The 2018 Eurovision Song Contest: Grand Finale Pt.10

This can be read as a continuation of the previous parts; https://watchitdie.blogspot.com/2018/05/the-2018-eurovision-song-contest-grand_28.html

Brexit.

Another of themes that emerged at this year's Song Contest was Britain's decision to leave the European Union (EU). The Brexit.

The United Kingdom: This year they were represented by SuRie with the song; "Storm."

Brexit has emerged as almost an existential issue in Britain. People are asked to divide themselves into poorly defined camps. Which camp they choose reflects not just their position on Britain's relationship with the EU but deep questions of identity which cover a wide range of political and social issues.

It might just be that I've spent a large part of my life disagreeing with my country but I really do not understand this. Whether Britain is a member of the EU or not really does not affect my opinions on things like immigration or gay rights. Let alone my sense of self.

The two main camps dividing Britons at the moment are; Brexiteers and Remoaners.

Brexiteers are people who very passionately support Brexit and what it to happen. Often regardless of cost. Remoaners are people who passionately want Britain to remain in the EU and just can't stop moaning about the fact Britain is leaving.

The artist biography in support of the entry makes clear SuRie's strong links to Belgium. She was a backing vocalist and dancer for Belgium's 2015 entry "Rhythm Inside" by Loic Nottet. She was also the musical director for Belgium's 2017 entry "City of Lights" by Blanche.

The EU is of course partly based in Brussels, the capital of Belgium. As such SuRie comes across as the arch Remoaner. Someone who is far more loyal to Belgium, Brussels and the EU than to Britain.

The rest of SuRie's biography reads like someone is having a bet over how many times you can get the word; "Royal" into a few short paragraphs. SuRie's musical career began singing for His Royal Highness Prince Charles at the Royal Albert Hall. She went on to study at the Royal Academy of Music and has recently been made an associate of the Royal Academy of Music.

Immediately prior to the 2016 referendum Britain's Song Contest entry was "You're Not Alone" by Joe and Jake. The main message of the entry was that the EU need not worry about Britain leaving. The Queen would step in to make sure that Britain would vote to remain part of the EU.

As such this year's song with its Royal links puts forward the idea that the Storm of Brexit would not last forever. The Queen will step in to overturn the referendum result and make sure that Britain remains part of the EU. The sort of desperate measure every Remoaner clings to.

With lyrics such as; "I still believe in chasing rainbows" the songs read like a Remoaners existential crisis. Apparently now Britain has left the EU people who once supported gay rights now have to oppose gay rights.

The racism element of every Remoaners existential crisis was represented by efforts outside of the Song Contest. At Britain's request a Special Rapporteur of the United Nations (UN) Tendayi Achiume declared that Brexit had made Britain more racist. On May 12th (12/5/18) the day before the Grand Final.

I must say that it's nice the UN gives Britain exactly what it pays for. It would be nicer if they could employ someone with a brain.

The opening lyric of the song is; "Hey Brother." That is a pretty clear reference to the 2013 song; "Hey Brother" by Swedish DJ Avicii.

The video for Avicii's Hey Brother tells the story of two brothers growing up in 1960's America. The older brother goes off to fight in the Vietnam War and is killed. As a result the video features lots of photographs and archive footage of the Vietnam War.

However is you look really closely you'll notice that the first photograph shown is actually of a Swedish solider from World War Two wearing full Nazi uniform. A little nod to the fact that Avicii is Swedish and Sweden's experience in World War Two is very different from America's experience in World War Two.

As fascism was on the rise across Europe Sweden was allied with Nazi Germany. While Nazi Germany was invading Poland in 1938 starting World War Two Nazi Sweden was invading Finland in what's known as; "The Winter War." Nazi Sweden were rapidly defeated in this war by Soviet Russia. From then on they took a position of neutrality.

In their own entry this year Sweden suggested that their current aggression against Russia stems from the fact they'd much rather be back in the late 1980's/early 1990's when the Berlin Wall was still in place and the Cold War raged. Britain was reminding everyone that Sweden's current aggression towards Russia stems from the fact they still haven't come to terms with 1938.

Avicii really helped to revolutionise modern dance music. Prior to his arrival the genre was really the musical equivalent of empty calories. By things such as including Aloe Blacc on the 2013 song; "Wake Me Up" Avicii introduced this soulful element giving the genre an artistic depth which continues to this day.

Avicii's contribution to popular music has been well noted and respected at the Eurovision Song Contest. Since his emergence in 2013 numerous nations have paid tribute to him with little references in their entries.

Sadly Avicii died in Muscat, Oman on April 20th 2018 (20/4/18) aged just 28. SuRie's song which was selected for Eurovision just a few weeks before is going to be considered as a factor in any investigation into his death.

Having killed a much loved and well respected star Britain's 2018 Song Contest was over before it began. Forcing them to resort to desperate measures.

Earlier in this long stream of posts I discussed Lithuania's entry. Their act ended with an apology for their act. Britain took things a step further. The main gimmick of the Grand Final performance was a performer acting out a stage invasion to pull SuRie off the stage midway through her act.

With SuRie representing the Remoaners this performer represented the Brexiteers. Although it was hard to hear that the time his performance featured some ranting about the Nazi Press. This was a loose reference to what is known as the; "Enemies of the People" saga.

On November 4th 2016 the British newspaper The Daily Mail ran the headline; "Enemies of the People." In reference to the Supreme Court's decision to require the UK Parliament to vote on formally triggering Brexit. This turned into a national saga with the Press Regulator receiving some 1,000 complaints and the head of the Judiciary calling on the government to censor the free press.

In the 1930's The Daily Mail was run by Lord Rothermere who was a close friend of both Hitler and Mussolini. In 1934 the newspaper famously ran the headline; "Hurrah for the Blackshirts" in support of British Nazi Sir Oswald Mosley and his British Union of Fascists.

Sir Oswald Mosley's son Max Mosley is a huge supporter of the UK Labour Party's "Hacked Off" campaign to censor the free press. Ever since his was exposed taking part in Nazi themed sex games with prostitutes.

The performer was actually a British national of Greek heritage. However from his dark skin and the knotted headscarf/bandanna he wore over his head he seemed to be playing the role of a Sikh.

That obviously referenced Multiculturalism which in the UK exempts Sikhs who adhere to the 5 K's being prosecuted for carrying the Kirpan sword or dagger.It also referenced one of the main arguments that Brexiteers have for leaving the EU. Doing so would allow the UK to negotiate trade deals with members of the UK Commonwealth such as India.

Back in May 2017 UK Foreign Secretary (Senior Foreign Minister) Boris Johnson made a fool of himself at a Sikh Gurdwara (Temple) by suggesting Brexit would allow Scotland to export Whisky to famously teetotal Indian Sikhs. While wearing the required knotted headscarf.

The prospect of post-Brexit trade with the UK Commonwealth was also reflected by the inclusion of the Australian Nicole Blair as a songwriter. Alongside SuRie's much publicised travels to places such as Australia  and Borneo.

The interruption also allowed Britain to have some fun at the expense of host Daniela Ruah. Something which emerged as a significant theme of this year's contest.

Daniela Ruah is an American born actress who appears to have no previous experience presenting live TV. Almost by design the Eurovision Song Contest is one of the most challenging jobs there is for a TV presenter.

The combination of really experimental technology and the sheer number of nations involved means that something invariably goes wrong. Forcing presenters to improvise and think on their feet to keep the show going.

Britain's act forced one of these unplanned interruptions. While Daniela Ruah was apparently in hiding one of the other presenters, Filomena Cautela was forced to do a series of impromptu interviews which other acts in the green room. A desperate effort to keep the mood light while everything descended into panic.

For those of us not tasked with keeping the show on the road the interruption gave us time to get up to speed with the terrorist attack which was unfolding in France.

Mainly though Britain was desperately appealing for the sympathy vote for an act that was already dead.

Voting at the Song Contest is done in two ways. There are expert panels from each nation. Then there is the public vote.

The expert panels cast their votes based on a dress rehearsal performance which takes the night before. So their votes had already been cast before SuRie's televised performance. That is why when organisers offered her the chance to perform again she refused.

However judging by the reaction from on social media many viewers are not aware of that. So SuRie likely picked up a few public votes from viewers who felt sorry for her having her act ruined not realising that it was part of the act.

Britain ended up finishing 24th out of 26. Without the sympathy vote Avicii's killers were guaranteed last place.

At around 17:30 on 31/5/18 (UK date) I'm clearly going to be adding to this theme over the next couple of days. It may even have to be spread out across two parts.

Edited at around 15:00 on 1/6/18 (UK date) to add;

The Republic of Ireland: This year they were represented by Ryan O'Shaughnessy with the song; "Together."

This was in the style of possibly the worst type of break-up imaginable. The song is sung from the perspective of the person who was really happy in the relationship and hoping it would last forever. The other person has just announced that they've found someone else and are leaving.

The real meaning of course was to express Ireland's concerns over Brexit and its effects on the border between themselves and the British province of Northern Ireland. Those concerns are understandable because the economies of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland are deeply interconnected.

In the past I've used that famous Irish export Guinness as an example. As the proudly advertise this brewed in the Irish capital Dublin. However much of the hops and barley they use to brew it is grown in Northern Ireland. Once the beer has been brewed it is then transported back across the border to be bottled. The finished product is then exported from ports in both Northern Ireland and the Republic.

That interconnectedness though is not limited to just private companies. It exists on a much deeper, structural level. There are a number of bodies and organisations funded by the EU, the Republic of Ireland and Britain to promote and facilitate these links.

These include the Centre for Cross Border Studies (CCBS) which is part of the EU's Transfrontier Euro-Institute Network. Intertrade Ireland which is operated by the Irish Department of Trade and Northern Irish Department of Economy. There is also the North West Region Cross Border Group (NWRCBG). They actually promote investment in the Northern Irish areas of Derry, Strabane, Limavady, Magherafelt and the Irish country of Donegal as a single economic area.

The biography in support of Ireland's entry makes a big deal of the fact it was written by "The Nucleus." This is something of a creative hub bringing together artists from across not just the island of Ireland but all of the EU. Rather like the CCBS, Intertrade Ireland and the NWRCBG bring together businesses.

The focus on the new writing team also signalled a break from the past.

The 1919-1921 Irish War of Independence was never really about Irish Catholics trying to expel English Protestants. Instead it was about establishing home rule. Fine Gael, the party of current Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, actually fought Fianna Fail, the current Irish opposition to keep Ireland as part of Britain only with devolved political powers.

That meant that when Ireland was partitioned there wasn't really any of the mass expulsions or ethnic cleansing often associated with civil wars. Obviously ethnically English Protestants were free to move to the north if they wanted to and vice versa. However most people couldn't be bothered and just stayed put.

So despite all the romanticism there is actually quite a large ethnically English Protestant population within Ireland. In recent years this group has seemed to have undue influence over Ireland's Song Contest entries. That pro-British stance has coincided with the most successful nation in Song Contest history having a bad run of form.

Despite this great signalling of change it seems that group still has quite a lot of influence. Let's just say the mood in Dublin was different when the border was first introduced in 1921.

Beyond expressing a general anxiety over Brexit there were only a couple of things in Ireland's entry making any specific political statement.

One of the lyrics is; "There were troubles in the water, you swore it was nothing." That expressed a desire for any potential border to be placed in the Irish Sea between mainland Britain and the island of Ireland. A border between the Republic and the North would violate the Good Friday Agreement creating a risk that the violence of "The Troubles" would return.

Another lyric is; "There’s a (suspicious) smile on your face." That seemed to be a little warning to Northern Irish Unionists such as the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) who are demanding a border between the Republic and the North.

The DUP in particular draw a huge amount of their support from the farming community. Their leader Arlene Foster proudly reminds everybody that she is a farmer's daughter. 

In 2011 the filming of the video for "We Found Love" in Northern Ireland was shut down by a farmer after Rihanna appeared topless in one of his fields. That farmer, Alan Graham is an active member of the DUP.

The warning to those Northern Irish Unionist was to not be too rigid on the issue. After all wrecking a deeply interconnected economy means wrecking their economy too.

The issue of how you pronounce Ryan O'Shaughnessy's name also seemed like a swipe at Northern Irish Nationalists. Mainly Sinn Fein who actually acted as the moderates in the dispute between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail.

As part of the Good Friday Agreement Northern Ireland is a devolved region ruled by the Northern Ireland Assembly. However the Assembly has not been in session since January 2017. Due to a complex dispute between the DUP and Sinn Fein.

One of the issues at play is the role of the Irish language (Gaelic). Sinn Fein present the DUP's suppression of the Irish language as yet another example of English oppression in a long history of English oppression. That's not strictly speaking true.

Gaelic was never suppressed or banned under British rule. It simply sort of fell out of usage due the mass exodus of people during the Irish Potato Famine. In order to survive Irish parents took to teaching their children the language spoken in the countries such as America where they would escape to.

An English speaker would pronounce O'Shaughnessy like; "O'Shore-ness-ee." The proper Gaelic pronunciation is more like; "O'Shock-tee-cee." As Ireland made clear throughout the competition Ryan will answer to either pronunciation and you won't cause anyone any offence by using the wrong one.

Suggesting that the Irish Nation is less interested in the Irish language issue than Northern Ireland's Irish Nationalists.

Ireland's entry this year is famous for including a young gay male couple, very much in love, during its live performance in both the First Semi-Final and the Grand Final. This was censored from the First Semi-Final by Chinese TV. Leading to Chinese TV being stripped of the rights to broadcast the Grand Final.

I suppose this couple could represent the singer's memory of the relationship. However with this being a break-up song it really is a stretch to explain what any sort of loving couple had to do with the rest of the entry.

It is something Ireland simply bolted on in the hope that the gay rights vote would propel them into the Grand Final for the first time since 2013. With a suggestion of  DUP involvement in the entry this had an air about it of;

"They're all gays. The gays are mentally defective. They'll fall for this crap."

So I think the real reason China censored it was that it was really embarrassing for Ireland.

With their current Prime Minister being both a gay man and an Indian immigrant we really expected better from them.

16:40 on 1/6/18 (UK date).