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David Brown Carr - Presents Eurovision 2024

EUROVISION MARCH 2004 – SONGS IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES

Kia ora, bon jour, guten tag, Buon pomerigio, Boa tar[j]e, Goddag, dzien dobry, [go eftermeeddah] god eftermiddag, [chodemiddach] [kalo apoyevma], dobbry den, [hyvaa iltapaivaa]… And gidday,

I’m DBC.  My wife and I are looking forward to the 68th Eurovision Song Contest being held in Malmo, Sweden, in May.

Eurovision began in the mid-1950s as a way to bring the countries of Europe together through music after the horrors of WW2.  It has continued to be a great unifying force in Europe, especially after the end of the Cold War in the 1990s. But not everything has been rosy for Eurovision. For example, increasingly the songs at the contest (especially the winning ones) have been sung in English, without much distinctiveness between the different entrants.  Often it’s been hard to tell, just by listening to the song, whether the entrant comes from, say, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Croatia, Israel, or even Russia.

From 1999 onwards, all Eurovision participants have been allowed a free choice of what language they sing in.  Many contestants view performing in English as a way to increase their chances of winning the contest as well as reaching a broader audience and more record sales. So I’m dedicating this month’s programme to just a few of my favourite entrants at Eurovision who sang in their native languages.

For more information about the Contest, visit its official website: https://eurovision.tv/

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Host: David Brown Carr Category: Music Language: English Website: Visit Programme Website Email: info@radiohawkesbay.org.nz

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