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Sweden lifts ConSong trophy as the fans win again Written by on November 1, 2010

This weekend’s ConSong 2010, held in Edinburgh, like many Eurovision parties, is a great look at what makes Eurovision so much fun to follow all the year round… not just during two weeks in May.

Now in its twenty-second year, this Consolation Song Contest takes songs from the National Finals that narrowly missed attending the Song Contest in May due to the voting results, or were particularly notable for various reasons.

The fans that follow the National Finals around Europe will be familiar with these songs but it’s not a given. Unlike the main contest where we’re all completely au fait with every single song by the time they hit the stage, ConSong can easily be a bundle of new songs to many in the audience.

Just like audience at home.

Yet there are always fan favourites, and once the voting starts following the ConSong tradition of going round all those attending to read out their 12, 10, 8, etc scores on camera, there were some clear winners. Ahead of the peloton of music was Russia’s “dancing grannies” with Dlinnaja-dlinnaja beresta i kak sdelat’ iz nee, but it was a solitary march to fourth place as three songs lifted themselves out and ahead, to cheers and boos from the crowd.

Coral (from Spain, singing En Una Via) threatened to take first place throughout the night, but never quite gathered the momentum. Leading the voting until two voting rounds were left was Norway’s Venke Knutson singing Jealous ‘Cause I Love You; but in a cruel twist of fate the Norweigan “jury” voted last, and that sealed a ten point victory for Eric Saade’s Manboy for Sweden.

Right now, the fans at the event, and those who heard the results online, are showing the passion and emotion that anything at Eurovision can light up. Was this a worthy winner? Should it have been Coral? Who has the funniest replacement lyrics for the chorus?

And would this have qualified out of Semi Final 2 in Oslo where Anna Bergendahl failed?

Who knows, but it was fun giving Saade the win, meeting up with people without having to fly half way round Europe, and of course a chance to remind myself just how much I hated Breathing by Bryan Rice.

But you’re sure to disagree.

About The Author: Ewan Spence

British Academy (BAFTA) nominated broadcaster and writer Ewan Spence is the voice behind The Unofficial Eurovision Song Contest Podcast and one of the driving forces behind ESC Insight. Having had an online presence since 1994, he is a noted commentator around the intersection of the media, internet, technology, mobility and how it affects us all. Based in Edinburgh, Scotland, his work has appeared on the BBC, The Stage, STV, and The Times. You can follow Ewan on Twitter (@ewan) and Facebook (facebook.com/ewanspence).

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