The Dark Heart of Eurovision

At my weekly tennis game with my Russian friend Vlad, I congratulated him on his country's Eurovision win. With some relief, he said none of the songs were the sort of music he listened to.

But at least you didn't have the humiliation of coming last, I said.

"Your song could never win", he replied. "East Europeans would never vote for a black person."

Then it struck me, it's not bloc voting that is Eurovision's problem, it is a mild undercurrent of racism. Andy Abraham was the only black artist on the night.

Historically, Eurovision doesn't fare much better. No black lead singer has ever won the contest. The only possible exception is Dave Benton who came first as part of a duet in 2001.

But it's unlikely to change. Balkan nations and former Soviet republics have an unenlightened attitude to race. An extreme example of this is Zenit St Petersburg, a football club that refuses to buy black players.

This year's winning entry also included an Aryan public relations masterstroke. Alongside the singer Bilan - who frequently flashed his white bare chest - was the blond Olympic figure skating champion Yevgeny Plushenko, who pirouetted on artificial ice to the song. An odd spectacle even by Eurovision standards.
But the final word goes to my tennis partner Vlad.

"Then again" he said, "the British song was so bad it would have failed whoever sung it."