He has been our man at Eurovision since 2009 and now Graham tells you how to make the most of the night
Graham Norton has urged Eurovision fans to have fun during the final – giving his tips to party this weekend.
The TV and radio host, 62, has been the voice of the wacky singing show since replacing Terry Wogan in 2009. Asked for his essentials to throwing a good party, Graham said: “You never want to make your party seem too much like hard work, so my advice is not to go overboard. Maybe ask guests to pick countries out of a hat and they can choose to wear something traditional or bring a food item from that country.
“If you are going for raucous, then Eurovision lends itself very easily to drinking games – take a shot every time you see some sort of folk instrument, or whenever a performer makes a heart with their fingers. Say goodbye to your Sunday!” Speaking from Basel, Switzerland, where this year’s contest takes place, Graham also gave his tips on what makes a great Eurovision anthem.
“First and foremost is the song. Does it have a hook? Does it build? Then I’m looking for interesting staging. It doesn’t have to be complicated, just clever and fresh. Lastly, and this is the hardest of all, the act needs to be likeable and somehow get their personality across to the audience. Not forgetting great vocals!”
Commentator Graham also insisted despite being outsiders with the bookmakers UK act Remember Monday “have a great advantage in that they are unlike any other act this year”.
They will compete in Saturday’s grand final against touted favourites such as Sweden’s Kaj with their entry Bara Bada Bastu, about Nordic sauna culture, Austria’s JJ (Johannes Pietsch) with the emotional song Wasted Love, and Israeli singer Yuval Raphael with the ballad New Day Will Rise.
He explained: “Remember Monday have a great advantage in that they are unlike any other act this year. Their vocals and harmonies are flawless, the song has a very strong hook and the trio are hugely likeable. With a decent place in the running order they should do very well indeed.”
On Saturday, Remember Monday will be eighth to compete – meaning they will follow Raphael, Norway’s Kyle Alessandro, the youngest Eurovision act this year at 19 years old, Estonia’s Tommy Cash with the Italian parody Espresso Macchiato, and Ukraine’s Ziferblat.”
Speaking about the entries this year, he said: “It’s a big year for party anthems,” adding that one that stood out was Miriana Conte representing Malta. He added: “Cutting through all the noise I think Italy might have a good year with a classic rock ballad performed by Lucio Corsi.”
Graham said: “I know nothing about the plans for the grand final yet, but when it’s a country like Switzerland that haven’t hosted for 36 years, I suspect they are going to pull out all the stops. I can’t wait to see what they have in store.”
There has been some speculation that Canadian singer Celine Dion, who won for the Swiss with Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi in Dublin 1988, would perform in the grand final.
One confirmed act is last year’s winner Swiss singer Nemo, who triumphed with The Code, and will perform their new song Unexplainable during the event.
The winner will be determined by a combination of points from national juries and viewer votes in the participating 26 countries, along with a separate rest of the world vote. Graham said: “To be honest I love everything about Eurovision. It’s scale and sincerity are unmatched.
“The extreme range of musical styles and talents in the contest combined with the coming together of countries and fans makes it a contest like no other.”
TV coverage for the final is provided by Graham, on BBC One at 8pm BST on Saturday, while British audiences can listen to BBC Radio 2 and BBC Sounds for live coverage with presenters Rylan Clark and Scott Mills.
Source: Mirror
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