United Kingdom – The UK’s commentator, Graham Norton, has said that he will be raising a glass to former commentator, Terry Wogan, in song 9 of this year’s contest. Wogan, who sadly passed away this year, always warned Norton not to start drinking until song 9.
Norton says,
“During song number nine this year the host country Sweden will be performing and I will be encouraging everyone to raise a glass. It has all worked out very nicely as Swedish people in the arena will be cheering their song in the stadium as everyone back in the UK will join me and say cheers to the memory and legacy of Sir Terry Wogan.”
Norton also gives his views on the UK entry , Belarus’ plans for nakedness and Wolves and the new voting system.
You can read the whole interview here.
Source: BBC
The Eurovision Times 
Now what’s that, an indirect answer to Bjorkman ? Ugh..
I start drinking way before song 9. LOL Anyway, I’ll raise mine as well out of respect for the deceased.
Not for indirectly mocking Bjorkman?
There’s no point in wasting precious wine with him.
I am thinking to have either Greek or Portuguese wine during the final.
Both are excellent choices!
http://www.waitrose.com/shop/DisplayProductFlyout?productId=27181
Thanks for the link! :) I usually buy foreign wine in El Corte Inglês.
He’s worth much more to the contest than any silly wine anyway.
LOL I’ll raise one to you as well!
Australian wine is much better than their entry.
I tried some and the are good. Also some years ago I bought a Californian rose wine from a grocery in north London. It was so great! Never found it anywhere else though.
California, Australia, Chile, South Africa, Bulgaria, Romania… it’s bigger than Eurovision! :) See you later!
and Moldova! But I have never tried any from the Balkan countries yet.
See ya! ;)
P.S. Held a small esc preview for friends and family and the only song my 58 year old mother really liked and kept her interested was Australia’s.
I suppose she is pretty shallow and with a bad taste as well right ?
The biggest wine cellars in the wold can be found in Moldova: Mileștii Mici. <3
Ηave you ever tried?
I don’t think so. :(
Sigh come in from a nice afternoon out and see Guitar throwing nasty comments around at people “You can raise some sparkling sewage water for your friend here”
Some things sadly never change.
Back to the story, I don’t usually drink, but I think I will during Song 9 this time. Terry was a legend and was one of the things that drew me to the contest and while I don’t like norton, I think this is an excellent way to commemorate and honour such a great man! <3
Would like some fine wine Max?
I’m more a Cider boy myself, but thanks for the kind offer :) Usually go for the Swedish ciders, Rekorderlig and Kopparberg, but obviously won’t be doing that this year perhaps I should break out the Smirnoff instead ;)
Always a nice gesture to honour the dead. Even though wine is bad for your liver and tastes better as original grapes.
You should live in the UK, the pros and cons of wine change on a weekly basis, this week it causes cancer, next week it protects against it, the week after that its a strong anti oxidant, then the week after that it causes brain damage.
And you may go to rural Med where people drink it often but still they are in full swing! Not mention they hardly get drunk. Media will tell you all shit possible if their aim is to sell.
Sometimes my family watch it with my Croatian friend and his family and they have this drink called Rakia or Rakija and it’s so strong you could strip paint with it, but you are right, they never seem to get that drunk on it lol.
I hardly drink Raki and if I my limit is 2 shots. People do get drank with Raki but only in domestic environments during family gatherings.
I think they also have something called Grappa, not sure if it’s the same thing as Rakia, or they are just very similar.
Who?
Well, the prophets of doom have found risks of cancer in every possible thing than can be eaten or drinken, haven’t they? But that alcohol damages your liver is quite basic knowledge, isn’t it? Just as smoking is bad for your lungs, sugar is bad for your teeth and junk food will make you fat. That of course doesn’t mean you have to abstain from everything, or that you will necessarily live a longer live just by staying away from them. Just look at Fidel Castro, hasn’t done anything but smoking in his life, and he is 90 years old.
Former German chancellor Helmut Schmidt once was advised by his doctor that he should give up smoking if he wanted to live longer. He replied: “If I give up smoking, my life will only feel very long.” Very well put imo. :)
everything in moderation
is the key ;)
Drinking red wine is good for your health as long as you do not overdo it.
It is isn’t necessarily bad unless you drink it is an alcoholic.
I will raise a toast too :-)
I have always had mixed feelings about Terry Wogan. On one hand he had a nasty tendency of treating the contest as a joke and looking down at other countries’ songs. On the other hand he could also be very funny, and there was often an ironic twist to what he said – which saved it from being really offensive.
Traditionally, people here in Ba-Wü have a Schorle (half wine, half water) for lunch and 2 glasses of wine for/after dinner but that’s another tradition that has been killed by capitalist globalization. Nowadays people look shocked if someone orders a Schorle vor lunch. Well, I am not much of a lunch guy to begin with. An apple is fine for me. :)
Have you been watching the results in Austria? :(
Europe is on its way towards conflict again. Alas, humanity is a very stupid and hateful species.
It’s almost as if people aren’t enjoying living in fear of terror attacks like in Paris and Brussells or mass rapes as in Cologne.
It sure is a puzzle why the status quo seems to be being rejected everywhere from the North East up in Alaska, down to the South East in Greece.
“half wine, half water” what is this travesty?
A trick to save you from getting drunk I suppose. Personally I don not do it.
http://www.lawineclub.com/artsearch.php?fn=2&as=212&dt=1
in France putting water in your wine is a crime :o
That’s what I think too :p
In ancient Greece it was a must :P
In ancient Rome too. :)
“Half Rakı,half water” is very possible :)
French purism …
I normally don’t drink alcohol for dinner, except if it’s a family dinner or a party, and especially not for lunch. It just makes me sleepy.
But I often use alcoholic drinks in my cooking, f.e. dark beer or red wine. I can’t imagine a Bolognese sugo without red wine.
I prefer white wine to red
I drink Rakı If I am eating fish/meze
My all time favorite drink is “Smirnoff Ice”❤️
Red wine gets my vote :)
Then ouzo/tsipouro/raki :)
1. Red wine
2. Belgian/German/Czech beers
3. Mojito
:p
Not a big fan of beer here. With the exception of Weiss beer :)
I like mojito’s freshy and minty flavour.
Ale and stout <3
And of course a good pilsner :-)
Subscribe to that, ale all the way :P can also take some nice german weisbier every now and then
LOL!This thread has obviously didn’t turn to be Alcohol Free….
*didn’t turn
Are you joining the party? All good people are already drinking.
Well,i’m not much of a drinker myself but i do like my red wine every now and then.I prefer sweeter varieties tbh.
I tasted this one some time and i liked it: http://www.greeceandgrapes.com/mountain-vineyards-lalikou/sweet-wine-joker-2015-mountain-vineyards-lalikou
A drinking song:
No wine for me tonight. My flight is early tomorrow morning …
Where are u going?
Berlin again … probably every week until mid-July …
Someone is busy ;)
Your current mood?
Fine. :)
OGAE France gave 10p to Russia :
http://esctoday.com/134719/ogae-poll-2016-france-may-votes/
OGAE Ireland:
12 points go to… Australia
10 points go to… France
8 points go to… Russia
7 points go to… Bulgaria
6 points go to… Italy
5 points go to… Latvia
4 points go to… Austria
3 points go to… Azerbaijan
2 points go to… Iceland
1 point goes to… Spain
Next songchecks, Greece and Czech Republic: https://escsongreviews.com/2016/04/24/songcheck-2016-greece-czech-republic/
The stage in action!
Special congratulations to the official eurovision youtube channel for reaching 1 million subscribers moments ago :-) May it grow to 10 mil and more :-)
I love the 999.991-999.999 countdown in different languages..Gosh such a tiring thing to say in every language :P
Off topic : One of the singles from Douwe Bob’s latest album was literally called “Can’t Slow Down” lol ! :
Globen sinking 3.5 cm after stage and equipment have been installed!lol!
Greta shared this heartwarming story on her timeline: <3
I want to share something special with all of you today. Two weeks ago I was in Amsterdam where I performed my song "Hear them calling." After the concert a girl came up to me and started crying. I took her aside and we talked for a bit and after a few minutes we both stood there crying. Her sincerity really touched me. She later wrote to me and in her own words said this: "I have been bullied almost my whole life and it started when I was still in preschool. In highschool people said nasty things to me and spread rumours about me. It really hurt me. I´m scared to trust people and I constantly hear negative voices in my head telling me I´m worthless. This is why "Hear them calling" means so much to me, because I see myself in the song and it gives me hope. When I listen to it I feel like I´m not alone. At the concert the song really hit me and that´s why I cried. I really hope the song can help more people and show them they are not alone. When I met Greta Salóme after the concert it was as if all these emotions came bursting through and this song and the words just mean so much to me. I know that if I listen to the positive voices everything will be allright." This beautiful girl gave me her permission for publishing this. To me this is the essence of the song. So many people have been asking what my strategy is. It´s really simple. I have no strategy! I have hope! Hope that my music will touch and help at least one person like it did in Amsterdam. Then I will feel like a winner regardless of scores or votes. People are constantly asking what the voices mean and who really is calling me. It´s open for interpretation. Negative voices are everywhere in today´s society and they can push you around (just like the shadows in the act). But if we focus on the positive voices they will guide you home or wherever you need to go. Let´s be positive voices to others and use our words to encourage one another. Life is simply better that way!!!
Indeed very touching.
The official cd is out and lol at this gift package!It’s mailed directly to Shevek in Lisbon:
The stage in action:
Cartoon and Juri Pootsman have actually colaborated very recently on a song :
Sounds nothing like the Juri I am used to haha :P