Eurovision Bingo rules for tonight!
Get ready to mark your Eurovision Bingo cards! Of course, if you want to have a shot of drink each time you spot one of these things, you are welcome, but drinking is not compulsory. You can just shout “Hola, mi bebébé. Llámame, llámame!” instead, or whatever you fancy. You do you. Here is what I have got on my list:
- A costume change!
- Ludicrous musical instruments!
- A cynical key and/or tempo change!
- Someone says the evening/songs have been “wonderful”!
- Unnecessary use of the French language!
- Vigorous hand-washing!
- Costumes with cut-outs!
- Someone jumps off the stage!
- A guitar solo!
- Spooky ghost wraiths!
- Someone in the crowd is waving a Ukrainian flag!
- Someone is back performing at Eurovision again!
I’ll try and call them out. And also try not to get into complicated arguments about musicology as to whether something is technically a key change or not. We all know that cynical rising key change for the final set of choruses when you hear it.
The UK is going into Eurovision this year with a little bit of optimization around Sam Ryder’s song. Rachel Aroesti spoke to him and the people behind the song:
Sam Ryder, has been gearing up for the final in Turin on Saturday – mainly by trying to avoid catching Covid or a cold. “You don’t want to be getting on that stage in front of 200 million people with a scratchy throat,” he says. But he isn’t getting carried away by the bookies’ odds. “We’re flattered, but it’s just a number, so let’s not get hyped,” he says, sporting his trademark grin.
If Space Man does succeed, it will be no fluke: this year, the UK’s strategy for picking a Eurovision entry underwent a much-needed overhaul. For most of the competition’s history, the UK candidate has been chosen via a televised competition, but in 2021 the BBC enlisted the help of record label BMG. The ensuing nul points disaster prompted Ben Mawson and Ed Millett of TaP Music – known for managing major pop stars such as Lana Del Rey, Ellie Goulding and Dua Lipa as well as indie darlings such as Caroline Polachek and Purity Ring – to get involved.
The pair believed the UK was wasting an opportunity to showcase a promising artist to a huge global audience. They were also convinced there were some easy fixes to the UK’s predicament. “The bottom line was: why, in the home of some of the most wonderful pop music in the world, are we doing so badly each year?” says Mawson.
San Marino is also another big loss from tonight’s show. Achille Lauro‘s staging of Stripper absolutely killed it on Thursday, and I am a bit exasperated it didn’t progress. How many times do you get to see a lace-clad man on top of a studded leather red bucking bronco on your telly on a Saturday night, eh? Just look at it…
Go on. Treat yourself. Give it a blast.
Eurovision Bingo rules for tonight!
Get ready to mark your Eurovision Bingo cards! Of course, if you want to have a shot of drink each time you spot one of these things, you are welcome, but drinking is not compulsory. You can just shout “Hola, mi bebébé. Llámame, llámame!” instead, or whatever you fancy. You do you. Here is what I have got on my list:
- A costume change!
- Ludicrous musical instruments!
- A cynical key and/or tempo change!
- Someone says the evening/songs have been “wonderful”!
- Unnecessary use of the French language!
- Vigorous hand-washing!
- Costumes with cut-outs!
- Someone jumps off the stage!
- A guitar solo!
- Spooky ghost wraiths!
- Someone in the crowd is waving a Ukrainian flag!
- Someone is back performing at Eurovision again!
I’ll try and call them out. And also try not to get into complicated arguments about musicology as to whether something is technically a key change or not. We all know that cynical rising key change for the final set of choruses when you hear it.
The sheer number of entries these days means we have to have semi-finals, but that also sadly means that some acts who would have added a lot of joy to tonight’s event don’t make it through. I didn’t enjoy the song, but Georgia sent what I can only describe as a “Steampunk Kula Shaker” in the shape of Circus Mircus singing Lock Me In.
It was a bit of a psychedelic extravaganza, but the viewers decided to firmly lock them out of tonight’s final.
I have probably already given a few of the answers away in my preamble, but if you have a couple of minutes to spare, as we wait for things to get in the swing in Turin, why not have a stab at our Eurovision Quiz from yesterday?
If you don’t know, unbelievable as it seems, but mika is one of the presenters on tonight’s show. Yes, the actual Mika. He has already been tweeting from behind the scenes tonight.
Angelica Frey had a look for us earlier in the week at the entries to keep an eye out for, and what might be the favourites. But there were some shocks in the semi-final, and some have already fallen by the wayside. You can catch up with her rundown here: Sexy vegetables, banana-eating wolves and Meghan Markle’s hair – who to watch at Eurovision 2022
Here is your running order for tonight, which the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) have handily put on a social media graphic so that I don’t have to type it all out.
I remember last year promising to join in the comments, and then it all goes by so fast that it is impossible for me. So if you want to get in touch with me – particularly with photos of your Eurovision party this evening – then tweeting me @MartinBelam is your best bet. I will have a Tweetdeck column open and so will (probably) see it. I’ve already got some Eurovision Bingo suggestions set up, but I welcome any additional ideas.
Welcome to our live coverage of the 2022 Eurovision song contest
оброго вечора лондона! That’s Ukrainian for “Good evening from London!”, and I’m glad you can join me for our live coverage of the 66th edition of the Eurovision song contest,
I’ve got to start by being totally honest with you. There is a good chance we are about to sit through four hours of the greatest and glitteriest musical extravaganza on the planet, merely to find out exactly how much Kalush Orchestra from Ukraine are going to win it by with their song Stefania,
Has the song been popular with Eurovision fans in the build-up? Yes. Will Ukraine winning be seen as a gesture of solidarity for their nation across much of Europe? Yes. Is it actually the best song we’ll see tonight? Well…
Everything gets started at 9pm in Turin, which is 8pm in the UK, and about 90 minutes away. If you are joining us from Australia I am keen to hear in the comments whether you have decided to set your alarm for silly o’clock in the morning to get up and watch it, or whether you have gone on an all-night Eurovision rampage .
Even if the result seems like it might be obvious, there is a lot of entertainment to be had. We’ve got 25 songs ahead of us. The UK‘s entry is tipped not to do terribly for a change, and Norway and Moldova have sent the kind of Eurovision entries that you will be seeing on clip-shows for years to come. If you like moody downtempo songs of misery sung by women, there’s a bumper crop. Some of the staging, as ever, is spectacular, and there’s one song that starts by asking “What could be the secret of Meghan Markle’s healthy hair?”
So come and join me. We will of course be playing Eurovision Bingo – drinking is optional – and the comments on this live blog are always lively and fun. I am really looking forward to it.