{"id":1698,"date":"2021-05-21T12:37:06","date_gmt":"2021-05-21T11:37:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/?p=1698"},"modified":"2021-05-21T12:38:24","modified_gmt":"2021-05-21T11:38:24","slug":"eurovision-finally-returning-after-covid-cancellation-last-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/2021\/05\/21\/eurovision-finally-returning-after-covid-cancellation-last-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Eurovision finally returning after Covid cancellation last year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Eurovision Song Contest is finally back on our screens this Saturday after last year\u2019s event was cancelled as a result of the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year\u2019s competition will be held at the Rotterdam Ahoy Arena after the Netherlands\u2019 triumph in 2019, with Duncan Lawrence\u2019s song \u2018Arcade<\/a>\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It has been a long road to return for fans at Eurovision after a four-tiered plan was revealed last year in an attempt to get spectators back in to watch the musical extravaganza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eurovision 2021 – How will it bounce back after the cancellation last year?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The two semi-finals this week have acted as tests with a small group of 3,500 fans being allowed in, provided they record a negative covid test before entering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, some members of the international delegations have tested positive, meaning that everyone\u2019s favourite Icelandic pop group, Da\u00f0i Freyr<\/a>, will not be able to perform at the Grand Final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They will instead use the pre-recorded footage from their rehearsals, as was done during the semi-finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul Jordan is an expert on all things Song Contest, hence the nickname \u2018Dr Eurovision\u2019, and he spoke about the impact Covid guidelines will have on the show: \u201cI think viewers at home probably won\u2019t notice a difference, because the delegations have been able to sit very closely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is an audience and they have various effects in the arena to make it sound busier than it is. On the whole, people probably won\u2019t notice the difference at home\u201d, Paul Jordan said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UK\u2019s entry this year is \u2018Embers<\/a>\u2019 by James Newman. He was meant to perform last year and was given the opportunity to perform this year, which he accepted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
James Newman is looking to become the first UK winner since Katrina and the Waves in 1997.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Speaking about the song to Newsbeat, he said: “I feel like everyone wants a party and to have some fun so when I was writing, that’s what I had in my head. I wanted something people can dance to, even if it’s just in their kitchen”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just a day before the Grand Final, current bookmakers are predicting that the top three nations will be Italian band M\u00e5neskin with their song \u2018Zitti e buoni\u2019<\/a> (\u2018shut up and behave\u2019), Barbara Pravi singing \u2018Voil\u00e0\u2019<\/a> and Destiny from Malta performing \u2018Je me casse\u2019<\/a> (I\u2019m out of here\u2019).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As with every Eurovision, there is always a high chance of a bit of controversy, from stage invasions to political gestures from the artists\u2019 green room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Organisers have ensured that every possible scenario has been dealt with, as author Dean Vuletic explains: \u201cThere is a backup recording of the show in case there are any stage invasions or if a performer sings something different to what was planned, they will also go to the backup\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dean Vuletic has written about the link between post war Europe and the Eurovision Song Contest and commented on the chances of: \u201cI don\u2019t think there are going to be any more political controversies. The show must go on\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The stage is set for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, being held in Rotterdam.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Two countries, Armenia and Belarus, have both dropped out of the tournament, with Armenia leaving as a result of political instability in the country whilst Belarus were disqualified because their song was deemed \u2018too political\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2019 edition of Eurovision saw Icelandic techno band Hatari<\/a> were posing with Palestinian banners after their results were awarded, a very controversial decision given that the event was held in Tel Aviv, Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regardless of what happens, millions around with world will watch the musical extravaganza to see who wins the glass microphone and who\u2019s going home with nil points.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Eurovision Song Contest is finally back on our screens this Saturday after last year\u2019s event was cancelled as a result of the pandemic. This year\u2019s competition will be held at the Rotterdam Ahoy Arena after the Netherlands\u2019 triumph in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":1715,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[]},"categories":[9,6,11],"tags":[236,233,234,235,209],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1698"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1698"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1698\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1721,"href":"https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1698\/revisions\/1721"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centreforjournalismprojects.co.uk\/InvictaNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}