Former Eurovision host Sarah Cawood: ‘BBC is getting it woefully wrong’

In the current issue of Attitude, in shops now, we confront the elephant in the room when it comes to Eurovision: Why does the UK usually perform so hopelessly? We enlist everyone from Bucks Fizz singer Jay Aston to Scandipop editor Karl Batterbee to give us their expert opinion – and one of the most outspoken comes from former Eurovison presenter, Sarah Cawood. Read on…

So here we are again, on the cusp of yet another monumentally anticlimactic Eurovision with the UK being represented by a band they don’t know singing a song they didn’t choose. The BBC really are intent on never hosting Eurovision again aren’t they?
You only have to glance across your social media platforms on Eurovision night to see that the UK LOVE THIS SHIT and the event itself remains one of the highest-rated shows the BBC has each year, so WHY do they keep getting the process of choosing who represents us so woefully wrong and more to the point, how can we reverse our fortunes?
I have never understood the arrogance of the Beeb which results in the UK public having little or no say in who represents our fine country at Eurovision. Even when we have been given the choice of artist, we still haven’t been given a choice of song. The BBC seem obsessed with either sending faded superstars (Bonnie Tyler and Engelbert Humperdink) or PWL wannabes woefully out of touch with the times (Josh Dubovie singing a Pete Waterman B-side and Scooch). The only real contender in recent years for me has been Blue. Great band, great song and what’s more: they had a European fan base.
There’s very little we can do to reverse our fortunes if the BBC continue to insist on having total control over the UK entrant, but they could do worse than look to the Swedish model for tips on perhaps how to do this shit properly.
The Swedes take Eurovision VERY seriously and it shows in their track record: since their first win with ABBA 40 years ago, they have notched up the highest number of victories of any country and in the last 4 years, Sweden has finished in the top three on three occasions- winning it once. The UK hasn’t managed to even SEE the top three since 2002. 13. Long. Years. Ago.

So what do they do differently? Well, for starters they have an X Factor style TV show that runs over six weeks and a final with 10 songs voted on by international juries and the Swedish public. If half the battle is choosing a catchy song with universal appeal sung by an unforgettable performer then there’s no wonder that Sweden keep winning the war: the public are behind both artist and song before they even step foot on a plane. It doesn’t take a genius to work out that if most of the public like it, then there’s a fair old chance that most of the rest of Europe will like it to.
Don’t let anyone tell you that the reason the UK doesn’t win is because of the “political” voting. It’s true that sometimes it seems like neighbouring states seem to be totally biased towards one another’s entries, but these days that has more to do with the fact that culturally, they prefer the same thing, than any archaic iron curtain nonsense.
So there we have it, for what it’s worth: Cawood’s guide to the UK winning Eurovision. Now if only we could get the bigwigs up at the BBC to listen to the common sense happening down here.
Oh and good luck Electro Velvet. You’re gonna need it…

BY SARAH CAWOOD

You can read our full five-page Eurovision special, which includes a chat with reigning Eurovision queen Conchita Wurst and a disarmingly frank interview with the UK’s 2010 entrant Josh Dubovie, in the new issue of Attitude, out now. It’s available now to download from Pocketmags.com/Attitude. The print edition is on stores now, and you can also have it delivered directly to your door at newsstand.co.uk/Attitude.