It’s something of a cheat week on Polyglossic this week. I’d normally write a blog on language diversity in the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest around this time. Yes, it’s that time of year again! But the boss asked first, so I’ll point you in the direction of the ESC article I penned for Linguascope this week. There’s a round-up of the songs – from a classroom teacher point of view, of course (not that the glam has no part to play), along with some fun game ideas.
As I’ve said there, it’s no secret that the contest has had a tough ride lately, falling into a highly contested, politically charged space. And that’s to be expected, as a living, breathing event out there in a very complex world. There are simply no easy answers that reconcile the many hues of opinion in the fan community. The most we can do is respect others’ points of view and right to express them.
For my part, I’m on the side that believes there’s something worth fighting for there. It’s a unique something that has celebrated different, not mainstream, quirky – whatever you want to call it. For kids (and adults) who feel some or all of those things, that’s always been a very special place to escape to.
Superfan Matti Bunzl summed it up to Austria’s Profil magazine this week. He’s the director of the Wien Museum, host site for this year’s Eurofan House by wiwibloggs, and explains:
Warum soll der Song Contest von solchen Dynamiken ausgeschlossen sein? Natürlich kann man wünschen, dass sich die Welt für ein paar Stunden auf völkerverständigenden Eskapismus einigt, aber man kann die Menschen ja nicht zwingen.
(Why should the song contest be excluded from such dynamics? Of course you can wish for the world to unite for a few hours of international, understanding escapism, but you can’t force people.)
If you are following the shows next week, then have a wonderful Eurovision. May the best song win, and long live healthy argument about whether it really was the best song!