Congratulations Bulgaria

It doesn't happen very often but Bulgaria was one of my picks to win the Eurovision Song Contest with Bangaranga which took place in Vienna amidst protests and boycotts over Israel’s participation.
The most relieved people in the building must have been the Eurovision Organisers who faced wholesale boycotts if Israel won and with the European Jewish Community urging all Jews to vote for Israel, at one point it looked as though the stage in Tel Aviv was going to be a lonely place next year but Bulgaria swept in to snatch top place with the final scores of the night and make sure we all arrive in Sofia next year.  
The loud booing when Israel moved to the top of the leaderboard before they could shut off the crowd reaction as they did in the performances, quite rightly made it crystal clear to the Organisers what the Eurovision Crowd thought of their refusal to ban Israel for their ongoing War Crimes and just what would hit the fan if they won it.
I was in discussions with friends and colleagues that i would be boycotting itself for the first time since the 80s if Israel won it but that bullet was avoided luckily.
The UK Performer, Look Mom No Computer, admitted before his performance that his synth pop song was marmite which some people will love and some hate but finishing bottom on 1 point showed that the liking it crowd was pretty small but the Bookies favourite, Finland, ended up sixth which shows just how difficult it is to guess the eventual winner (if it isn't set up by a religious community beforehand that is) and we had the usual neighbours voting for neighbours but nothing we can do about that and it is just accepted as it always has been but all's well that end well so congratulations Bulgaria on your first ever Eurovision win and see you next May.

Eurovision Week

Eurovision week and it's off to Vienna to watch 34 European nations and 1 honorary one sing and dance to work out who is the owner of the crystal microphone for another year.
The Competition has a reduced amount of contestants this year because several are boycotting it (Ireland, Spain, Netherlands, Slovenia and Iceland), due to the Eurovison Committee wrongly not having the cojones to ban Israel for their genocide and while they should not be there, they have had the decency to submit an absolute shite song and the Austrian's have said they will not ban protests and demonstrations against the country so should be entertaining when they perform, last year the Swiss turned down the crowd's booing noise on the broadcast so this year Eurovision fans can make it clear that we think Israel's actions suck.
The UK entry is a bit of a strange one, Eins, Zwei, Drei by Look Mum No Computer, which is a bit of a 90s techno throwback and probably won't bother the left hand side of the board but luckily we get a pass straight to the final so we won't have the indignity of being kicked out at the semi-final stage.    
I have picked my top 8 but some will fall by the wayside before the Final so will hold fire on listing them but i have tipped France to win the whole thing but then i don't think I have ever picked the winner so that's the death knell for the people of Paris having to find a big enough hall next year.

Eurovision 2024

37 Nations are called but only 1 is chosen and the reward is to host the following years Eurovision Song Contest because it's that brilliant time of the year again when the good, bad and the awful of Europe is asked to pop along and bring a tune with them and let us decide if we think it's much cop.
Sweden, as last years winners not only get to host it this year but get an automatic bye to the Final along with France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK which is handy for Germany, Italy and the Swedes because none of their songs are going to lead to their representatives pulling any muscles lifting the glass microphone trophy.
The rest navigate a semi-final appearance so many will drop by the wayside and my scoresheet has Australia, Azerabijan, Geiorgia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Norway and Ukraine putting on a brave face as they are told their services will no longer be required in Saturdays Final.
Of the rest Albania, Belgium, France, Portugal, Denmark, Latvia, Slovenia and Israel have shown up with ballads, Serbia's is so ploddingly slow it is in danger of going backwards but of the slow songs, Belgium's stands out but heart wrenching lyrics seem so last year because this year it is the turn of the electro-pop acts including Spain, Netherlands and the UK which has a very Frankie Goes To Hollywood Relax video performance about it with much semi-naked men in posing pouches doing things which will have the Director screaming go to the Long Shot at the cameramen.
Eurovision wouldn't be Eurovision without some nations being completely barmy and Finland has really upped it's billiantly loopy game this year with a man hatching from an Egg and singing while prancing around in his flesh coloured underpants which is as magnificent as it sounds and we really must hope it makes it out of the semi finals as a reward for being barking mad.
Ireland have taken a different path and have something called Ouija Pop complete with a screechy chorus and demons and devils cavorting onstage while Estonia have gone with a Zombie Folk band with a  song which sounds like a 3 minute football chant.
The Czech Republic singer lives in Brighton and her song is one of the ones i have placed an asterix next to as one i expect to end in the top 4 along with Croatia which is one hell of an earworm of a song called Rim Tim Tagi Dim about a young man selling his cow, saying goodbye to his cat and leaving for the big city which i guarantee will have you humming long after the next few acts.
As for the UK, i predict a left hand side of the board finish with Croatia, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Estonia and Poland fighting it out at the business end of the league table but as this is Eurovision (and i barely ever pick the winner) it could be any one of the novelty numbers, gothic witchcraft or rave throwbacks that take it and that's why i love Eurovision.

UK's Second Is Really First In Eurovision 2022

As expected, Ukraine won the Eurovision song contest despite having a song which would in normal circumstances see them finish the night on the right hand side of the final scoreboard along with the UK so we can legitimately look at whoever finished second as the 'real' winners and if we look real hard, rub our eyes and pinch ourselves that it isn't all a dream, in second place sits the United Kingdom.
Our entry, 'Spaceman' by Sam Ryder, was a decent song and Sam never stopped smiling and thanking everyone and came across as a genuinely nice young man but what comes across with clarity is that if we enter a decent song, Europe will vote for us.
I never went along with the we-get-nil-points-because-Europe-hates-us nonsense, it was purely down to the songs that we have entered have been dour and boring and that good old British arrogance that we are right and it's a British song therefore brilliant and how cloth-earred are you Europeans if you don't just hand us the trophy every year. WE GAVE THE WORLD THE BEATLES AND ADELE FOR CRIPES SAKE!!!!
I hope Sam goes on to have a successful career and keeps smiling and congratulations to Ukraine, you may no have won the Jury vote (we did), but you won the public vote which pushed you past us to the top although as it turns out, we may be hosting it next year anyway due to Kiev being not the safest place to host a song singing competition at the moment.
The rules are if a nation is unable to host the contest, then it goes to one of the big five which are Italy, Spain, Germany, UK, France and Italy have made no secret that as they hosted it this year, they don't want it again next year so it is a fight out of the other four and the BBC were fast out the blocks with 'We'll do it' so we could all be in London next May anyway and as London is full of Russians, in some ways, it would be just like Ukraine anyway.

Kiev For Eurovision in 2023

It's Eurovision week and where usually it is anybodies guess who will walk away with the glass microphone trophy, its a foregone conclusion this year because it's going to Ukraine which wouldn't be so bad if their song wasn't so terrible.
For once the United Kingdom's song isn't awful, i never bought into the reason we always did so bad was due to everyone in Europe hating us, it is purely down to our entries being so instantly forgettable, a box of red, white and blue face paints to you if you can name the singer and song of last years UK entry without googling it.
The nations i put a little tick next to in the first semi-final (Croatia, Bulgaria and Denmark) are already out making me wonder if the people voting had the volume turned up on their TV's because we have The Netherlands, Greece and Lithuania gracing the final and to be polite, their efforts are as dull as dishwater although i was glad to see those wacky Moldovan's make it even if the presenter introduced them as coming from Moldovia.
Still, the whole point of the Eurovision is that it's a bit mad, a bit trippy and more than a bit gay where the best song doesn't always win as Ukraine will prove this year so i will see you in Kiev next year...if it's still there.

Nil Points From Montenegro Jury

It's Eurovision time again and as sure as Amanda Holden is going to have three quarters of her breasts on show when she reads out the UK results, the accusation of Bloc voting will rear its head as soon as the UK song begins its inevitable slide towards the lower end of the scoreboard.
There is some truth to the accusation as the Eastern European nations always seem to throw Russia some big points as do the Scandinavian countries with Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Iceland relying on each other to bump up each others scores but while Britain may suffer from not being on the friendliest terms with our European neighbours, we have Ireland and Malta to look towards to ensure we avoid the dreaded nul points when the rest of the Continent poo poo us so we are not clean when it comes to 'friendly' votes.
Looking at the UK votes received since the compeition began in 1957, we can see who our real friends are with the most points coming from Luxembourg who on average gave us on average 5 points per competition until they stopped taking part in 1993, then Malta, Ireland, Austria and Israel and going the other way, we have handed out most points to Ireland, an average of 5.5 points in finals.
At the other end, the country that has snubbed the UK the most consistently is Montenegro which has failed to give the UK even a single point ever but Moldova, Belarus, Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Armenia have only ever given us a single point each in the contest.
So we know who our friends are so we can say thank you to the juries of Dublin, Valletta, Vienna and Tel Aviv and hope that one day Luxembourg decide to get back in the game but to Montenegro we say we know your game and us Brits and Amanda Holden's semi-exposed breasts will be watching you very closely tonight.

Eurovision 2021 This Weekend

This Saturday is one of the best Saturday's on the calendar because love it or hate it, the evening's television will be dominated by the Eurovision Song Contest and by midnight we will know which country are the top songsters and can expect hordes of brightly coloured Eurovision fans piling into their nation next year, virus permitting, as they earn the honour of hosting it.
As the contest now includes Australia along with Israel, it is becoming more of an international affair and after hearing all the songs i am putting my little ticks beside Italy's guitar bash, Malta's quirky effort, Iceland's 80's synth attempt, the Greek's annoyingly catchy song, Lithuania's tune which again harks back to 80s synthesizers and dark horse Germany with a mad song which will either do well and fly or sink without a trace, something i feel about the Italian song also, i like it but it may be too aggressive for your normal Eurovision audience.
The bookies have the winner as Italy (5/2) with France (11/4) second and then Malta (5/1), Iceland 8/1), Cyprus (10/1) and Switzerland (11/1) making up the top six.
The UK is currently ranked 17th at 125/1 and likely to finish on the right hand side of the results board so we shouldn't worry about clearing the diary of the O2 complex next May because we won't be walking away with the prize.
So if you want to stick your money on someone the bookies are saying Italy and to be fair it is a very good guitar led song but luckily we have a fool-safe system that has an impressive record of picking the winners of elections so let's ask Google who will be holding aloft the Eurovision crystal microphone and asked to sing their song again on Saturday night.
Using online searches, and with a record of 9 correct predictions over the last 16 years where the top-searched candidate also received the most points from televoting, it has a prediction rate based on search activity of just over half right.
The powers that be at Google HQ have crunched the search data and come up with a list of winners based on the countries and acts that have been searched for the most by people in participating Eurovision countries online and they have Iceland winning the whole thing with Malta the runner up and then Lithuania, Germany, Austria and then the Netherlands but how the Netherlands got any searches is beyond me, to be polite, it's not a classic.
The Eurovision website has a poll and that has Eurovision fans voting France top and then Malta, Switzerland, Italy, Lithuania and Greece taking the top six spots and they are the people who are likely to be voting.
So taking all four sources into account, and bearing in mind that some may fall by the wayside at the semi Final stage, the smart money is going on Malta then Italy, Iceland and Lithuania and then a dust up between France, Switzerland, Germany and Greece for the fifth place but we may have to come back and revise it on Thursday after we the second Semi-Final.

Eurovision Song Contest Protests

I have always been of the mind that Politics should be kept out of areas that it doesn't belong such as Sport and especially at events like the Eurovision Song Contest.
Due to their abhorrent treatment of the Palestinians, i have been boycotting all things Israel for as long as i can remember and although this years event was being held in Tel Aviv, i really didn't have the inclination to join in the chorus of people calling for a boycott or for protests against Israel hosting it.
The whole idea behind Eurovision was to bring Europe together after the War, a bit of fun, flamboyance and silliness for four hours once a year and that was how i wanted it to stay, above the nastiness and evil going on outside of the arena walls which we hear about far too much.
I took the opportunity when Madonna came on to remove my eyes from the screen for ten minutes so i missed her 'protest' which turned out to be a couple of flag wearing dancers, one with a Palestinian and one with Israel, walking off stage arm in arm and a call out to 'Wake Up'.
As protests go that's a pretty tame one but her sentiment is one we all should applaud and i didn't see it as a political protest at all although i refuse to accept that the United Kingdom came bottom due to political reasons, we just entered a really, really poor song once again.
There are times and places for political messages and protesting against wrongs but surely it's not at an event which is all about kitsch, camp and just having, as Fred Flintstone once said, a gay old time.
Congratulations to The Netherlands and it's off to Amsterdam next year then.

The Winner Of Eurovision 2018 is...

Today is one of the best Saturday's on the calendar because love it or hate it, tonight's television is dominated by the Eurovision Song Contest and by midnight we will know which country are the top songsters and can expect hordes of brightly coloured Eurovision fans piling into their country next year as they earn the honour of hosting it.
As the contest now includes Australia and Israel it is becoming more of an international affair and after hearing all the songs i am putting my little ticks beside Israel, Norway, Czech Republic, Moldova and Germany while the bookies have the winner as Cyprus with Israel second, Ireland third, France fourth and Sweden fifth.
The UK is currently ranked 250/1 and likely to finish fourth from bottom so we shouldn't worry about clearing the diary of the O2 complex next May because we won't be walking away with the prize tonight.
So if you want to stick your money on someone the bookies are saying Cyprus but luckily we have a fool-safe system that has an impressive record of picking the winners of elections so lets ask Google who will be holding aloft the Eurovision crystal microphone and asked to sing their song again tonight.
The powers that be at Google HQ have crunched the search data and come up with a list of winners based on the countries and acts that have been searched for the most by people in participating Eurovision countries online.
Their Top Five has Israel’s Netta topping the list, then Norway, the Czech Republic, then Cyprus and Belarus rounding out the top five.
Where you want to put your fiver is for you to decide but the bookies say Cyprus while Google and i agree that you should be looking at writing Israel on your betting slip and checking flight prices to Jerusalem next year.

Eurovision 2018: Semi-Fnal 1

As Portugal had the best song in Europe in 2017, they get to host the competition to find the best song in Europe this year and tonight is the first semi-final with 19 nations fighting over the 10 available spaces in Saturdays Grand Final.
Two of the songs i have tipped to win the whole shebang are singing tonight with Israel and the Czech Republic hoping they are not a victim of what can be some very random voting by the European public.
The Israel song is very catchy but the weird chicken noises in the chorus give it an air of 'we are not taking this too seriously' which the Eurovision pretends it's too serious for now so could hold it back when they total up the points from the professional musicians jury.
The Czech Republic song is a slick, Bruno Mars-esque tune and the sort of song generally does well but the voting is so weird and wonderful that anything could happen.

Eurovision Says Leave The Ladder At Home

Countries from all over Europe - and a few from outside Europe - will soon be taking part in the Eurovision singing competition, the 63rd time the contest has taken place.
Lots of lucky people will be able to go to watch the contest live at the Lisbon Arena in Portugal but organisers have released a list of items that audience members won't be allowed to take in with them.
On the list of banned items are things you might expect, such as firearms, knives, syringes, and scalpels, toxic substances,  flares and pyrotechnics. However, the extensive list also includes some puzzling items, including golf balls, ladders, trolleys, chains, crowbars, umbrellas, rope and adhesive tape.
The UK’s entry is SuRie and as the UK is one of the biggest financial backers of the contest, SuRie will automatically go through to the final which is very handy because we wouldn't get there otherwise as our song is what the Portuguese would politely call merda.

Who Likes UK At Eurovision

It's Eurovision time again, and the UK Entry is called 'Never Give Up On You' which is ironic as that is exactly what the UK has done to Europe so if we are going to avoid the dreaded nul points scenario at the end of the night, we will be looking at the few friends we have left in Euroland to throw us a few points. 
As the Eurovision began in 1957, we have a long run of data available to work out which of our European brothers and sisters we can depend on to avoid the embarrassment of ending the evening on the right hand side of the board when the gongs are handed out.
Over the last 60 years the country that has given the UK the most points and our new best friends are Luxembourg, which has averaged a touch under five points per contest which is even more impressive when you consider they stopped taking part since 1993 so that's five points we are down already.
Luxembourg is closely followed by Malta and then Ireland, which is widely seen as our best Eurovision friend then Austria, Israel, Switzerland, Turkey and Portugal.
At the bottom end, the country that has snubbed the UK the most consistently is Montenegro, which has failed to give the UK a single point in the competition.
The other countries who have annually poo-pooed us Brits are Moldova, Belarus, Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Armenia and clearly, those are the countries that we should be withholding our Euro love from when it comes to sprinkle around the points.
We know who our friends are and if we don't win it will be because of Brexit/Jealousy/They Hate Us/Politics/Bloc Voting (delete as applicable) and not because we have entered yet another duff song.

Eurovision 2017

It's been two decades since the UK won the Eurovision song contest and we haven't bothered the top of the leaderboard since  but yet another Eurovision is almost upon us and hpe springs eternal that this time we have a chance of winning.
Only problem is our song is not great and in the wake of annoying our fellow Europeans with the Brexit vote we are as popular as a bacon sandwich in a Mosque with the people we are relying on voting for us.
This year our entry is a super slow ballad sung by one time X-Factor hopeful Lucie Jones so we should get ready the 'It's not about winning but the taking part' mantra but in all honesty, winning it would be nice.
The favourites for the title of best song in the continent are Italy, Bulgaria and Sweden but in a World of Brexit, Trump, North Korea, Syria and Terrorism filling our TV screens, Eurovision is a joyfully pointless distraction and i will be on my sofa next week with my homemade scorecard and a blind optimism that this year, the UK can win the bloody thing which will last about 10 minutes into the voting section when it will become obvious that we won't.

UK Song For Europe 2017

Eurovision song Contest seems even more pointless now as Brexit showed Europe we hate them, they make no secret that they can't stand us right back but in that stiff upper lip British way, we still think we have a chance in the singing competition which we never did very well in even when we were on good terms with our neighbours.
So today we unveiled the six shortlisted UK Eurovision entries and all are as limp as an erectile dysfunction meeting (i assume) which removes the usual excuse that we had a decent song but came last because the Europeans hate us because this time we will come last because whichever song wins the right to represent the UK in May is going to be a duffer. 
All songs are sung by X-Factor contestants and the winner is to be chosen by a mix of judges and the public because last time we chose it alone we went with Joe and Jake and 24th place out of 25.
The bookies favourite is Holly Brewer's dull 'Wish I Loved You More' but it is like choosing if you want vomit or diarrhoea rubbed into your hair.
I will still watch but between now and May i will be researching my family history to see which country i have a tenuous link to cheer on which luckily, being English, i can use at the next World Cup also. 

Eurovision In Moscow Next Year?

Ireland may be the league leaders when it comes to Eurovision song titles but they won't be adding to their seven wins this year because the European public blew them a big fat raspberry and kicked their bland offering out at the semi-final stage.
Hosts and last years winners Sweden are second in the league with six wins and then comes the UK, France and Luxembourg with five wins each although Luxembourg seem to have given up and have refused the invite to come to the party since 1994.
The Netherlands have won four times and then Israel, Norway and Denmark have three wins each but if the bookies are correct then it will be Russia notching up their first win this year and having heard all the songs they will be up there amongst the leaders.
After coming a respectable fifth place in last year’s contest, pretend Europeans Australia are back again and  represented by Australian X-Factor winner Dami Im and they are second favourites with Ukraine, France and then Sweden expected to take up the top five positions on the scoreboard.
The UK's entry is a long 80/1 shot and as our recent record includes only finishing in the top 10 twice since 1999 we are more likely to be sat on the sidelines with the other fat, wheezy countries when the results come in which is a disgraceful way for our Euro cousins to treat the country that gave the World the Spice Girls, S Club 7, Steps, Susan Boyle, ok..point taken.

Welcoming USA To Eurovision

The Eurovision Song Contest is called the 'Biggest Party in the World' but not being ones to hog all the fun to ourselves, we often send out special invites to other nations not under the European Flag.
Australia was invited to the Party last year and although there was initial worries that it would down too many tinnies and either make a drunken grope at Malta or leave our front room filled with vomit, they were so well behaved that we have asked them if they want to come back this year, an invite they have readily accepted.
Israel is another country that we have invited to come on over to join our party and i am happy to say that although there was an episode when they tried to take over the neighbours garden and another when it tried to build a wall out of lego around Luxembourg, it has generally been on its best behaviour even if it does tend to avoid the ham sandwiches and crabsticks. 
This year we have asked America to the Party although not to participate, just to watch, don't want any of that 'My-pick-up-truck-ran-over-my-dog' style Country & Western here thank you very much.
We have ordered more hot dogs and burgers, have set up rooms at the borders to check your guns and have put you at the other end of the table from Russia so welcome to our party USA but be warned, you start up that 'USA-USA'  chant thing and you are out.
PS..you may want to use the toilet at home before you get here, European toilets are open to boys, girls and anyone in between.

Eurovision 2016

There will be flag waving, bad singing and Australians becoming honorary Europeans next weekend as the Eurovision Song Contest rolls onto our television screens. 
It isn't just Europeans and Aussies who can shout 'nul points' at the Azerbaijan entry this year because Americans can join in revelling at the sight of beautiful men and women belting out power ballads blocked out on the TV screen by thousands of fans manically waving flags in front of the cameras.  
The United Kingdom entry is a bit more upbeat with a catchy chorus but as we are as popular in Europe as a doughnut at a weight watchers meeting it will be a shock if we are troubling the left hand side of the leaders board with the eventual winners.
Our song is called 'You're Not Alone' which we won't be because we are sure to have company on the few points Ireland and Malta (thanks guys) always throw us.
One country that also won't win it are Romania who have been kicked out due to their TV station that covers the Eurovision not coughing up to pay off their debts so that is us robbed of the Ovidiu Anton performance of his song appropriately titled 'Moment of Silence'.
The favourites are Russia although politics may play a part when it comes to voting for them so i would plump for Spain or France to end up with the microphone shaped trophy.
As we tried to get tickets for the Final but were told they sold out almost as soon as they were released, we will be watching it on the TV along with the expected Worldwide audience of 200 million armed with a pencil and a scorecard and shouting 'Nul Points' at Azerbaijan.

Congratulations Sweden

They will be giddy in Gothenburg, slapping backs in Stockholm and probably mullered in Malmo because Sweden have been crowned Eurovision Champions 2015.      
In a show of a continental two fingered salute to our politicians, Russia came in second and in what can only be called a bizarre mass deafness related incident, Italy finished third.
The invite to Australia to become part of Europe for the evening finished with them coming in fifth and countless mentions of 'Good morning Australia' as it was 8am down there when the voting section of the evening began and at that time they would only be on their second breakfast tinny.
As for the United Kingdom and our 1920's style song, oh dear, it limped in 24th out of the 27 entries with a disappointing five points, three points ahead of France but five points more than Germany and Austria who ended the night with nul points, which is tremendously embarrassing for the hosts.
As usual we have to blame the block voting of neighbours voting for neighbours and as we are an island, our neighbours have neighbours they are actually sharing a border with so we are always onto a loser but this year we had a half-way decent song which was heavily promoted with a good reception around Europe for the past two months so we can't really blame the song but in that fine British way, we have to find someone to blame and i blame Tony Blair.  
Since the dodgy ex-Prime Minister join forces with that lot over the Atlantic, our European cousins have shunned us so we can add spoiling our chances of ever winning Eurovision on Blair as well as him ruining the Labour Party and getting us involved with iffy Americans and their dodgy oversea wars. 
Anyway, congratulations Sweden and it's off to Stockholm next year where we will turn up and be on the receiving end of another sound thrashing by the likes of Latvia and Montenegro but still finish above the French and Germans. Losers.

Eurovision Line Up Complete

The dust has settled on the Eurovision Semi-Finals and we have the line up that is going to compete for the title of best song in the European Broadcasting area.
Call me bias but having heard all the songs battling it out for the crown, i believe that the United Kingdom has a good chance this year with our swing style 'I'm Still In Love With You' ditty.
The first reason is that the contest is stuffed full of ballads and ballads hardly ever win, its the quirky  ones that get the attention and our song is definitely something unusual and one of the only few up-tempo toe tappers.
Secondly, it hails back to a time when the United Kingdom was liked and half our problem in recent years is our unpopularity around Europe (the other half of the problem was naff songs) so a glance back to the age of flappers and the Kit Kat Club is a wise move.
The bookies favourite is Sweden and it is a decent song as is the Israeli entry and Greece has a decent power ballad that is reminiscent of something an X-Factor winner will put out and the Cyprus entry should do well as a dark horse but my money will be on United Kingdom finishing somewhere in the top five.
With Ireland unceremoniously booted out in tonight's Semi-Final we have lost that local rivalry but we do have the Australians taking part this year so it will be considered a victory if we can finish above them if only so we can add Eurovision to the victories we have over them in other areas.

Why Israel Is At Eurovision

For those unacquainted with the history of the Middle East, the idea of a country which borders Jordan and Egypt partaking in the Eurovision competition may appear an odd one.
The often cited reason is that Israel are an European people who happen to be in Asia but the real reason is because Israel is within the European Broadcasting Area as are Tunisia, Lebanon, Libya, Morrocco, Jordon and everyone within the EBU are invited to come along.
The truth is therefore that it is nothing to do with politics or geography, but the EBU leaking out from the borders of geographical Europe into parts of Asia, Israel and some parts of the Middle East and North Africa can join the party although most decline the invite, Israel accept and send along a participant.