The year was…1993

In a brand new section to ESC Ireland we get to discuss individual Eurovision years.  Please if leaving responses only respond to matters pertaining to the given year.  From singers to costumes, interval acts to backing singers, whatever you wish to talk about a selected year this is the place to do it.  For these reasons it separates itself from the already in place ‘History’ category.

I’ve chosen 1993 because it was the first year I watched and loved the Eurovision and to date it remains for me one of the most emotional years.

The 38^th Eurovision was presented by Fionnula Sweeney who would go on to become an anchor woman for the American news network CNN.

The interval act would be a dismal collaboration between previous Irish winners Linda Martin and Johnny Logan.  Linda barely sang a verse of her winning song while her rapid eye movement left me dizzy.  Johnny sang with a choir of children a sickening sweet song in which I’m sure every facial twitch mimicked what he’d performed earlier in front of his mirror.  There is polished and excessively groomed and Johnny falls into the latter which I always felt alienated him from his audience.

1993 featured three returning artists, Tony Vegas for Austria, Tommy Seebach for Denmark and Katri Helena for Finland.  Both Tommy and Katri had performed in the 1979 Eurovision with Tommy also featuring in 1981.  Tony Vegas was returning from the previous year, 1992.   Doesn’t he remind you of Tom Jones?  I can so see him singing ‘Sexbomb’.

25 countries would compete including Italy who would withdraw from the competition afterwards to make only one further appearance in 1997.  1993 would also see the last appearance by Luxemburg who had been in the competition since it began in 1956.

This was also the first year a pre-qualifier was needed as more countries wanted to enter.  However in this early stage it only applied to countries that hadn’t entered the Eurovision before or had since become new Republics in their own right.  Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia, Estonia and Romania entered into a competition with only three winning places available.  These went to Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia & Herzegovina.

Despite a war going on in Bosnia & Herzegovina they manage to deliver their results albeit through a very dodgy connection to the rapturous applause of the audience.

Headlining the year was a battle of the red heads as Niamh Kavanagh and Sonia fought it out for the final victory.  It seemed like Ireland would win as Sonia was 11 points behind but when the final voting country ‘Malta’ reached its penultimate 10 points neither England or Ireland had received a vote which now meant England if they got the 12 points could win by a mere single point.  Of course we know that didn’t happen and Ireland claimed its fifth victory but at the time it was a nail biting final.  The cheer that erupted when Niamh won always sends a shiver down my spine.

My top five of 1993 went as follows

1-     Annie Cotton (Moi, tout simplement)-Switzerland

2-     Anabela (A Cidade ate ser dia)-Portugal

3-     Inga (Pa veistu savario)-Iceland

4-     Niamh Kavanagh (In your eyes)-Ireland

5-     Put (Don’t ever cry)-Croatia

A very nice Youtube video by Lotus2003 shows the breakdown and songs involved. 

For many who saw the Eurovision in 1993 it remains closest to their hearts, afterwards in the years to follow the influx of eastern European countries and political block voting turned many away from the magic that once was.   But for now relive the excitement of the final vote and witness the excitement that is sadly lacking from the present day Eurovision.  Must also point out in case someone notices while Norway were last to vote on the board, Malta due to technical difficulties couldn’t give their votes and so were placed last.

Please feel free to leave your comments and observations regarding 1993.