Tim: Well, here we are, with Saturday night’s victor, a drag queen from Gmunden in Austria, performing for the second time.
Tom: And we were there. We have the photos to prove it. But enough bragging: let’s see the show.
Tim: Big question, though: what won it? Because, let’s be honest, while it’s a good song, it’s not amazing. It’d certainly make the shortlist for a new Bond theme, and she’s definitely got a great voice, but outside that, the music’s not that special.
Tom: That’s true, but we know that Eurovision isn’t just about the song. It was a fairly weak field this year, there was full-on politics involved — particularly given the boos for Russia — and yes, perhaps the best song didn’t win, but the best performance did.
Tim: Absolutely: her as a singer and the message it provides (complete with that phoenix wing camera shot), combined with all the issues going on in eastern Europe at the moment, bring together one hell of a performance. You and I were there in the stadium, Tom, and the massive, massive amounts of cheering were arguably far more for that than for the sound.
Tom: Agreed. That said: it’s not a bad song. If it were a bad song, no amount of politics could have saved her.
Tim: True. And let’s be honest: that’s a great thing, for Eurovision fans. Because it’s finally become political. When the most Catholic country in Europe gave twelve points to a drag queen, and even Russia (Russia!) gave it five points, this is a time that we fans can point at and say: this is the liberalisation of Europe. What a great moment.