Euro

There has been a lot of discussion in the news recently on the subject of Europe. Especially regarding Britain's future role. Or lack of it. I say discussion, but  it is often more of a rant, which sadly seems to be the norm for much political debate nowadays. Amid the heated rhetoric directed at single currencies and immigration policies and North Atlantic fishing quotas (the latter having not really figured prominently in recent months but is doubtless due for a resurgence of interest, along with misshapen bananas), politicians and public alike seem too easily to forget the benefits of being part of the broader European community. This is highlighted by the Eurovision Song Contest, which graced our television screens and radio antennae a couple of days ago. It is a welcome annual event, although there are those who suggest it may be even more welcome were it to come round, like the Olympics or the World Cup, every four years. The extra wait would whet the appetite and make everyone far more appreciative of the delicacies presented to us in the name of music.

I, for one, actually quite like Eurovision. I suppose I have many fond memories of eagerly watching it as a small child, which my jaded grown-up cynicism cannot quite dispel. While it is fashionable, at least in this country, to deride the contest, with its mixture of glitzy pop songs and heart-rending power ballads, and occasional weirdly outlandish performers, not to mention even a few brave souls having the temerity to sing in their native tongue rather than English, it usefully serves to emphasise the cultural diversity within Europe. Despite being a relatively compact continent, with countless opportunities over the last few millennia for our myriad cultures to be integrated and homogenised, we Europeans are a strikingly disparate collection of nations. Eurovision helps to highlight these differences, and makes us realise that there are still people out there with tastes that are a world away from our own bland Anglo-American popular culture. And perhaps sometimes this glimpse of diversity makes us feel uncomfortable, as if we assumed that everybody must think the same way we do, and we are somehow surprised to find that they don't. And to top it all, as the final death knell to the supremacy of the old Empire, we are no longer able to make a decent attempt at winning Eurovision. It's almost like a Greek myth: despite our Herculean efforts, we are fated to end up perpetually at the bottom of the rankings.