Hugely exciting news of Eurovision, where the songs always centre on the powerful issues convulsing Europe.
Or do I speak too soon? Perhaps an entry touching on the refugee crisis isn’t entirely out of the question. Profoundly serious subjects are occasionally judged matters for light entertainment – at the 1996 Olympics, for instance, the French synchronised swimming team had prepared a routine based on the Final Solution.
Even so, it is likely that most countries will stay off the current Unpleasantness come Eurovision finals next year, mindful not so much of refugee sensibilities as of offending their voting neighbours.
Yet for Royaume-Uni, detested by all, there is a certain freedom. Indeed, there is more freedom than there has been in years, as the BBC has decided to let the public decide who is going to be coming home empty-handed from Sweden. The last time the corporation let Britain vote on potential entries was all the way back in 2010, resulting in Josh Dubovie becoming the official UK entry with That Sounds Good to Me. Alas, Josh was in the minority with that judgment. The people had spoken, the bastards – and the reply from the rest of Europe was to award him last place.
Yet recent events have shown how exciting and energising greater enfranchisement can be. Admittedly, The X Factor remains a competition in which entrants in effect vie for the chance to be dropped by Simon Cowell’s record label inside of six months. Millions vote for the winner, swept up in a frenzy of fervour and emotion and a sense that this is the next big thing, only for approximately 12 of them to go on and buy the album when it hits the shelves down the line. But let us not dwell too heavily on the fleeting nature of love-in-idleness spells. There is absolutely no reason to suspect that the Labour leadership will follow this template, for instance.
In fact, could we not build upon the latter movement’s success? Could our Eurovision entry not be Jeremy Corbyn singing an a-capella version of The Red Flag as various Nato-assisted former Soviet states make him their 12-pointer? Come on, Auntie – at least put the call in.
