You KNOW there needs to be a thread.
It's that time of year again, oh yes.

First round of semis tonight. Who'll be watching?

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Deux hommes font une promenade amicale. L'un des deux porte un parapluie à son bras.
Il se met à pleuvoir. L'homme n'ouvre pas son parapluie et l'autre lui demande pourquoi.
- Parce que ça ne servirait à rien, lui répond son ami. Il est plein de trous.
- Alors, pourquoi l'as-tu pris?
- Parce que je ne pensais pas qu'il pleuvrait.

I'm keen! I'll watch the final off the interweb, but as we have no TV coverage, I won't go to the effort for the semifinal. I'll follow the results...

I think France have a good shot, and I hope that Ireland don't. Usually songs with a lot of pre-show hype do well... witness Lordi in 2006 and the (fairly dire) Ukraine entry last year. France has a fair bit of hype, by Eurovision standards, and a half-pie decent song. I'm going for them. I still haven't heard the UK entry. Is it shit? It can't be worse than Scooch. Fuck me, I'd rather listen to Daz Simpson twice, or Jemini thrice than listen to them ever again.

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Time is the distance that you can't return by miles.

I escaped somehow. Let's go

actualy [sic] I have quite a blessed life if I'm honest. I have many people to love, hate few and have few money problem's [sic].... What more does a person need? Oh yeah and I have some kind of humbleness unlike you of course ^_^ ~ CarefulCarpenter

That whore representing my country (Czech Rep.) can't sing, she's just gonna show you her silver panties! It's gonna be such a shame...

She says that the Czech don't want her to succeed, and you know what, she's right.

It is a vast, vast improvement on all of the above, but still not mindblowing. At least it has a bit of class about it, rather than being brazen camp nonsense. A bloke called Andy Abraham sings it, I gather he had a hand in writing it too, and he's not too bad.

Although someone commented on that video that he dances like Rick Astley. And they're right.

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Deux hommes font une promenade amicale. L'un des deux porte un parapluie à son bras.
Il se met à pleuvoir. L'homme n'ouvre pas son parapluie et l'autre lui demande pourquoi.
- Parce que ça ne servirait à rien, lui répond son ami. Il est plein de trous.
- Alors, pourquoi l'as-tu pris?
- Parce que je ne pensais pas qu'il pleuvrait.

I'm gonna be in Greece seeing Madrugada play when the final is on, so I'm a bit gutted. But at least I'll be around some possibly more-enthusiastic folks, as the Greeks seem to dig Eurovision more than the Brits. I'm usually a bit when it comes to the Greek entries but I think I can get behind them this year:

She's like a greek Britney Spears. But when Britney was still good, obv.

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Deux hommes font une promenade amicale. L'un des deux porte un parapluie à son bras.
Il se met à pleuvoir. L'homme n'ouvre pas son parapluie et l'autre lui demande pourquoi.
- Parce que ça ne servirait à rien, lui répond son ami. Il est plein de trous.
- Alors, pourquoi l'as-tu pris?
- Parce que je ne pensais pas qu'il pleuvrait.

my friends girlfriend is presenting it.

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Now honies play me close like butter played toast

I was in spain last year and after they had a heated debate about why they didn't win, laying into the eastern countries for bloc voting. It was so serious.

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If you ever feel useless and depressed, remember: one day you were the fastest spermatozoon of all.

Oh the obsequeous voting is always hilarious. I love Terry Wogan getting drunker and drunker and laying into them (and pity the poor countries that don't have Terry commentating).

I think the UK's one this year is awful. NIL POINTS!
and I shall be going to a Eurovision party

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I just can't seem to get folks here at all enthusiastic about it. Any mention is met with eye rolling and such. I'd love to have a Eurovision party!!

They're trying to get around the bloc voting banter by having the two semi finals this year, I think. Only the "big four" and last year's winner are guaranteed the final, and the countries in the main voting blocs (Scandinavian, Baltic, Slavic, Greek) are all strategically split up away from the countries they usually vote for. The nine with highest points from each semi are going through, and a jury are selecting a tenth from each lot to go through as well. So it could be a lot fairer, and hopefully no one will have cause for sour grapes this year, b/c it just ruins the fun really.

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Deux hommes font une promenade amicale. L'un des deux porte un parapluie à son bras.
Il se met à pleuvoir. L'homme n'ouvre pas son parapluie et l'autre lui demande pourquoi.
- Parce que ça ne servirait à rien, lui répond son ami. Il est plein de trous.
- Alors, pourquoi l'as-tu pris?
- Parce que je ne pensais pas qu'il pleuvrait.

I watched the Greek broadcast last year on my bf's satellite thing and I can't tell you how much I missed the Wogan banter. It makes the show.

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Deux hommes font une promenade amicale. L'un des deux porte un parapluie à son bras.
Il se met à pleuvoir. L'homme n'ouvre pas son parapluie et l'autre lui demande pourquoi.
- Parce que ça ne servirait à rien, lui répond son ami. Il est plein de trous.
- Alors, pourquoi l'as-tu pris?
- Parce que je ne pensais pas qu'il pleuvrait.

I think the bloc voting is part of the fun. I think I'd be gutted if cyprus and greece didn't give each other maximum points. I cheer everytime it happens.

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If you ever feel useless and depressed, remember: one day you were the fastest spermatozoon of all.

Eurovision is brilliant, I almost always end up backing Finland or Germany's entry, they seem to be have the craziest or most innapropriate songs. Like last year I'm sure Finland had a gothic chick singing about suicide in amongst all the cheery chirpy euro pop.
Does anyone remember a few years back when there was a German guy who looked like the Hunchback of Notre Dame and had a table of hand bells? That was genius.

haha yeah. It's always like "Oh Cyprus votes are in... wait for it, wait for iiiiiiiit. OOOOH WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT! 12 points to Greece!" etc. Well they can still vote for each other in the final, but that's provided either of them get through to the final without each other's support. I can't quite remember what the Cyprus entry was like but I don't recall it being bad so they could stand a chance. I'll pout lots if Ms Greek Britney doesn't get through.

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Deux hommes font une promenade amicale. L'un des deux porte un parapluie à son bras.
Il se met à pleuvoir. L'homme n'ouvre pas son parapluie et l'autre lui demande pourquoi.
- Parce que ça ne servirait à rien, lui répond son ami. Il est plein de trous.
- Alors, pourquoi l'as-tu pris?
- Parce que je ne pensais pas qu'il pleuvrait.

wasnt the guy singing for the uk on x factor?

i used to watch it every year when i was a kid. me, my mum and sis. good times. now i'm back home i'm sooooo gonna watch it again.

France hopefully will win.

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We're about to enter a whole other realm of music...we're talking Beethoven, Bob Marley, Men at Work territory

Serves them right for when Franco fixed it in 1968. I'm boycotting the whole affair until Cliff is awarded his winner's medal for that one.

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I'm Squarepusher, and I approved this message.

yes, he was