Originally published at: Eurovision organizers say Russians can still sing at competition | Boing Boing
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What else do you expect from the risk-averse hacks who run the competition?
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I don’t think that Russia will be getting any votes…
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Perhaps the Elves will do something to change the organizer’s minds
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Wait until you hear about the song ABBA did.
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Pleasantly surprised at this, though.
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Everyone else should do the same. If it’s only Russia and Georgia, then there isn’t much of a competition.
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It’s absolutely fucking amazing that the abysmally corrupt soccer federation has told russia to fuck off, but not eurovision!
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So have F1. Only after all the drivers said that there could be an F1 race, but they sure as fuck wouldn’t be in it, mind
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I recommend watching John Oliver’s take on the 2014 competition when the tensions between Ukraine and Russia were high following the annexation of Crimea:
I can only hope that the winner from that year, Conchita Wurst, is somehow able to help de-escalate the conflict this time around too.
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Is there a live audience for this? If so, they should drown out the Russians with noisemakers, boos, obscene chants, and anything else they can think of.
Much like Formula One, it’s going to take the other member states and their performers to put an end to this mealy mouthed “but we’re not political” stuff by refusing to participate if Russia is allowed. It’s not political AT ALL to condemn war. The political act is in ignoring it. Putin knew that when he waited for the Olympics to end before launching the war (and they should never have been allowed to compete in any case given their mass doping scandals).
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But they haven’t banned Russian teams. For example, Spartak Moscow is still competing in the Europa League.
Oh I think they are both political acts, just one is craven.
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The situation has evolved and it seems like Eurovision has bowed to moral pressure:
“The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has announced that no Russian act will participate in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.”
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That’s a shame, really. I was hoping the performers would make it a non-stop protest against Russia with songs that roast both the country and Putin. It still could be, but it won’t be quite the same as having Russian reps having to sit stone-faced though one act after another ripping into Putin, the Kremlin, Russian bigotry.
The added bonus of songs becoming continental hits, well, that would be great.
They can still do it, but it won’t have quite the same impact. 
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