Twenty six countries will compete in the Grand Final of the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest tonight. Will predictions that we made a week ago hold up tonight? The Netherlands won’t be placing third, but Sweden, Russia, Greece, and Ireland are still in the running. Or will Iceland definitely win it all?
Bergrún Anna Hallsteinsdóttir:
1. Sweden: I have long been a sucker for cheesy, anthemic trance music. Harkens back to my raving days, dancing under the stars in the New Zealand wilderness.
2. Russia: Um, need I explain? Dancing Grandmas with bad teeth. Anything that makes me laugh out loud goes at least in the top ten.
3. Netherlands: A song with instruments and fully clothed, non-gyrating women playing them, something different indeed!
And finally, my prediction for Iceland in this year’s Eurovision… I am thinking, just, you know, without much real insight or knowledge, that Iceland will get tenth place. Just because, that’s why.
Sindri Eldon:
As Eurovision is mostly about futile, vapid political gestures of solidarity and friendship between nations whose diplomatic relations need bolstering for one reason or another, I feel I can safely say that the winner will be the result of a collection of sympathy votes.
Greece and Ireland have both suffered tremendous financial woes of late, mostly due to corruption and incompetency running rampant in their respective governments. Yet, they have managed to maintain a rather ‘victimized’ image, while Iceland’s troubles have painted an image of its people as being greedy, short-sighted and unwilling to shoulder blame. For these reasons, I feel that Greece and/or Ireland will place in the top three. Russia is a likely contender for the top three as well, with its combination of political power, nuclear weapons, and the novelty of picking a group of old Otyak women yelling over a house beat for this year’s number.
Meanwhile Iceland, having once again picked a tepid and forgettable turd of a song even by Eurovision’s standards, and having failed to make any real friends on Europe’s political stage, will, as usual, trail somewhere in the 15-25 range.
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