That famous opinion-splitting music competition returned this past weekend to the delight of many and the dismay of others. The Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on Saturday evening, has brought a few issues to light, principally that of the cost of hosting it during a period of economic austerity.
It is estimated that hosts Azerbaijan will have footed a bill of around 30 million Euros, which is no doubt why the public in Spain and Greece called for their artists not to win, as the winning country welcomes the spectacle to its own shores the following year. Admittedly, hosting such an event is not likely to be the downfall of an already shaky economy, but lavish spending in difficult times is hard to accept for the majority of the public. Throw the ignoring of human rights issues in Azerbaijan into the hat and it isn't a pretty picture for the musical extravaganza.
And to top things off, the UK, one of the world's foremost powers of the music industry, sending a 76 year-old crooner does not show the sincerity needed to win a continent-wide competition. Yes, Eurovision is all about having fun and making a good show, but Engelbert Humperdinck's rather clichéd power-ballade hardly set the stage alight.
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