Fiction and Fandom

The Eurovision Song Contest

Course 1 · Chapter 9 · Eurovision in Fiction and Fandom

A contest this recognisable is a gift to comedy. It has a fixed form that audiences know, a cast of exaggerated national types, and a sense of the absurd built in. This chapter looks at two well-known fictional treatments, an episode of the sitcom Father Ted and the 2020 film about an Icelandic duo, and then at the fans who keep the real contest alive. Plot details are given from general knowledge and from viewers' memory, and are flagged where a rewatch would settle them.

"A Song for Europe": Father Ted

Father Ted is an Irish-British sitcom about three priests and their housekeeper on a remote island off the Irish coast. One of its best-loved episodes, titled "A Song for Europe" after the British selection show (Chapter 3), is about Eurovision. It is from the second series, in the mid-1990s (check the year), and was written by Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews.

  • The premise. Ted and Dougal write a song for the Irish selection, generally recalled as "My Lovely Horse". They are in rivalry with another priest, Father Dick Byrne.
  • The joke. The humour depends on a real worry: Ireland had won so often in the 1990s (Chapter 6) that the cost of hosting was a running joke. In the story the characters' song is so poor that it can only lose.
  • The result. According to viewers' memory, Ted and Dougal go to the contest and finish last with no points. That ending is the programme's reply to the real habit of Irish success.
Parody needs the real thing The episode works because the audience already knew the real contest: the national selection, the nervous presenter, the scoreboard and the idea of "nul points" (Chapter 4). A comic episode like this is a good record of how the contest was seen in the mid-1990s.
Memory check The plot points above are the general memory of the episode, and the course author remembers the final result as nul points and last place. The details of the rivalry, the selection and the year of broadcast should be confirmed by a rewatch or a reliable episode guide before quoting them.

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga

This 2020 comedy film stars Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams as Lars and Sigrit, two musicians from a small Icelandic town who dream of entering the contest. The film is set partly in Edinburgh, where the fictional contest is held, which makes it of local interest to a Scottish reader (check where the filming was done). Several former Eurovision performers appear in cameos, and the song "Husavik" from the film was nominated for an Academy Award for best original song, according to general reports.

  • How they get in. As the course author recalls, the other finalists in the Icelandic selection are killed when a boat explodes at a party, and the last-placed act, who had not been invited, is left to represent the country. This is the setting of the film's best-known joke.
  • Winning would ruin the country. The film presents Iceland as a country that does not want to win, because hosting would be a heavy burden. That repeats the real worry behind Father Ted (Chapter 6).
  • Reality. Iceland has never won the contest, though it has finished second (reported for 1999 and 2009; check the years).
Fiction and fact meeting Both stories turn on the same odd idea, that a small country might prefer to lose. Whether any broadcaster really behaved that way is folklore, but the idea is common enough to underpin two quite different comedies.

Other Appearances

The contest turns up in many other places: documentaries, panel shows, songs that parody the format, and sketches in several countries. A British audience will think first of the BBC's commentary (Chapter 8). When the 2020 contest was cancelled, the organisers broadcast a special programme, Europe Shine a Light, in place of the show, which was an example of the contest acting as a shared event even without a competition.

The Fans

Eurovision has a large, devoted and often playful fan community. Common features include:

  • Fan clubs. The best known is OGAE, an international network of national fan clubs, with its own polls.
  • Watching parties. Many people host a party on the night, with national food, scorecards and sometimes drinking games.
  • Running jokes. The key change, the wind machine, pyrotechnics, the singer in a very large costume and the "douze points" call are all part of the shared vocabulary (Chapters 4 and 5).
  • Online debate. Fans compare songs, argue about juries and keep spreadsheets of past results, which is why fan sites are a useful but secondary source (Chapter 1).
  • Community. For many fans, especially gay fans, the show has long been an event where they feel at home (Chapter 7).

Why the Contest Works as Comedy

Its elements are all easy to parody. It takes itself seriously and invites laughter, so the audience can enjoy the songs and the joke at the same time. It is built on national stereotypes, which comedy can exaggerate. It has a clear ritual of scores that anyone can recognise. And it is partly affectionate: most parodies are made by people who like the contest. This is why the comedy has not harmed it, and may have helped it.

Exercises

Exercise 1

Explain the real-world background that makes the Father Ted episode work, and say which parts of your account are memory that you would check.

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Exercise 2

Compare the Father Ted episode and the Fire Saga film. What idea do they share, and how does each tell it?

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Exercise 3

Describe three habits of Eurovision fans, and explain why comedy about the contest is usually affectionate.

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Quick Reference

  • Father Ted, "A Song for Europe": second series, mid-1990s; Ted and Dougal, "My Lovely Horse"; last with no points (recalled)
  • Fire Saga (2020): Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams; Icelandic duo; set in Edinburgh; "Husavik"
  • Shared idea: a small country that would rather not win
  • Reality: Iceland has never won; Ireland won often in the 1990s
  • Fans: OGAE, parties, shared jokes, spreadsheets
  • 2020: contest cancelled; Europe Shine a Light broadcast instead
  • Check: plot details, years and the filming locations

Next chapter: Capstone: What the Contest Says About Europe, which draws the course together.