2014: An Overview
"#JOINUS" IN COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
The Swedes set a brand new standard for Eurovision, so the Danes were in a daunting position to out do their neighbors. That pressure increased with a hot favorite who was stirring up controversy from the more conservative countries taking part. The 2014 contest would mean a victory for more than just the winning country but for the entire LGBT community.
The Danish broadcaster took the openings to a brand new level. Implementing new technologies and the online fan community, the first semi-final began with an actual webcam chorus of fans singing a choral arrangement of last year's winner before it jumps to the stage. There the winner herself performs the song with another group of fans singing and dancing with her. Luckily they found enough fans who can actually sing, so it turns out quite well and sounds really professional. The second semi-final begins with a trippy violin led dance routine that shows off the abilities of the newly built stadium the Dane's created at an old shipping yard outside of Copenhagen.
The semi-finals were some of the best produced yet. The staging continued to improve, somehow, and the performances were of exceptional quality. The semi-finals were prime examples of this new quality. The first was like the second semi-final opening, an abstract dance of the Ugly Duckling - written by famous Dane Hans Christian Anderson. The second semi-final interval act was a tribute to Australia. The country is a long time fan of the contest and Eurovision has been broadcast there for decades even though it begins at 5am. Australia has asked to take part for many years and their Broadcaster STS got their chance to act least stage a humorous take on their country followed up by a new song about Eurovision by a popular Australian singer.
Wow, was the opening of the Grand Final something spectacular. It began with a real-time film showing different modes of getting to the new stadium from the city center. Then goes to an extravagant dance using the flags before a very insane parade of the all the competitors. This continuation of the parade from last year is more detailed as they actually announce each participant's country as they enter the stage. It really sets the scale for the upcoming competition. The Danish contest also continued another feature from the Swedish contest by including comedic filmed interludes, often including the host Pilou.
This year's hosts, while unable to match the awesomeness of Petra Mede, were really good. The three hosts had diverse careers, Lise was the only television presenter as the other two, Pilou and Nikolaj work as an actor and a musician/radio host respectively. Pilou most recently was cast for Game of Thrones as Euron Greyjoy! He was the funniest of the three hosts because he was obsessed with making the Chinese folks watching the broadcast feel more comfortable by speaking in Chinese to the audience. The postcards this year were the most innovative in years. They asked each participant to recreate their country's flag using whatever they can find in their country. Some were simple, and others were extremely impressive.
The competition had all eyes on Conchita Wurst, dubbed the "Bearded Lady" and "Queen of Eurovision," by the media, the drag act from Austria had everyone talking. Russia and other Eastern Block broadcasters and political figures took offense but time would tell what their people actually thought. The Russian performers, while only 17, got booed on stage despite a great performance, merely because of the laws and stance of Russia towards LGBT civil rights. After the competition it seemed that with so many votes to count from so many countries, they needed to stretch the interval act. Because of this, there was essentially three different interval acts. The first interval was maybe a premonition, as they presented a bizarre version of Austrian Mozart's "Ode to Joy." The second was a clever song about the number 12, a nod to the famous "Douze Points" that features Pilou going on another digression and singing about Chinese culture. The third semi-final was a final reprise of the last year's winning song by Emmelie de Forest followed by her new single. During her performance of the new Eurovision anthem, all of the year's participants joined her, making it the first time all the contestants had ever all appeared on stage together in Eurovision history.
During the first bits of voting, Russia was leading causing the audience to boo. BBC commentator remarked "This could turn into a really heavy evening," as Russia continued to get high votes. The Netherlands was doing very well too, but they weren't getting points from every country. Austria, however, was getting points from everyone. Even the countries who's governments were offended by the act were giving some points to the Bearded Lady. Soon, it really turned to Austria's favor. The crowd would go wild every time Conchita got the top points, the audience had their favorite and before voting could be completed they announced the winner. The drag singer was ecstatic and overjoyed announcing "we are unity and we are unstoppable."
The Picks of 2014
2014: The Best (The Netherlands)
2014: The Worst (Switzerland)
2014: The Guilty (FYR Macedonia)
2014: The Weird (Poland)
2014: The Hilarious (France)
2014: The Honorable (United Kingdom)
2014: The Winner (Austria)
Semi-Final One Song Recap May 06, 2014:
Semi-Final Two Song Recap May 08, 2014:
Grand Final Song Recap May 10, 2014: