Eurovision
2014
As the last waving flag is put away, the amazing vote for tolerance
exercised by Europe’s youth this year hopefully will puts to rest so much of the
bitterness around the issue of gay rights. The victory of Austria’s transgender
entertainer Conchita Wurst stands as a beacon, hopefully for a more tolerant world.
How this annual event has changed and developed over the years is nothing short
of amazing. The formal evening dress and orchestra long left behind speaks
volumes about how informality triumphed over correctness. Gyrating, minim
skirted, tattooed performers have made sure of that. The Eurovision contest now
has more of a football atmosphere, this sense of great excitement lights up the venue.
With ballads, rock, and
folk songs of the participating singers, accompanied by dancers and traipse artists helped propel the
event to an audience of 180 million viewers, to such an extent that over one million
Australians tuned in. Intense activities of performers at times pushing the boundaries with
their acts, express a wonderful balance between different priorities, all intent in gaining maximum exposure.
It is a credit to young and not so young, that
they voted this year's Austrian entry a victory. I’m sure many will feel this result
is not in society’s best interest, but the issue of gay rights has to be
addressed in a mature manner. To long it has been little more than a political football. Do we want to endorse middle ages legislation as in
Putin’s Russia or some African states who have introduced the death penalty for
homosexuality? The whole concept of Eurovision has been to draw the world together, not
to separate it. The unity of today’s youth with their cultural icons is fully
displayed in this contest, and they must be congratulated for their accepting
attitude in voting for an accepting future. We live in one world of one people.
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