SA Footy

I was channel surfing a few years ago when i found it on SBS, enjoyed it and have tried to make it an annual ritual to view it every year.

The disappointing part for me the last time I watched it, was that SBS, didnt have the commentary from Terry Wogan (think thats his name ) but they decided to do it themselves. I thought the old boy was quite funny with his remarks about the different acts, and when it came to voting, he knew which countries would vote for

I notice this year that SBS are showing the prelim final on sunday night.......

its worth grabbing a carton and having a geeze, as some of the outfits, songs etc just have to be seen to be believed!!!!!

We are the winnerssss ..... Or Euro-vis-ion!

Always good for a laugh, cheers for the reminder MT

Think there was one time SBS went with their own guy but it has been Wogan the past couple.

According to today's TV guide, the Prelim Final is on Saturday Night with the Grand Final on Sunday Night.
Wouldn't be the same without Wogan, he makes that show.
Always a good laugh.

sorry if ive led people up the garden path about the prelim final on sunday night..........

thanks wedgie for finding that!!!!!!

I just had a feeling the grand final would have been a week or so later then the prelim final

How the **** did Ukraine end up runner up? I thought they were shocking! And United Kingdoms act was atrocious!

The Real Number 3 wrote:How the **** did Ukraine end up runner up? I thought they were shocking! And United Kingdoms act was atrocious!

Was the winners any better? The best part of that show is the guy who does the commentary, some damn funny comments, just wish I remember what he said.

That was the worst Eurovision I've seen in some time. And that's saying something.

Guys, this is how Eurovision works.
Terry Wogan, has been doing it for years, and Wedgie is right, it wouldn't be the same without him. He is a funny Irish guy and a bit of a celeb up here. He has the dj spot on breakfast BBC radio 2 (the most popular station in the UK), and does a lot of awards, specials etc etc. Has his own chat show and has done a lot of game shows etc, including come dancing, blankety blank and others.
Up until about 4 or 5 years ago, the comp didn't have a qualifyer as there were only upto 20 or so countries that competed. Britain was always one of the favs as the Brit music scene is the most dominant in Europe.
From then the comp expanded with the eastern block joining.
I'm sure you know how the voting works, but in a nutshell, every counrty sings a song. Then each country has a jury that votes. 1st 12 points, 2nd 10 points, then from 3rd to 10th 8 points down to 1 point. you can't vote for your own song though.
The whloe shabang has gotten very political. Thats how cr4ppy songs by the Ukraine do well.
The eastern block all vote for each other and as there are now more of them than any other group, they will always win.
Scandanavia always vote for each other, Finland gives Sweden 12 points and norway 10 points, then Sweeden gives Norway 12 points and Denmark 10 points etc etc.
Cyprus always gives Greece 12 points and Greece reciprocates. Neither give Turkey any points since the Turks invaded Cyprus.
Britain dont get any points because no one likes them and even less these days because of Iraq.
This is the reason Wogan seems to know who will vote for who.
Traditionally the winning song went on to be a hit, Abba's Waterloo is a good example, Katrina and the Waves etc, but over the last few years this doesn't happen because the best song no longer wins.
Shame it has become so political. I made a point of watching it every year, mainly for the comedy and Wogan, but have given it a miss recently.
Countries all have to contribute financially and there are calls here, for Britain as the biggest contributor, to drop out as the funding comes from the BBC and with the 'voting so heavily biased on political allegiances' it is not seen as good value for money anymore.

johntheclaret wrote:I'm sure you know how the voting works, but in a nutshell, every counrty sings a song. Then each country has a jury that votes. 1st 12 points, 2nd 10 points, then from 3rd to 10th 8 points down to 1 point. you can't vote for your own song though.

I'm pretty sure these days voting is by public SMS like Idol or BB. Which makes it even stranger that the political allegiances still hold sway.

As usual, some great calls by Terry, but I think perhaps the standout of the night was "Ahhh Serbia ... Proving that looks aren't everything in Eurovision!" (anyone who saw the lead singer would understand)

Constance_Perm wrote:As usual, some great calls by Terry, but I think perhaps the standout of the night was "Ahhh Serbia ... Proving that looks aren't everything in Eurovision!" (anyone who saw the lead singer would understand)

Yes! That was gold

zipzap wrote:

johntheclaret wrote:I'm sure you know how the voting works, but in a nutshell, every counrty sings a song. Then each country has a jury that votes. 1st 12 points, 2nd 10 points, then from 3rd to 10th 8 points down to 1 point. you can't vote for your own song though.

I'm pretty sure these days voting is by public SMS like Idol or BB. Which makes it even stranger that the political allegiances still hold sway.

You could well be right ZZ. I haven't watched it for 2 or 3 years so the voting system may well have changed in that time.
Used to look forward to it, guessing which song would win as it was much more open then. Funny thing was the longer it went on the more beers I had, the better the songs sounded. I always seem to end up putting my money on the last song

from what i heard on the show on the w/end is that england, france, spain and germany are regarded as the top 4 and are in the final always. then its the top 10 from the previous year also go straight into the final. then on sat. nights prelim. final all other european countries compete to take the final 10 spots giving you the final 24.

and yes it is a public vote for approx. 15 minutes but ZZ is right with how some countries vote.

magpie in the 80's wrote:from what i heard on the show on the w/end is that england, france, spain and germany are regarded as the top 4 and are in the final always. then its the top 10 from the previous year also go straight into the final. then on sat. nights prelim. final all other european countries compete to take the final 10 spots giving you the final 24.

and yes it is a public vote for approx. 15 minutes but ZZ is right with how some countries vote.

Again, you could be right Mit80's. I would guess England, France, Spain and Germany are regarded as top four becasue of their financial contribution. Like I said, there is no question over tactical voting. The top ten are essentially going to be the same each year, give or take the odd one or two.

BORING SH1TE