Tag Archives: eurovision 2010

Cookie Fonster’s Eurovision 2010 Ramblings (Final): The Happiest Year for My Inner Patriot

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Intro Post

< 2010 Semifinals | 2010 Final | 2011 Semifinals >

Introduction

Eurovision 2010 (Oslo, Norway) is a very happy year for me, because for the second and latest time in Eurovision history, Germany was the winner! I wish I could have seen the contest live as a kid, but I live in America so I would’ve had to discover it on my own. Given Germany’s current Eurovision slump, it’s easy to forget that they won quite recently compared to other western European countries. In second place behind Germany’s fresh upbeat pop song came a hard rock song from Turkey, which Turkish fans still passionately think should have won. And Romania finished third place for the second and latest time with a typical Eurovision pop song.

From this year onwards, the most common number of hosts changed from two to three (the first three-host year was 1999). This year’s lineup of hosts, as well as the next two, featured two women and one man. Nadia Hasanoui is the first Eurovision host of Arab descent (half Moroccan), Haddy Njie is the first host of sub-Saharan African descent (half Gambian), and Erik Solbakken is the only one of entirely European descent. They’ve all been lovely hosts so far, professional with a good sense of humor.

Norway went efficient with their opening act: first a quick film recapping Eurovision history, then fans from every participating country wishing luck, then Alexander Rybak performing “Fairytale” with a new custom intro. This contest has done a good job simplifying the presentation from last year while preserving its whimsy. I watched the grand final once again with Peter Urban’s German commentary, so I can find out how he reacted to Germany winning.

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Cookie Fonster’s Eurovision 2010 Ramblings (Semifinals): The First Non-Qualifier to Break My Heart

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Intro Post

< 2009 Final | 2010 Semifinals | 2010 Final >

And now we have all 37 songs confirmed for Eurovision 2024! I’m not sure when I’ll make my fourth “unorganized predictions and hopes” post, because I want these songs to solidify in my brain first, and also because I don’t want to listen to each song too much like I did in 2023. April is a relatively quiet month for Eurovision fans, particularly compared to February and March, so I’ll probably do it then.

Introduction

I’m now at a point where my Eurovision reviews feel less like I’m diving into old European history, and more like I’m catching up on all the episodes of a TV show I like. As fun as it was to go through the early years of Eurovision, there’s no denying it: the recent years are by far the most exciting.

The history behind Eurovision 2010 reflects the economic problems that had plagued Europe. After the grandiose show Russia had put on, Norway decided to scale things back for their third time hosting Eurovision. For one thing, Norway was efficient when choosing where to host. On May 27, 2009, just two weeks after Alexander Rybak’s victory, NRK went with the safe choice of hosting in Oslo (just like 1996). On July 2, they had already decided which building to host it in: the newly built Telenor Arena. While Russia last year had a complex stage full of moving LED screens, Norway went for a simple stage with minimal light effects. This was mainly a cost-saving measure, but it also helped draw more attention to the performers and set this year’s personality apart from last year.

The global financial crisis was also why four countries from last year didn’t rejoin: Andorra, Czechia, Hungary, and Montenegro. Andorra still hasn’t returned to the contest, despite Susanne Georgi’s best efforts. The other three would come back in 2015, 2011, and 2012 (with an infamous joke entry) respectively. Georgia came back this year, after their previous entry was rejected. The total head count was 39 countries.

Two changes in the voting: The qualifiers from the semifinals were now determined by a mix of juries and televoting, as would be the case each year up to 2022. The voting was now open while all the songs were performed, which was also done in 2011 and will be done again in 2024.

I’m excited to review this year mainly for one reason: Germany was the winner! But first I have to get through these two semifinals, guided by Peter Urban’s German commentary.

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