[Acrylic-bob]

Acrylic Biff and I have had the JCB out and have done a bit more digging.

Aparently, in 2010 Norway spent £23 Million on hosting the contest. Since then costs have escalated which is why selection has usually been internal rather than the result of public competition.

There is a suggestion that some member countries of the European Broadcasting Union(EBU), have been deliberately submitting dud songs in the hope that they would not win, thus saving themselves a shedload of cash. Member countries pay the EBU an undisclosed fee to participate. Some of the costs of hosting the event are recouped through ticket sales and sponsorship.

The question I had about what constitutes the European bit of the contests title is quite complex and is determined nominally by those countries which fall inside the European Broadcasting Area, known as Region 1. This is defined as being between ten degrees to the west of the Greenwich Meridian and forty degrees to the east of said Meridian and in the south by parallel thirty degrees North. In addition, the EBU can invite whoever it chooses, provided they meet the conditions laid down in the contest rules and pay up on time.

Now that that's all cleared up, I doubt that there is any chance, even with a Freedom of Information Request that we would persuade the BBC to come clean on what it actually spends on this kitsch-fest.

However, given what I said above about avoiding winning, this paints the failures of the last couple of years and the selection of Humperdink in a totally new light, wouldn't you agree? You see, you cannot trust even old Aunty Beeb and Terry Wogan to tell you the truth. How many will fall for all that "we're going to win this time' crap. When everyone at the Beeb know full well that the song was chosen precisely because it did not have a cat in hell's chance of winning?