Who's getting excited?
Only two weeks to go before the greatest party of the year!
For those who don't know Eurovision is a ridiculous event held every year in Europe. It's a song-writing/performing contest. Basically, imagine as if we held American Idol every year and then had to send the winner (who also wrote their own song) to compete in an international competition against the Idol winners of about 40 other countries. And each of those countries had a radically different idea of what constituted a high-quality entry. Basically, **** goes crazy.
We will be hosting approximately 30 people this year in our home. This will be the fourth year we've hosted it and it gets more popular every year. Your only limit is the amount of seating you have and how many friends you know. The basics to throw your own Eurovision party:
The main event is on May 14th. But that's in Europe, so it's completely over by the time you get up on Saturday. Avoid spoilers. Both semi-final nights and the main event will be available in their entirety on Youtube. If you have a roku, apple TV, a smart TV or anything of that ilk you can play the events directly on your television.
Eurovision itself is composed of three awards shows that air on three different days. Every country (except for 6, but these are details) performs on the two semi-final nights in a very elaborate pageanty fashion. Absurd things happen. Weepy ballads are sung. You will end up with very strong opinions.
Then, the best of those two nights plus the other six that didn't perform yet all compete in the final show where the eurovision winner is chosen. This means that the whole thing, if watched in real time, takes three full nights.
Further, each awards show itself is three hours, so even if you condense the whole thing into one shot it would take 9 hours. That's too long, even for die-hards
So here's how this goes:
1. A fair number of these things are boring ballads. The house can declare a "skip" 20 seconds into someone's song. This is the equivalent of the gong show. This power is used liberally. That cuts about four hours off the top. Sometimes you'll watch the slower stuff because it has interesting staging, but yelling "skip" becomes part of the routine. You're panning for gold here, not being a completist that has to see Azerbaijan's ode to its history.
2. Some groups perform twice because they perform at the semi final and the final. We only watch the best ones twice. Most of them can be pushed aside. That cuts another hour off.
3. Alcohol is involved so your sense of time and space will get a little looser anyway.
Add in a little time for everyone to yell strong opinions about why Latvia was robbed and that bitch from the Ukraine had a crappy dress anyway and it works out to perfectly fill a night if you start in the late afternoon.
In the mix will be a handful of performances you unironically enjoy as well. But those probably won't be the parts you most strongly remember.
Why go to all this trouble? Because all your slightly drunk friends go nuts when Romania trots out its sexy dubstep vampire.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OV3xp5ZXSYA
You realize that Epic Sax Guy has an origin story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-VMHOlCyW8&t=48s
It's hilarious when a no-hope country like Lithuania decides to simply have an entry entitled "We Are the Winners" and hope they fool everyone else.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBAdOlQPbwg
Whatever this is happens
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfjHJneVonE
And sometimes legit musical acts perform
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjH-HYAFICg
You have two weeks! Plan your parties!
-Sirkickyass
Moderator Emeritus, Esq.
Only two weeks to go before the greatest party of the year!
For those who don't know Eurovision is a ridiculous event held every year in Europe. It's a song-writing/performing contest. Basically, imagine as if we held American Idol every year and then had to send the winner (who also wrote their own song) to compete in an international competition against the Idol winners of about 40 other countries. And each of those countries had a radically different idea of what constituted a high-quality entry. Basically, **** goes crazy.
We will be hosting approximately 30 people this year in our home. This will be the fourth year we've hosted it and it gets more popular every year. Your only limit is the amount of seating you have and how many friends you know. The basics to throw your own Eurovision party:
The main event is on May 14th. But that's in Europe, so it's completely over by the time you get up on Saturday. Avoid spoilers. Both semi-final nights and the main event will be available in their entirety on Youtube. If you have a roku, apple TV, a smart TV or anything of that ilk you can play the events directly on your television.
Eurovision itself is composed of three awards shows that air on three different days. Every country (except for 6, but these are details) performs on the two semi-final nights in a very elaborate pageanty fashion. Absurd things happen. Weepy ballads are sung. You will end up with very strong opinions.
Then, the best of those two nights plus the other six that didn't perform yet all compete in the final show where the eurovision winner is chosen. This means that the whole thing, if watched in real time, takes three full nights.
Further, each awards show itself is three hours, so even if you condense the whole thing into one shot it would take 9 hours. That's too long, even for die-hards
So here's how this goes:
1. A fair number of these things are boring ballads. The house can declare a "skip" 20 seconds into someone's song. This is the equivalent of the gong show. This power is used liberally. That cuts about four hours off the top. Sometimes you'll watch the slower stuff because it has interesting staging, but yelling "skip" becomes part of the routine. You're panning for gold here, not being a completist that has to see Azerbaijan's ode to its history.
2. Some groups perform twice because they perform at the semi final and the final. We only watch the best ones twice. Most of them can be pushed aside. That cuts another hour off.
3. Alcohol is involved so your sense of time and space will get a little looser anyway.
Add in a little time for everyone to yell strong opinions about why Latvia was robbed and that bitch from the Ukraine had a crappy dress anyway and it works out to perfectly fill a night if you start in the late afternoon.
In the mix will be a handful of performances you unironically enjoy as well. But those probably won't be the parts you most strongly remember.
Why go to all this trouble? Because all your slightly drunk friends go nuts when Romania trots out its sexy dubstep vampire.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OV3xp5ZXSYA
You realize that Epic Sax Guy has an origin story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-VMHOlCyW8&t=48s
It's hilarious when a no-hope country like Lithuania decides to simply have an entry entitled "We Are the Winners" and hope they fool everyone else.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBAdOlQPbwg
Whatever this is happens
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfjHJneVonE
And sometimes legit musical acts perform
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjH-HYAFICg
You have two weeks! Plan your parties!
-Sirkickyass
Moderator Emeritus, Esq.
