10 May 2009
Should Ireland just come home from Eurovision now?
Things are not rosy in Moscow and the thorn in the side of Channel 1, the national broadcaster organizing Eurovision is none other than our Head of Delegation Julian Vignoles.
In the press conference held after Ireland's second rehearsal, Mr Vignoles claimed to be "very disappointed" with how the staging of Ireland's entry is being dealt with. The camera shots are all over the place and the background that Ireland wanted displayed on the LED screens behind the singers was rejected by Channel 1 and no replacement has been found. Mr Vignoles said that there were some basic camera shot rules that needed to be observed when making a TV show and that these were being completely ignored in our entry.
When I watched some of the rehearsals earlier in the week, I was puzzled by the fact that there was absolutely no imagery behind Sinead Mulvey. The large colourful letters that appear in their video were supposed to be on stage or at least on the large screens behind. Now it looks like Sinead is singing from the terraces of a football stadium with rows of lights behind her.
Another embarrassment to add to the list for Channel 1. There is already a talk of a walkout by Lithuania. Should we just join em?