11:15 pm - 07/03/2012
Andrew Lloyd Webber has said that racism in Europe is a reason for the UK's poor performances in the Eurovision Song Contest.
The composer's Your Country Needs You TV show picked 2009 entrant and later-Sugababe Jade Ewen, who finished fifth in Russia with a song co-written by Lloyd Webber.
"I don't think there's any point beating around the bush," Lloyd Webber told Radio Times.
"Did you see the Eurovision Song Contest this year? Well, if you had seen it, you might have noticed one thing - I don't think there was one black face on the programme."
He continued: "At the press conference in Moscow, I was asked, 'Why have you brought a black artist?'
"I said, 'Because she is the most talented artist that we had and I think she's a major, major star'. I think we would have come second but there's a problem when you go further east."
Lloyd Webber added: "It doesn't mean that we would necessarily have won that year but we could have come second.
"If you're talking about Western Europe - Germany, fine; France, fine; Spain, fine; Greece, fine; Scandinavian countries, fine. But Ukraine? Not so good."
During the interview, Lloyd Webber also claimed that none of the acts on The Voice UK could sing in tune.
Source
Andrew Lloyd Webber: 'Eurovision racism hurt UK acts'
Andrew Lloyd Webber has said that racism in Europe is a reason for the UK's poor performances in the Eurovision Song Contest.
The composer's Your Country Needs You TV show picked 2009 entrant and later-Sugababe Jade Ewen, who finished fifth in Russia with a song co-written by Lloyd Webber.
"I don't think there's any point beating around the bush," Lloyd Webber told Radio Times.
"Did you see the Eurovision Song Contest this year? Well, if you had seen it, you might have noticed one thing - I don't think there was one black face on the programme."
He continued: "At the press conference in Moscow, I was asked, 'Why have you brought a black artist?'
"I said, 'Because she is the most talented artist that we had and I think she's a major, major star'. I think we would have come second but there's a problem when you go further east."
Lloyd Webber added: "It doesn't mean that we would necessarily have won that year but we could have come second.
"If you're talking about Western Europe - Germany, fine; France, fine; Spain, fine; Greece, fine; Scandinavian countries, fine. But Ukraine? Not so good."
During the interview, Lloyd Webber also claimed that none of the acts on The Voice UK could sing in tune.
Source
I'm sorry, but Norway is like one of the most racist countries I've ever visited
Yeah, Sweden voted for Loreen because she's all blonde and blue-eyed. *insert sarcasm here*
Last year, Salem Al Fakir nearly won - you think all the racists voted for him too? ;)
2002 the group Afro-Dite won in Sweden: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afro-dite
Not that I mean to say you're wrong in general but...how is it that you point out the Scandinavian countries as being racist?
uh, because it was mentioned in the article?
"If you're talking about Western Europe - Germany, fine; France, fine; Spain, fine; Greece, fine; Scandinavian countries, fine. But Ukraine? Not so good."
I'm not trying to single out or anything. I'm just speaking from experience, as someone who's lived in Norway and Sweden, and I'm currently living in Finland (though I'm still not sure if Finland is considered a Scandinavian country or not); I've also visited Denmark on more than one occasion. So, y'know, I kinda feel validated to speak about what I've experienced in said countries.
The person I replied to talked about how Webber was wrong about Spain and France, so I added my own 2¢.
I'm not trying to start wank or anything, sorry if it came off that way. Do I think that all ppl in Scandinavian countries are racist? Of course not. I don't think it applies to even half the ppl (or at least I hope so) in said countries, but the racism is there, and to me it's very visible. (And before you ask, yes, I've experienced racism in Sweden, Finland and Denmark too, but it has been more subtle than what I've experienced in Norway.)
(edited a few typos)
Edited at 2012-07-04 08:10 pm (UTC)