Europe in all its Tackiness


Eurovision is only vision Europe deserves

Last week, as it does every year, Europe Day fell on May 9, marking the day in 1950 when Robert Schuman presented his suggestion for a united Europe. Few people, bar those employees of the European Commission in Brussels who get the day off, bothered to celebrate. Compare that with the garish spectacle set to burst onto television screens this Saturday, when 37 European countries join battle in Athens for the Eurovision song contest. From the Atlantic to the Urals, from Kiev to Cardiff, everyone is invited to the party.

This year Eurovision is 51 years old – older than the European Economic Community, the predecessor of the European Union. Watched by hundreds of millions of viewers across the continent, it also appears to be far more popular than any of the festivals or events dreamt up by the eurocrats in Brussels. Eurovision is an orgy of tacky disco music and instantly forgettable tunes, but it is also a powerful monument to the European project and a barometer of its health.

Yep its that time of year, the annual parade of the talentless in the Eurovision Song Contest.

To see why the European Union has so much trouble and will not always work just watch the Eurovision Song Contest, all its explained with the scoring.