Eurovision disqualifies Georgia entry

Thu, 03/12/2009 - 10:40am

It seems the world won't get to see Georgian vocal group 3G (left) perform their Putin-mocking single "We don't wanna put in" at the Eurovision song contest in Moscow. The politically charged dicso tune was a little too hot for organizers to handle:

The contest's oversight committee said in a statement on the Eurovision web site that the song violated a statute in the contest's charter stating that songs must not bring the contest "into disrepute" and banning "lyrics, speeches [and] gestures of a political or similar nature."

The committee has given Georgia until March 16 to select a new entry or "change the lyrics of the selected song" so that it complies with the rule, the statement said.

I call BS on this. Ireland's Eurovision entry last year, sung by an obscene turkey puppet name Dustin, poked fun at a number of other countires, was purposely designed to mock the contest, and nearly set off a diplomatic incident in Macedonia. And Arab-Israeli singer Mira Awad has angered Palestinian nationalists with a pro-reconciliation Eurovision duet with a Jewish singer.

Whether it's a kitschy song contest or the Olympics, geopolitical rivalries are inevitably part of any international competition. It's very sad to see Eurovision's organizers compromise the integrity of this august institution by bowing to Russia's objections.

Joshua Keating | Permalink | | Comments? Login or register
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calling your BS

by AllanGreen on Fri, 03/13/2009 - 7:46am

And I call your BS on this, and I think its very sad you give Eurovision directors bad publicity.

1) do you put a reconciliation song in the same category as a political attack song?

2) please don't put the poor turkey in the same bag. That was obviously comical.

No, what happened in Eurovision is that the dictator in chief of Georgia, decided to take his little political conflict into culture and hand-picked a provocation against Russia.

Now if you think the board at Eurovision should cow-tow to that, then the impression is teenage. If you think everything comes down to big bad Russia, well, then that's simply simlistic.

Eurovision: Europe's Modern Maginot Line

by krothrock on Fri, 03/13/2009 - 9:30am

Russia overreacting?? Guys, this is serious stuff. It's not as simple as Serdyuchka mysteriously chanting "Russia goodbye," or "Lascia tumbai [whipped cream]," or whatever. (See 2007 Eurovision SCANDAL.)

Clearly, the postwar European peace was threatened by this horrible Georgian disco song about the country not wanting Putin. If Georgia is allowed to not want Putin, the Kremlin would rightly fear a domino effect of other nations similarly not wanting Putin.

We all know what would follow: international disco revolution against everything Russia's worked for.

Huh?

by swatenginguy on Fri, 03/13/2009 - 4:39pm

I'm pretty perplexed by AllanGreen's comment:

"No, what happened in Eurovision is that the dictator in chief of Georgia, decided to take his little political conflict into culture and hand-picked a provocation against Russia."

Georgia has a democratically elected president, and while I admit I don't know exactly how the song was chosen, the idea that it was chosen by the president strikes me as far-fetched.

In general, I agree with the author that it's hypocritical of Eurovision to let politics slide when it's a small country like Macedonia, and only enforce the rules when it's a large country like Russia that is being offended.

That said, the competition is being held in Moscow. It seems a bit ungracious to allow a performance which insults the hosts of the event.

Well ...

by rfmcdpei on Mon, 03/16/2009 - 7:26pm

Georgia does have a democratically-elected president, sure, but he managed to trigger a full-fledged war with a missile attack on a South Ossetian city, therefore bears responsibility for Georgia's military defeat and certain loss of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, but not only denies any responsibility but goes on to insult political opponents who question his judgement and let the police arrest protesters. Georgia's slide in the Freedom House rankings owes much more to Saakashvili than to Russia.

The problem with Georgia's entry is that it seems to have been driven by bitter petty nationalism. While that song might be amusing to said nationalism's supporters, I don't think it's suitable for a multinational contest that's supposed to be about fun, not aural vengeance.