Perhaps I shouldn't categorise this as "watching," since I admittedly haven't watched any of it, but it was the most suitable category and although I myself haven't, there are millions and millions of people who have. My reason for addressing the Eurovision Song Contest right now are perhaps not valid given my marginal position, but here it goes nevertheless.

As a child, I watched the Swedish version of it as well as the large European finale faithfully every year. It was a big family event as we gathered around the television set. In the 1990s and early 2000s I had realised that the music usually performed wasn't really my cup of tea and my interest faded. As the Swedish "Melodifestivalen" reinvented itself in 2002 adding a whole series of semi-finals, I stopped watching altogether. It simply became too much, but the media haussed it every year (much in the same fashion as the, in my view, horrible talent shows) and, whether I liked it or not, it was difficult not to become aware of who won and who lost as I tried to read the news. I still sometimes watched the Eurovision Song Contest, however, as I enjoyed the multicultural aspects of them, but as it, too, was extended with "before" shows and semi-finals, this competition also lost its appeal for me. As a result, I haven't watched any of it in the last six or seven years.

Reading the papers in ten different European countries (plus the US) I do feel happy for Loreen, who won the ESC last night. She seems to know what she's doing and I find her firm stance in favour of dissidents and against government control very encouraging. I'm also happy to see the media in entire Europe come together around one common, non-violent and non-economic topic. This happens far too seldom and it great to see at least one of these pieces of news every year, but at the same time there must be other pieces of positive news that are equally or perhaps even more newsworthy. My feelings are mixed, to say the least, on the topic of the Eurovision Song Contest.

In spite of all this, I would sincerely like to congratulate Loreen. I'm sure I will listen to the winning song at some point. Photo borrowed from Expressen.