LIFESTYLE
Luxembourg and Eurovision
A comeback waiting to happen The Eurovision Song Contest takes place in Malmö on May 18. It is exactly 20 years since Luxembourg last participated and 30 years since it last won. A comeback seems unlikely, even though plenty of fans and even past participants are clamouring for the Grand Duchy to enter the contest again. Text by Neel Chrillesen
I
Luc Deflorenne (archives)
Alain Berwick Viewers prefer shows like Pop Idol
t is a recurring parliamentary question, the theme of a hit Luxembourgish sitcom and a topic that irritates RTL’s boss this time every year: Luxembourg’s possible return to the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC). When the Grand Duchy pulled out in 1993 after a series of bad results, most people expected the move to be temporary. Twenty years later, it turns out it’s not. So the question remains: why is a multicultural, Eurominded country like Luxembourg still not back in the contest it helped launch in 1956 and has won five times? After all, despite a two decade absence, Luxembourg still has the joint second most wins in the contest, behind Ireland, and
48
the event is broadcast live in 140 countries and watched by over 125 million viewers. Last year when the issue was raised in parliament yet again, this time by socialist deputy Claudia Dall’Agnol, minister of culture Octavie Modert answered rather curtly that the government remained uninterested in supporting a comeback and had other ways of promoting the country and its music. She then passed the buck to RTL--because only a national broadcaster can in fact enter a country in the competition. For many years, Luxembourg’s refusal to return has been explained by financial reasons and the fact that RTL is no longer a full member of the European Broadcasting Union, another requirement for taking part. This is not quite true. “We have kept our membership card and the cost of participating today is affordable,” says Alain Berwick, CEO of RTL. “The financial problem would be if Luxembourg won and had to host the event.” A legitimate concern: the 2007 ESC--hosted by Finland after its memorable first-time win with Lordi’s ‘Hard Rock Hallelujah’--cost around 15 million euro. The sum more than doubled the next year in Moscow with an estimated budget of 33 million euro. But that was nothing compared to what Azerbaijan invested last year: over 100 million euro (including the construction of the new Crystal concert hall). Still, while Portu-
gal and Poland have withdrawn temporarily from the contest this year due to financial issues, it’s worth noting that countries like Italy, Spain, Greece and Cyprus will be there as usual. “The problem is that RTL is a private broadcaster,” says Eric L., president of the Luxembourgish OGAE (Organisation Générale des Amateurs de l’Eurovision--official Eurovision fanclub), that has been rallying for a comeback for many years. “So if the state doesn’t chip in, RTL would have to cover all the costs. Another excuse is that we don’t have a big enough venue to host such an event, but honestly, an arena like d’Coque would do fine. The current trend is downscaling anyway. In Sweden this year there will be fewer spectators than in previous years.” Costs have also been massively reduced to a total budget of 12 million euro. “We’re not against Eurovision as such or immune to the nostalgia factor and we would have nothing against helping promote Luxembourg and artists here by participating,” explains Berwick. “But apart from the fact that it would be too expensive to host, it just doesn’t interest people anymore. They prefer watching shows like Nouvelle Star or Pop Idol.” For Jimmy Martin, the last artist to represent Luxembourg, in 1993, there is no comparison between talent shows where budding artists cover known
april 2013
48_50_52_lifestyle_GS_eurovision.indd 48
09/04/13 16:08