1993: A Eurovision Like Never Before - Part II

Steven Perkins: 00:00:01

Hello London, we are ready for your vote. Hello, I'm Stephen Perkins and this is Douxepois, the Eurovision podcast from the team behind Bingewatch.

two of my deep dive into the: 1993

be taking a look at that main: 1993

Linda Martins win in Malma in: 1992

All three previous occasions,: 1970

n with a population of around: 1500

It was a tempting proposal, largely because he was offering the use of the venue itself for free, as well as the fact that he'd managed to get significant buy in from the local community and investments from local business to help take some of the financial pressure away from the broadcaster itself. As it happened, RTE were keen on the idea of hosting the contest outside the capital this time around.

the host town for Eurovision: 1993

ubstantial capacity of around: 3500

But that didnt stop this unexpectedly rural spot from being the target of some derision, most notably from the bbcs Nicholas Witchell, who asked Noel Duggan why Eurovision was being held in a cowshed in Ireland. Duggan responded by telling him that it was in fact a horse shed. That said there were some logistical problems that did need to be dealt with.

For starters, Mill street was remote, properly remote. There were no motorways leading to it. The nearest airport was over 60 km away in Cork, even the train station was in need of an upgrade.

There definitely wasnt the infrastructure to provide accommodation for all the international delegates, although that one was fairly easily solved by using what was on hand in Killarney and other nearby towns. Heck, even green Glens itself needed some work done.

It turned out the roof was too low to accommodate the stage, which meant that the floor had to be dug out and lowered in order to fit the stage and the audience seating in.

And its communications capabilities needed some improvement to be able to handle the rigours of a live international broadcast with jurors from all across Europe calling in to give those all important scores. And yet it all worked beautifully on the night.

If you watch Eurovision: 1993

It's genuinely a tribute to everyone involved that the whole thing feels utterly convincing at every turn.

sider to be pretty decent for: 1993

Bring us over to the nights arena as Davy Spillane plays the hillenpipes before were introduced to our host for the evening, Fenulla Sweeney, aged 28 at the time, whos cool and composed throughout the evening, but with the warmth and humour that you need from a top tier Eurovision host. Fenulla welcomes us to the biggest Eurovision to date, with 25 countries taking part in the smallest town.

art for the first time in May: 1993

Their conductor was meant to travel after them but by the time he came to travel it was impossible to get out and he couldnt get to Mill street in time. So irish conductor Noel Keelahan ended up standing in for him.

Also, completely apart from the backdrop of war for one of its newest entrants, this was arguably the first Eurovision that had a real sense of jeopardy about it.

Its not explicitly stated in the show itself, but due to the increasing number of countries wanting to take part, this is the first Eurovision to use a relegation system where the years least successful countries will not be allowed to take part the following year.

I cant speak for broadcasters around the world, but UK commentator Terry Wogan did mention it several times, although he seemed to slightly misunderstand the concept because every time he talked about the bottom six countries being relegated when it was in fact due to be the bottom seven and he kept talking about how this was a good thing because 25 countries was too many for one contest, seemingly not realised that those spots were due to be filled by other countries who werent taking part this year. As it happened, six countries were indeed Belgium, Israel, Slovenia, Denmark, Turkey and Luxembourg.

t Italy declined to return in: 1994

n until they returned for the: 2024

While relegation from Eurovision four one year might not seem like a big deal, this was the first time it had happened, so it did carry a degree of shame for anyone who was unfortunate enough to be subjected to it.

not allowed to participate in: 1994

The danish media placed a lot of the blame for this on Tommy Seeback himself, which he took very personally and reportedly caused him to relapse into alcoholism. As for the participants, there are a few noteworthy names and faces in there.

ional english language hit in: 1988

essed act at Eurovision until: 2022

Anyway, while I will say that Barbara's ensemble for this year's proceedings, a sheer gold, semi transparent dress that she made herself, is maybe not a particularly flattering look, I'm not at all sure she was the worst dressed contestant of the night. I mean, did you not see those hideous blazes that the guys from Sweden were wearing or the garish green jacket the guy from Malta had on.

Justice for Barbara, honestly. So what about the songs? After all, we can sit here and talk about the geopolitical backdrop of this contest until the cows come home.

But ultimately the music was what everyone turned up for and the standards were, on the whole, pretty decent.

Some of the standout tracks for me were Switzerlands moitout supplement by canadian singer Annie Cotton, with Switzerland clearly hoping for a little bit more of that Celine Dion magic with this earwormy ballad, along with Austria's lively Maria Magdalena by Tony Vegas. Swedens ale Vingardner with the extremely catchy Heloise.

Yes, despite the jackets, Norways Silja Viga with the soft but haunting and dreamy alla Mina tanke or all my thoughts.

And of course, the nights two main contenders, Irelands Neve Kavanaugh with in your eyes and the United Kingdoms SONYA with better the devil you know, both of which feel like peak Eurovision songs but going in very different directions.

And one of the joys of the strength of the field is that were about to get an incredibly close round of voting that is going to keep us all on the edge of our seats in the final act of the show. But first we have our interval entertainers. Ireland does keep it fairly traditional this year.

Remember, we are still one year away from Riverdance, changing the very concept of interval acts forever. So Vernula invites Linda Martin back to perform last year's winning song, why me again?

That track was, of course written by Johnny Logan, making it his third Eurovision win overall, so it would be remiss not to have him back as well. So Linda introduces Johnny back to the stage to perform the specially composed track voices.

Brackets are calling with a choir from the Cork School of Music and local kids from Mill street, which is exactly as heartwarming as youd Expect. From there were swiftly on to the voting and it all gets quite chaotic in the opening rounds.

Italy begin and the United Kingdom get the very first point of the contest, while Ireland get the first twelve points. But it all flips on its head with the next set of votes from Turkey, with Ireland getting just 1.2.

Murmurs of outright disgust from the audience, while Bosnia Herzegovina get the twelve points and take the lead. Then Germany give their twelve points to Switzerland, which puts Switzerland into first place.

Switzerland are next to vote and they put Ireland and Norway neck and neck at the front. But by the time we get to Belgium's voting, Norway have pulled out in front and Switzerland are in second place.

The United Kingdom gets its first of three consecutive sets of twelve points and by the end of that the United Kingdom are there winning.

From that point onwards it's pretty much a two horse race between Ireland and the United Kingdom with the United Kingdom in the lead for a sizable chunk of it.

Until we get to the votes of the UK jury where we give Ireland the full twelve points, which as fanula points out, really doesnt do us any favours because it means that Ireland are now in the lead by four points and spoiler alert, they remain ahead for the rest of the voting. Overall it is a pretty smooth voting process, but there are three points that stand out.

The first is that there are some communication problems getting hold of the maltese jury, meaning that Vernoula has to skip right past them and go back to them at the end, where they end up ultimately having the casting votes in the contest. The second is the huge outpouring of support in the room when vanilla makes contact with the jury from Bosnia Herzegovina.

The connection isnt great and theres a shrill ringing sound on the line, but the fact that theyve managed to carry out their voting from a warzone does not go unnoticed or unappreciated by the studio audience and it is a genuine moment of empathy across international borders. One of the things that has always been a strength of Eurovision.

And the third moment is slightly more of the comic relief variety because during the voting from the Netherlands jury, Vernula briefly forgets where she is and miscounts the jury scores, thinking that Ireland have been given the twelve points when in fact they havent Ireland.

Speaker B: 00:10:40

That puts them ten points in the lead. One point. The United Kingdom was eleven points in the leads, now slipped back twelve points behind Ireland.

Steven Perkins: 00:10:53

Ten points, Ireland.

Speaker B: 00:10:55

Ireland ten points. That goes back. It's not easy to stand there. Ten points.

Steven Perkins: 00:11:09

By the time we've had the results from Norway, the penultimate country to vote, it is on a knife edge with Ireland eleven points ahead of the United Kingdom. It looks like Ireland have got it clinched. Indeed.

For a moment Terry Wogan thinks they've already won until he does the sums and realises that it is still possible for the United Kingdom to win if Malta give us the twelve points and gives nothing to Ireland.

Malta, I'm sure entirely unintentionally managed to milk the drama of the whole thing by getting all the way to the twelve points without giving any anything to Ireland or the United Kingdom.

It is particularly funny when we get to the ten point mark and pretty much everyone in the audience is assuming that that has to go to either Ireland or the UK, only for Malta to award their ten points to Luxembourg, who prior to that moment had only earned a single point all evening. Even Terry Wogan practically burst out laughing. Luxembourg.

Speaker B: 00:11:58

Luxembourg.

Steven Perkins: 00:11:59

So it all depends on who gets the last twelve points of the competition.

As it turns out, the maltese jury had nothing for the UK and gave twelve points to Ireland, meaning that Niamh Kavanaugh wins with a 23 point margin over Sonia. And to her immense credit, Sonia is the first of the other contestants to rush over and congratulate Niamh on her win.

t's the fourth after Spain in: 1968

I suppose I can forgive Terry not knowing Spain because that was before his time and the second one was the infamous four way tie after all.

ng Israel because he did take: 1979

ished, Cyprus will be back in: 1994

And that wraps up a Eurovision that was momentous on a number of levels for featuring the first pre qualifying round four, extending the borders of the contest further into eastern Europe and starting to shape what the contest would go on to become. And of course, being the biggest Eurovision up to that point in time, while being staged in the smallest town that ever hosted the contest.

Eurovision: 1993

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