I’M struck by the fact that in politics sometimes there are few things new under the sun. Over the weekend, with a few tweets, I re-animated an intermittent campaign I have been flogging since 2008 – an independent Scottish entry to the Eurovision Song Contest.
Now hear me out, it is not as daft as it sounds, either as an issue or as an opportunity. Eurovision, like the EU itself and the Edinburgh Festival, rose out of the ashes of the Second World War as a way for the peoples of Europe to reconnect as friends rather than adversaries. The yearly jamboree is now watched by tens of millions across Europe and the world. What a platform to showcase talent!
It is safe to say some countries take it more seriously than others, but for me the whole event is just a chance to enjoy a night off from the cynicism and drudgery of the world and enjoy, critique and occasionally laugh along with the music. If you want a couple of hours of joy,
I heartily recommend the Eurovision Movie on Netflix. I didn’t think I would enjoy it but (as well as being partly set in an independent Scotland and a hilarious relocation of The Hydro to Edinburgh) it’s just the tonic after a long hard week!
READ MORE: UK deemed an embarrassment after Amanda Holden Eurovision gaffe
Obviously, with independence, Scotland wins an entry ticket to the contest, that much is obvious. But even pending independence there are ways we could make it work. Way back in 2008, I got in touch with the European Broadcasting Union slightly cheekily to ask about whether and how Scotland could compete independently from the UK.
Not only was the response friendly and enthusiastic, they did my homework for me – eligibility to participate is a) to be a state, and b) to have a broadcaster which is a member of the EBU. We’re not a state as yet, but that does not entirely close off the possibility.
We have in Scotland three members of the EBU: STV, BBC Alba and BBC Scotland itself. Wales has S4C and Northern Ireland has UTV. It would be perfectly possible for those broadcasters, if the BBC would agree, to present and run the Eurovision franchise on behalf of the UK. Call it “the Fifa compromise” – we’re independent in matters football, we could be independent in matters Eurovision with each of the four home nations taking a turn to represent the UK, but as themselves.
How would this be different from a Scottish entry representing the UK, as Lulu did previously? Well two things – I think the BBC should just stop doing Eurovision because it doesn’t do it very well. Across Europe, countries engage with the contest, yes, as a bit of fun, but also as a serious showcase and chance to shine and, with a win, the chance to host the competition themselves as the Netherlands did at the weekend. The BBC, I daresay, has a number of Eurovision enthusiasts in it, but the overall impression is that the UK thinks it is just a bit too good for the contest and just a little dismissive of it.
This is noticed across the continent and this attitude reached a new depth of cringe this weekend with Amanda Holden, as the UK spokesperson, quipping that she doesn’t know the difference between French and Dutch. Yes it was just a joke, but it was a telling one. Speaking to an audience including millions of French and Dutch people and suggesting they all sound the same to her betrays something of an attitude.
This attitude has consequences, as we have seen in a long line of forgettable acts and rubbish results. The UK entry this year struck me as a lovely guy and didn’t deserve the dreaded nul points from both the national juries and the popular vote, but that was the result and it is a cringeworthy embarrassment. Scotland literally could not do worse. So let’s step up. Come on BBC Scotland, STV and BBC Alba, tell us you’re up for it. Do it properly and run it as a continent-wide showcase for the talent Scotland has in spades. Even though it would only be every four years, we’d get more out of it than we do right now.
And if we won … Scotland gets to host it. A night-long platform with months of build-up to boost our broadcasting, tourism and cultural diplomacy. Think how Ireland did with a string of wins in the 1980s and 90s, boosting visibility as the Celtic Tiger grew legs and confidence. We can do the same now when we’re getting nothing out of the status quo.
So Eurovision is another argument for independence, but we can even now pressure the cringefest the BBC delivers and argue for better because it objectively isn’t working. We have the talent, the enthusiasm and if our broadcasters rise to the occasion the capacity too. Come on Scotland, let’s do it.
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