I think it\u2019s rubbish \u2013 the best SONGS got through on the night. The fact that the only Western song to qualify was Norway, for me, is incidental.\u00a0The semi-final itself was really great – although I am sitting next to a guy from The Netherlands who was a bit crestfallen when they didn\u2019t qualify. Here\u2019s a few observations from my seat in the arena:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bosnia<\/strong> and Greece<\/strong> went really, really big in the hall. In fact I think that there is a good chance that Greece will have the edge over hot favourite Russia<\/strong> \u2013 did you hear the chants for Greek singer Kalomira? (and it\u2019d be nice to go to Athens for the Contest next year!).\u00a0 Also, could you tell at home that the Russian song was actually booed within the arena at the start?\u00a0 You will definitely have heard Dustin the Turkey<\/strong> getting booed \u2013 but it has been said that the main portion of that booing was coming from the Greek fans.\u00a0After the Contest had gone off-air Dima Bilan (Russia) was behaving like he had won the grand final, not the semi-final \u2013 and having seen him behaving in a slightly distasteful manner, I\u2019d quite like for him not to win. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Viva Bosnia!\u00a0 Viva Kalomira! Better luck next time, Dustin…<\/p>\n

\u00a0Bring-on the next phase and (if you can cope) semi-final number two!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Day four (Tuesday) – a somewhat muggy day in Belgrade.\u00a0 As I\u2019ve been moving around Belgrade there are places where the presence of Eurovision is prominent \u2013 and the logo as been plastered all over the place.\u00a0 On my way to the press centre yesterday I managed to snatch a photo of the billboards dotted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":367,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1484,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-eurovision-2008","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nDid the turkey get a good stuffing? - Phil Jackson's Eurovision Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edgehill.ac.uk\/eurovision\/2008\/05\/21\/did-the-turkey-get-a-good-stuffing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Did the turkey get a good stuffing? 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