„Eurovision as  a TV-Event“, May 12 9:30 – 11.30 AM,

Fachhochschule Düsseldorf:

Panelists:

Prof. Dr. Lars Rademacher (MHMK Munich)

Ivana Dragila (Magazine «Musikmarkt»)

Tim Frühling (Commentator ESC 2009)

Prof. Dr. Susanne Binas-Preisendörfer (University Oldenburg)

Bianca Shomburg (Participant ESC 1997)

Moderation:

Prof. Dr. Martin Lücke (MHMK Munich)

Dr. Irving Wolther («Doctor Eurovision»)

The moderators prepared 6 questions for the panelists:

1. Question: Is the Eurovision Song Contest a Music competition?

Rademacher said ESC is a competition between nations without being militaristic, Shomburg calls the event just „crazy“, Bina-Preisendörfer thinks ESC  is somthing „cultic games“ and compares it to antiquity. Wolther then raises the question, what the difference between ESC and other casting shows is. Bina-Preisendörfer emphasizes the „historic routine“ of the event and the function of rituals to filter information which in contemporary media societies seems to be especially necessary. Frühling says, that the music itself is secondary, which according to Bina-Preisendörfer is always the case for the genre of popular music where music is the medium for some other meaning – a screen of projection. Shomburg reminds us, that Eurovision first and foremost is a comeptition of composers, not performers, and Wolther agrees that the status of music at the comepttion is being perceived as ambivalent in a way. The German public broadcaster ARD, for instance, never really feels comfortable with Eurovision as a musical event, which brings Wolther to the question, whether the songs might simply be not good enough. Frühling agrees that in Germany the contest has a reputation of being „uncool“ and that there are many prejudices against Eurovision. Despite these prejudices, however, it was possible to establish „Lena“ as a brand in Germany and thus she also triggered a more general interest in the competition. Frühling brings up the larger question, why some countries have more of an interest in Eurovision – Malta, Greece – than others. One possible answer: For smaller countries like Malta it is almost impossible to succeed in other competitions like World Cup or Olympics, therefore they have a unproportionally high chance to do good at ESC. Finally Bina-Preisendörfer points out that one of the most exciting  things about Eurovision is the voting chart, which, according to her, with ist calculations and distinctions of winners and losers, visualizes the principle of capitalism as such like a bank statement.

2. Question: What is the position of the artist in the context of Eurovision as a „media-machinery“?

Shomburg who represented Germany in 1997 with the Ralph-Siegel-Song „Zeit“ recalls that Siegel decided upon every little detail, each movement and the costume, she didn’t have a say but was a complete product of Siegel, „I couldn’t be myself“ she says „I was in my early twenties and I was supposed to act as an old woman on stage!“. Rademacher asks why Lena, in distinction to last year, this year comes across as so „artificial“. Lena remains the topic of discussion: Frühling believes that Lena knew from the start who she was and what she wanted, she never was „natural“, she was „shaped“ by Raab but not „made“ by him. Bina-Preisendörfer claims that Lena is staging herself as a brand like her generation is trained to do by YouTube and social media. Shomburg adds, that from this perspective in difference to Lena she herself really was a pre-casting-show phenomenon. Bina-Preisendörfer differentiates, with respect to Lena, being a YouTube kid doesn’t mean you’re indifferent to the emotional impact of stardom, but rather growing up with new media means that one is raised with the idea of eventually having a break-through and becoming a star oneself.

3. Question: Is it still true that the interest of national broadcasters has priority over commercial interests at the ESC?

A member from the audience tells us, that apparently the cost for Eurovision in Düsseldorf was about 20 mio Euros of which the city of Düsseldorf paid 7,8 Mio and the NDR/ARD, the public German broadcaster, 12,1 Mio. Included in this are the 2,1 Mio fort he construction of a mobile footbal stadion for the local soccer club „Fortuna Düsseldorf“ since their home-stadion, the arena, was blocked for ESC already several weeks prior to the event. He explains again, that Berlin was decided against as a location for ESC since the event would have been too expensive for the city, which is a much more poor Bundesland (regional state) than Nordrhine-Westphalia, the state of Düsseldorf, for instance and their local public braodcaster, WDR. Given the federal system of the German broadcasting system thus only the larger local stations like WDR or NDR would be economically able to host the ESC. Frühling reminds us, that apparently the German broadcasting system is the largest, worldwide. Still, there are complains about the costs in Germany, since a consiousness of „representation“ for Eurovision is lacking. Dragila agrees that also the German music industry has no interest in the competition. In comparison: around 4000 entries are being composed for the Swedish national pre-selection „Melodienfestival“ alone. A turkish guy from the audience gives as an example fort he strong Turkish interest in Eurovision that the Turkish superstar Tarkan was offered millions just to represent Turkey at Eurovision. This leads to a discussion of the distinction between „low“ and „high“ culture in Germany, where money is being spent for the opera festival in Bayreuth but not so easily for Eurovision, Rademacher says as an academic sometimes you are still being dismissed for doing Eurovision research.

4. Question: The EBU doesn’t allow for political content at the ESC. But can Eurovision really be an unpolitical event?

Shomburg says that even before we had a discussion about bloc-voting, cultural proximities between countries always matterd in Eurovision. Frühling believes that Turkey and other countries that have been quite successful in the past couple of years use Eurovision as a showcase to prove: look we are also part of Europe! Wolther remarks that the discourse on bloc-voting itself is politically motivated. Frühling thinks one shouldn’t emphasize the issue of bloc-voting too much: neighboring countries are voting for each other, that’s all there is to it. The question came up, if bloc- or neighboring-voting decides about winning eurovision, how was it possible for Lena to win last year? Frühling claims, that usually German entrys are either super-serious or pure carnival and there is not much in between. From this perspective Lena with her „Björk-like-character“ was a bit of a surprise. Also, with her a younger generation became attracted to Eurovision.

5. Question: How did the German self-perception changed after Nicole’s victory and how did it change after Lena?

There was not so much of a discussion here. The question is whether a political shift is taking place, also with Lena’s victory and whether popular music will have more support in Germany in the future.

6. Question: Can Eurovision be an instrument to produce an European consciousness?

Rademacher sees music optimistically as a „paneuropean language“. Binas-Preisendörfer thinks that Europe cannot be culturally pinned down to one common idea, also, Eurovision is about the voyeurism, to look at the different, exotic, or oriental. European identity in this context exists only negatively as the negation of a national identity. This is also being reflected in the formula quite often applied at Eurovision, namely, to negotiate national folklore with global pop.

It has also been discussed in which ways national broadcasters should promote Eurovision more as a European event and not just as a national task, isn’t that part of their responsibility? It has been pointed out that the Europeaness of the event is also being performed on the internet. Binas-Preisendörfer finally points out that one shouldn’t overload Eurovision with too many expectations.

Eurovision and the ‘New’ Europe is an international, interdisciplinary research network launched in 2009 and funded by the  UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). The project aims to advance critical thinking about the contemporary Eurovision Song Contest, focusing on the ways in which the Contest has reflected, and perhaps driven, changing perceptions and realities of Europe since the fall of the Berlin Wall.This week in Dusseldorf the final workshop of Eurovision and the ‘New Europe’ will take place.

We are sponsoring two events at this year’s ESC.

Friday 13 May (11:30am – 1:00pm): ‘New’ Europe Panel Discussion – Euroclub, Ratinger Straße 25

For this event we are bringing a number of contest stakeholders together for a lively debate about the ways in which the ‘New’ Europe is being performed and negotiated at this year’s Contest. Our participants include:

• Szymon Stellmaszyk (Journalist, Poland)
• Caroline Downey (Producer, Ireland – and also Irish entry Jedward’s mentor)
• Ramaz Bluashvili (A Head Producer with Georgian Public Broadcasting – who have qualified for the ESC2011 final)
• Irving Wolther (Academic, University of Hannover, Germany)
• Edmondo Anselmi (Head of Press, San Marino delegation)

This event is free and open to the public.

Saturday 14 May (9:00am – 12:30pm): Feeling European: The Eurovision Song Contest and the European Public Sphere
ESC & the ‘New’ Europe (AHRC Workshop) at Fachhochschule Düsseldorf, University of Applied Sciences

‘Feeling European: The Eurovision Song Contest and the European Public Sphere’  is an academic workshop that will consider the ways in which the ESC enacts an ideal vision of Europe, and the role that affect plays in viewers’ various affiliations to the ESC; several network members will give public plenary lectures; and a panel made up of Contest stakeholders will consider the network’s preliminary findings, in a discussion open to the public.

For further information about the third workshop of the Eurovision and the ‘New Europe’ research network please click here.

For further information about Eurovision and the ‘New Europe’ please click here.

PROGRAMME
9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (Language: German)
Panel «The ESC as TV-Event»
Guests: Prof. Dr. Susanne Binas-Preisendörfer (University Oldenburg) | Prof. Dr. Lars Rademacher (MHMK Munich) | Ivana Dragila (Magazine «Musikmarkt») | Tim Frühling (Commentator ESC 2009) | Bianca Shomburg (Participant ESC 1997)
Moderation: Prof. Dr. Martin Lücke (MHMK Munich) | Dr. Irving Wolther («Doctor Eurovision»)

11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (Language: English)
Presentations about «The ESC as TV-Event»
- Daniel Koch (OGAE – Germany) [view abstract]
- Leonardo Vaz (Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado – Brazil) [view abstract]
- Ioannes Polychronakis (Oxford University – UK) [view abstract]
- Phil Jackson (Edgehill University – UK) [view abstract]

Chair & Introduction: Dr. Toni Sant (University of Hull – UK)

LOCATION
Fachhochschule Düsseldorf | Josef-Gockeln-Straße 9 |
40474 Düsseldorf | Germany | Room H1.1

Closest tram station is Golzheimer Platz
(10 mins away from Esprit Arena on U78)

See also: official event website [in German]

* Thursday 12 May (9:30am – 2:00pm)
Annual ERN Symposium – ESC as TV
at Fachhochschule Düsseldorf, University of Applied Sciences
This event is free and open to the public.

* Friday 13 May (11:30am – 1:00pm)
‘New’ Europe Panel Discussion
– Euroclub, Ratinger Straße 25
Panel discussion on Eurovision and the ‘New’ Europe with Ramaz Bluashvili (lead producer, Georgian Public Broadcasting); Caroline Downey Desmond (producer, Ireland); Szymon Stellmaszyk (journalist, Poland); Dr. Irving Wolther (academic, Germany); and Edmondo Anselmi (Head of Press, San Marino).  Dr Karen Fricker, chair.
This event is free and open to the public.

* Saturday 14 May (9:00am – 12:30pm)
Feeling European: The Eurovision Song Contest and the European Public Sphere
ESC & the ‘New’ Europe (AHRC Workshop) at Fachhochschule Düsseldorf, University of Applied Sciences
If you are interested in attending this workshop, please contact karen.fricker@rhul.ac.uk

Please click on the respective links above for further details on each of these ERN activities.

This is an open call for presentations and papers for this symposium focusing on the Eurovision Song Contest as a Television Event.

Researchers working in any discipline are invited present their work on the Eurovision Song Contest, with special emphasis on aspects of the event that relate to television studies. Some of the questions we’re interested in addressing include, but are not limited to:

how has the Eurovision Song Contest developed as a television event since the 1950s?

what television legacies does the Eurovision Song Contest feed from and/or into across Europe and beyond?

how have other televised song contests been influenced by the Eurovision Song Contest and what impact do other televised music and talent shows have on it?

what are the dimensions of the relationship between national broadcasters and the recorded music industry in an era when digital downloads have became a major format for music distribution?

how significant is the use of televoting in growing the Eurovision Song Contest audience, particularly in relation to other television shows that use televoting?

what does the future hold for the Eurovision Song Contest as television and the internet continue to move closer to each other as media?

how do Eurovision Song Contest fans add value to the television event, particularly when pan-European telecommunication has been decentralized through the Internet?

The symposium will also include a special panel of invited guests from the German broadcasting industry to discuss various topical aspects of the Eurovision Song Contest. This part of the event will be in German; the rest of the symposium will be in English.

To participate in this symposium, please send a brief abstract (100-200 words) and a two-sentence bio note to Toni Sant and Irving Wolther by Monday 25 April 2011. You should also outline your technical needs for the presentation, if any.

Selected paper/presentations will be notified by 1 May 2011. A full schedule for the symposium will be published along with details of other ERN events in Düsseldorf on the Eurovision Research Network website one week before the event.

As with all other ERN activities, there will be no entry charge or registration fee for this symposium.

Public events include:

 Friday, 18^th February, 10 am­-12:30 pm, Boilerhouse Theatre

Keynote session:

‘European Identity and Multiple Modernities: Cosmopolitanism and Postcolonial Critique’ – Gurminder Bhambra (Department of Sociology, University of Warwick)

‘All in the Family: Performing the ‘New’ Europe at the Eurovision Song Contest’ – Katrin Sieg (Department of German, Georgetown University)

Respondent: Chris Rumford (Royal Holloway Department of Politics and International Relations)

No reservation is necessary.

Friday, 18^th February, 5-7:30 pm, Windsor Building

Reception and panel discussion:

Representatives of national broadcasters, including the BBC and YLE/Finland, will speak about their nation’s current approach to the Eurovision Song Contest.

Those interested in attending this evening event, please RSVP to mariaeurovision2011@gmail.com.

For more information, please visit

http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/theatre_s/research/eurovision; or email karen.fricker@rhul.ac.uk or m.gluhovic@warwick.ac.uk.

The project examines how the ESC has forged cultural interconnections that cut across political divisions between nations and shape the contours of a cosmopolitan European identity.

This project involves three theme-based workshops:

• ‘European Margins and Multiple Modernities’ (at Royal Holloway, University of London, February 2011)
• ‘Queering Europe’ (at the University of Warwick’s teaching facility in Venice, Italy, April 2011)
• ‘Feeling European: The Eurovision Song Contest and the European Public Sphere’ (at the Eurovision Song Contest in Düsseldorf, May 2011).

Details about each of these workshops will be available on the ERN website as well as the official website for the project in the coming weeks.

The project will result in an edited collection Performing the ‘New’ Europe: Identities, Feelings, and Politics in the Eurovision Song Contest (2012).

WELCOME
Arnt Maasø – Department of Media and Communication, University of Oslo, Norway

INTRODUCTION: Setting the Agenda for Eurovision Studies
Toni Sant – School of Arts & New Media, University of Hull, Scarborough Campus, UK.

ERN MEMBER PRESENTATIONS

The Eurovision Song Contest and the problem of “quality”
Mari Pajala – Media Studies Department, University of Turku, Finland.

Eurovision:  It’s oh so queer
Peter Rehberg – Editor-in-chief, Männer magazine, Germany.

Eurovision and the “New” Europe
Karen Fricker – Department of Drama and Theatre, Royal Holloway, University of London & Milija Gluhovic – School of Theatre, Performance and Cultural Policy Studies, University of Warwick, UK.

Nation Branding and Image Building Through Popular Culture: A Case Study of Estonia and Ukraine
Paul Jordan – Department of Central and East European Studies, University of Glasgow, UK.

National Differences at the Eurovision Song Contest: The Seven Essential & Interconnected “Dimensions of Meaning”
Irving Wolther – HMTH Institute for Journalism and Communication Studies, Hannover, Germany.

The Global Networking of Irish Eurovision Song Contest Fans
Brian Singleton – Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.

RESPONSE
Apostolos Lampropoulos – Department of French, University of Cyprus.

]]> http://www.eurovisionresearch.net/blog/2010/06/04/setting-the-scene-in-oslo-day-2/feed/ 0 http://www.eurovisionresearch.net/blog/2010/06/04/setting-the-scene-in-oslo-day-1/ http://www.eurovisionresearch.net/blog/2010/06/04/setting-the-scene-in-oslo-day-1/#comments Fri, 04 Jun 2010 15:55:20 +0000 Phil Jackson http://www.eurovisionresearch.net/?p=217 Pictures from the “New Europe” Panel