• Watch the BBC's Panorama: Eurovision's Dirty Secret (BBC iPlayer) - it's not very impressively researched and won't be big news to anyone who is following the contest this year but worth a look
• Radio 4's The Media Show has also been looking at Eurovision's Azerbaijan Controversy (BBC iPlayer)  - and on a less controversial note Front Row has provided a helpful song review.
• Wondering about this year's interval act? Well it's the President's son-in-law Emin! Read all about him here (BBC News)
• Baku is eliminated from the competition to hold the Olympics in 2012 (BBC News)
• And the BBC has apparently had a warning letter from the EBU over it's coverage of the politics of Azerbaijan (Oikotimes)

• Sarah Cox and Scott Mills' Guide to Baku (Misguided BBC Blog) - to see their uniquely awful hosting check out Semi Final 1 and Semi Final 2 (both on BBC iPlayer)
• Eurovision in Gaelic (only annoying as there is no translation!)
• Engelbert Humperdinck has been the subject of his very own show (BBC iPlayer) - they seem obsessed with his name... which Dollymix (and others) have some serious trouble spelling
• Some of the more extreme parts of Ukrainian society have turned against their own Eurovision entry
• Spain are totally not trying to loose, I promise

 

From today's popbitch (huge props to Paula for the tip off!):

"I can hit notes a bank could not cash" - Engelbert Humperdinck

 

       >> Eurovision 2012 <<

       Loving the Engelbert Hump

 

The UK's Eurovision entry this year is sweet, understated, classy. Sadly for Engelbert, he got a disastrous draw - first up. The UK were drawn firsty in 1976 - when Brotherhood of Man won - but that was a long time before phone voting made the draw so important.

 

Anyway, five things to know about the man who appears to have been renamed The Hump:

 

   1. Bert Kaempfert gave him Strangers In The Night to record, but he lost out to Frank Sinatra who was the preferred choice to put it out as a single.

 

   2. The Hump + Jedward = Jengelbert Watch them meet each other: http://bit.ly/LoWnwc

 

   3. Pre-empting the Joe Dolce-Ultravox fight by 14 years, the Hump's Release Me kept Strawberry Fields/Penny Lane off the top slot in 1967.

 

   4. Humperdinck got the Honorary Freedom of Leicester in 2009, with Sue Townsend and former professional footballer Alan Birchenall. 

   5. An anagram of Engelbert Humperdink is Mr Nut Bleeped Gherkin.

It's Tuesday... You sit there bored, forlorne, confused, lacking in Eurovision spirit...

Very exciting news! 

In astonishing news it appears that Poland have weighed up the appeal of Eurovision and have decided that football takes precedent. Their Eurovision broadcaster TVP officially withdrew from Eurovision in December 2011 citing the Euro 2012 championships as part of the reason. We're a little baffled as to the relationship but you can read their excuses here. 

OK it did happen in March but that does not change our shock at the news that Armenia has withdrawn from Eurovision 2012. 

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