Category Archives: Eurovision Posts

Cookie Fonster’s Journey into Eurovision 1987: An 80’s Fever Dream

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Intro Post

< 1986 Review | 1987 Review | 1988 Review >

Introduction

Hosted in Belgium for the first and only time, Eurovision 1987 had quite a lot of drama behind its production. Two broadcasters had agreed to organize Eurovision together in the event Belgium won: the Dutch-speaking BRT (now called VRT), and the French-speaking RTBF. However, when the time came for them to team up, they were as good at cooperation as a nerd and a jock assigned to do a high school chemistry project. When the French-speaking broadcaster chose Brussels as the host city, the Dutch-speaking broadcaster threw their hands up and left RTBF to organize it alone, while BRT chose the Belgian entry. If you want to see two broadcasters successfully collaborating, you’d have to wait until 2023.

This contest had the largest lineup of countries so far: Greece and Italy returned after skipping last year, making for 22 countries total. All countries that had ever participated in Eurovision were present this year, except Monaco, Malta, and Morocco. This is an intimidatingly long contest, almost as big as a Eurovision final in the current era. The winner was the first person to win Eurovision twice: Johnny Logan, representing Ireland. The postcards are themed upon what comes to most people’s minds when they think of Belgium: Belgian comic strips.

Annoyingly, this is another year where due to one particular song (glares intensively at Spain), you can’t find many commentary uploads on YouTube, and most of them are of terrible quality. So, um, I guess I’m watching it with Swedish commentary this time. The video description contains a link to the full unabridged Swedish commentary in good quality, so I’ll use that. I won’t be able to understand the commentary, but I’ve at least picked up on a few words from Scandinavian languages by reading translations of their Eurovision entries.

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Cookie Fonster Excavates Eurovision 1986: The Youngest Winner Ever

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Intro Post

< 1985 Review | 1986 Review | 1987 Review >

Sorry this review took so long! I went on my big trip of this year (to Germany) a few weeks ago, during which I temporarily lost interest in writing Eurovision posts. Then I made a video about an event I went to during the trip. But now I’m back in the saddle, and hopefully I can balance this project with my MLP reviews (and real life of course).

Introduction

When the historically unlucky Norway finally got to host Eurovision, they went all out and splurged tons of money to make the best show they possibly could. They set up elaborate events throughout the week and invited some of the country’s royal family, a first in Eurovision history. For the presenter, they chose Norway’s 1966 singer famed for her deep, soothing voice: Åse Kleveland. Five Norwegian cities bidded to host the contest, and the winner was Bergen—the northernmost host city in Eurovision history. The easiest way for the record to be broken is if Iceland someday won the contest.

Oh, that’s right! Speaking of Iceland, this contest was the first time they got to participate. They were the last newcomer until the influx of ex-communist countries that began in 1993. Yugoslavia and the Netherlands returned after skipping last year, Greece withdrew after sending an entry, and Italy withdrew without an entry. The winner was both a first timer and record breaker: Belgium with Sandra Kim’s “J’aime la vie”, the youngest winning singer at 13 years old. A controversy surrounding her age almost got her disqualified, as we’ll later learn. However, contestants of any age were still allowed to perform for a few more years. The age limit of 16 wasn’t enforced until 1990.

As for the opening of the contest, the little multilingual song Åse sings is so goofy but so sincere. Her speech afterwards is sincere in the right way too. She says in English that the most important part about international contests is to participate, but it’s undeniable that nothing tastes sweeter than victory. Then she says the same thing in French. She loyally followed the guidelines for presenting the contest but still gave it some of her own personality, which I admire.

The postcard format combines a frequent theme—scenery throughout the host country—with literal postcards, like the kind you’ll send a friend when on vacation. It’s the only contest to take the term “postcard” this literally. Yet again, I watched the contest with Terry Wogan’s British commentary.

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Cookie Fonster Swoons Over Eurovision 1985: A Dual Veteran Burst of Joy

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Intro Post

< 1984 Review | 1985 Review | 1986 Review >

Introduction

When Sweden gets the chance to host Eurovision, it always comes down to three cities: Stockholm, Gothenburg (Göteborg), and Malmö. Stockholm and Malmö got to host it three times each (including the upcoming 2024 contest), but Gothenburg only in 1985. Greece and Israel returned from last year, but the Netherlands and Yugoslavia skipped, which kept the number of participants at 19 and broke the Netherlands’ perfect attendance.

This contest was hosted by an interesting figure: Lill Lindfors, one of Sweden’s two singers of 1966. She performed one of the strangest Swedish entries in Eurovision, “Nygammal vals”. She also has quite a career in comedy, and we’ll see a lot of her sense of humor throughout this contest, including the most famous thing a Eurovision host ever did on stage. The contest began with way more pleasantries than any year prior: Lill Lindfors first sang a pop song, then introduced Lys Assia (the first winner) as the guest of honor, then went on a lot of tangents before the songs began. Eurovision is truly evolving into modernity!

The winners were also a pair of prior contestants: Hanne Krogh and Elisabeth Andreassen, who gave Norway their surprising first victory. The next two highest were Germany and Sweden, so this was a good year for Germanic countries.

I watched this contest with Austrian commentary by a name whose commentary I’ve watched before: Ernst Grissemann. One thing he does that Terry Wogan doesn’t is that he takes the time to explain the lyrics of every song. Terry Wogan usually just translated the song’s title and made quips about it.

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Cookie Fonster Peeks at Eurovision 1984: The Era of Crazy Presenters

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Intro Post

< 1983 Review | 1984 Review | 1985 Review >

Two days ago, Belgium was the first country to confirm their representative for Eurovision 2024: a singer from Brussels named Mustii. Going by his discography, he’ll probably send a song in English. I’m looking forward to what he’s got in store!

Introduction

Hosted in Luxembourg for the most recent time, Eurovision 1984 had 19 countries participate. Ireland returned after skipping last year, whereas Israel and Greece skipped, due to a national holiday and the broadcaster’s lack of interest respectively. Sweden narrowly won with the first of two Eurovision songs in Swedish. Ireland got second place with a song composed by a prior winner and sung by a future winner.

This contest had the youngest presenter in Eurovision history, at only 19 years old. The presenter’s style is just, oh my god. You have to see it to believe it. She switches back and forth between English, French, German, and Luxembourgish and makes tons of irreverent side remarks, exactly like you’d expect a 19-year-old on TV to do. For people who can only speak one of those languages, this must be like hearing someone from the Philippines alternate between English and Tagalog. I don’t know why this analogy came to mind, but it did. Considering the language mishaps of the last presenter, as well as the next presenter’s famous underwear incident, it’s safe to say we’re in the era of crazy presenters.

The contest begins with a montage of Luxembourg set to an orchestral medley of all five of their winners, plus “L’amour est bleu”, proof that Luxembourg was a Eurovision powerhouse. Oh, how I missed these medleys. As with last time, I watched the contest with British commentary.

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Cookie Fonster’s Sentiments Surrounding Eurovision 1983: Welcome to the Heart of the 80’s

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Intro Post

< 1982 Review | 1983 Review | 1984 Review >

Introduction

Forty years before the publication of this review, Eurovision 1983 was hosted in Munich (München), a city that I have been to! This brought the contest to Germany for the second time out of three. The contest was presented entirely by one person (Marlene Charell) who made sure to say everything in German, English, and French. I admire her multilingualism, but she was infamous for her huge amount of language mishaps, in the presentation and especially the voting. I’m not sure why this contest didn’t have two hosts, like 1978 in France or 1979 in Israel.

France, Greece, and Italy returned after skipping last year, but Ireland skipped out for the first of two times, meaning the contest had a total of 20 participants.

This contest is one of the least talked about of the 1980’s. I’m not sure if the most famous entry is “Si la vie est cadeau” (Luxembourg’s most recent victory), or “Främling” (sung by a future winner from Sweden). It was also the first contest under the 12-point voting system where two entries got zero points: Spain and Turkey. I don’t have high expectations for this year, but that means if I like a good portion of the songs, I’ll be pleasantly surprised.

The intro movie, focused on scenery from German major cities, is the first one whose background music isn’t traditionally orchestral; instead, something partly electronic that you’d hear at the start of an 80’s movie. How’s that for a breath of modernity? The contestants were introduced in something resembling a flag parade, minus the flags, another indication that we’re moving closer to the Eurovision we know today.

I watched this contest with British commentary, which will be my default choice up to at least 1986. Though I may twist things up if I want a break from Terry Wogan. One more fun fact: This was the first Eurovision ever broadcast in Australia, who would get to participate 32 years later.

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Cookie Fonster’s Feelings Over Eurovision 1982: Germany’s Time to Shine!

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Intro Post

< 1981 Review | 1982 Review | 1983 Review >

In a post about a contest that Germany won, there’s no better time to mention that I’ll be in Germany from September 9 to 18! I’m extremely excited about this trip and might write a bit about it on my blog.

Introduction

In the months leading to Eurovision 1982, it seemed like the contest was declining in popularity and prestige. Italy was absent just like last year, and France skipped because their broadcaster TF1 considered Eurovision a “monument to insanity”. This era was rough for Greece too. They withdrew from 1982 and 1986 with a song ready, and 1984 without a song ready, with no transparency or forewarning from their broadcaster. If you’re a pretentious fan who says things like “back in (insert decade before 2000 here), Eurovision was about REAL music”, plenty of people were just as dismissive about the era that you romanticize. You’re just blinded by nostalgia. (Thankfully, France returned in 1983 with a new broadcaster and hasn’t missed a contest since.)

In this sense, you may consider Eurovision 1982 like a party where the two most awaited guests couldn’t make it, and thus the others have to make do without them. It’s also like a party where your friends chose a bizarre location: the small spa town of Harrogate, England. The broadcast of this contest embraced the bizarrity of this choice by putting a “Where is Harrogate?” sketch at the start.

This year was most famous for Germany’s first victory, which was by a landslide. This meant Belgium would be the last of the original seven participants to take the crown. Since this was 17 years before I was born, I would say “I can only imagine what it was like to be German and see your country finally win”, but I actually have a story to tell about it. I’ll tell it when I review Germany’s entry, at the end of this contest.

I wanted to watch this contest with German commentary, but I’m sorry, Ado Schlier’s style of commentary (1980 to 1986) is so boring. So instead, I watched it with Luxembourg’s commentary from a woman named Marylène Bergmann, who was almost 25 years old. Her younger age should provide a fresh perspective on this competition, as well as train my French listening skills. From 1987 to 1991, Germany had a different commentator every year, and that should be more interesting.

Dear god… all this commentator talk made me realize that eventually, there will be a Eurovision commentator younger than me. That’s assuming there isn’t already one, but I didn’t find any from a Wikipedia search. Being 24 years old is weird, guys.

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Cookie Fonster’s Opinions About Eurovision 1981: I Hope You Like Disco

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Intro Post

< 1980 Review | 1981 Review | 1982 Review >

Introduction

Hosted in Dublin, Ireland, Eurovision 1981 had quite a different lineup of countries from last time. First off, the Mediterranean island of Cyprus (aka Greece’s Girlfriend) joined for the first time. No one talks much about Cyprus’s early entries, but their best result (and most iconic entry) is a second place in 2018. Although the island is divided between Greeks and Turks, Cyprus’s entries have only ever come from the Greek half.

Israel returned after skipping last year, and Yugoslavia returned after skipping the last four years. On the other hand, Morocco left never to return again, and Italy skipped the contest for the first time. It wasn’t for political reasons or lack of money—Eurovision just wasn’t very popular in Italy. It was the first of Italy’s several absences in the 1980’s and 1990’s, culminating in a hiatus from 1998 to 2011.

This contest had one of the narrowest victories yet: with their famous band Bucks Fizz, the UK beat Germany by four points. This was the closest Germany had come to tasting victory, but they would take home the prize next time. With the narrow race between the UK and Germany and the many returning contestants, including the winner from 20 years prior, it seems this will be a very interesting year! Because of the winner, I watched the contest with Terry Wogan’s British commentary.

The postcards in this contest were notable because they didn’t just feature the singers of each song: also the composers and writers, exploring Dublin together.

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Cookie Fonster’s Thoughts on Eurovision 1980: Oddball Year, Normalball Winner

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Intro Post

< 1979 Review | 1980 Review | 1981 Review >

Introduction

Before I begin, I’m obligated to say that “normalball” is totally a real word. If you think it isn’t, there’s probably something wrong with you.

In many ways, Eurovision 1980 was the opposite of a normalball. First off, it’s the only contest since 1958 hosted neither in the previous winner nor the United Kingdom. Israel wasn’t willing to host after winning, and neither was Spain (the runner-up) nor the UK (the usual fallback). So instead, the Netherlands stepped in and hosted a low-budget show in The Hague, in the same building as 1976. This was the last time until 2023 that the previous winner didn’t host the contest, and the last contest hosted in the Netherlands until 2021. Unlike the last two years, this contest had only one presenter, and she almost entirely spoke Dutch.

Another oddity that this was the only Eurovision with an Arab country participating, and the only one with an African country. The country is Morocco, which participated for the first and only time due to Israel’s absence, which was itself due to Israel’s Remembrance Day. Turkey returned after skipping last year, and Monaco withdrew, only to return in 2004 to 2006.

In terms of the winner, this contest was the opposite of the opposite of a normalball, or more concisely, a normalball. Johnny Logan won for Ireland with “What’s Another Year”, the first of many Irish ballads to win in the 80’s and 90’s. It was the second of Ireland’s seven victories, and first of Johnny Logan’s two victories—three, if you count the song he composed in 1992.

This contest didn’t have proper postcards, but in their place is something I found super cool. Before each song, a presenter went on stage to introduce it in its country’s native language, accompanied by a slideshow of photos in the corner. Now I wish Eurovision did that every year. I watched the contest with German commentary.

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Cookie Fonster Demystifies Eurovision 1979: Dschinghis Khan and Some Other Stuff

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Intro Post

< 1978 Review | 1979 Review | 1980 Review >

Introduction

Eurovision 1979 was the first of four contests hosted outside Europe: three in Israel and one in Azerbaijan. The one contest hosted in Turkey was in its European portion. Both 1979 and 1999 were hosted in the Jerusalem International Convention Center, meaning they’re tied for the southernmost Eurovision contest; 2019 was a little further north, in Tel Aviv. It was also the easternmost host city until 2012, when Azerbaijan hosted. The introduction sequence gave me a feel for the enormous history of Jerusalem. It’s a holy city for three major religions, it’s been fought over by many nations and empires, and it’s the subject of a dispute today.

All countries returned from last year, except for Turkey—their Arab neighbors pressured them to skip it, even though they had a song ready. It was Monaco’s last time participating until 2004. Israel won the contest twice in a row, becoming the third country to do so after Spain and Luxembourg. However, the most famous entry is Germany’s “Dschinghis Khan”, a cult classic to this day.

This contest was hosted by two presenters, again one male and one female. The female presenter was a member of the trio that sang for Israel in 1976. As a change of pace, I watched this contest with French commentary. Before the songs began, the commentator suggested the viewer to get a pencil and paper and rate every song like the juries do. As it so happens, I am doing something similar on a strange, newfangled device called a “laptop”.

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Cookie Fonster Inspects Eurovision 1978: Two Mischievous Nordic Competitors

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Intro Post

< 1977 Review | 1978 Review | 1979 Review >

Introduction

It might surprise you that Eurovision 1978 was the only contest ever hosted in Paris, France. However, French people who are sick of Paris getting all the attention are probably happy about that. This contest brought the number of countries to 20 for the first time—Turkey returned after two absences, and Denmark returned after eleven absences. This means it’s the first contest where Denmark’s entry was broadcast in color. This was also the first contest with two presenters and the first with a male presenter since 1956. The other presenter was female. The purpose of two presenters was so that Denise spoke French while Léon spoke English.

Most importantly, this contest was the first time Israel won. Since we’re talking about Israel, obviously there was controversy. When I read months ago about how Arab broadcasters handled this victory, I got a feel for how different life was, and how much bigger the world seemed, before the Internet. Most Arab countries played commercials during Israel’s entry and cut the contest short when it was clear Israel would win, but Jordan went the extra mile. Their broadcaster pretended there were technical difficulties, then claimed Belgium (the runner-up) won instead. Censoring the real winner would NOT have been possible today!

On the opposite side, this was the first contest with the twelve-point voting system where a song got zero points. This happened to the unluckiest country of 1970’s Eurovision: Norway.

I watched this contest with British commentary, done once again by our good friend Terry Wogan. The postcards were filmed live and feature contestants going up an elevator (or lift, as the Brits call it) to the stage, so they barely counted as postcards.

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