The BBC reports that singer and violinist Alexander Rybak, 23, won the Eurovision talent contest by a record-breaking number of points. The winning entry was sung in English. Although the Eurovision Song Contest rules allow performances in any language — until recently they were sung in the national language of the participants — and although even artificial languages are technically allowed, the overwhelming number of performances are in English. The contest’s YouTube page contains links to many of the participating songs, and with a few notable exceptions (such as France and Spain) they are in English.
Whether the entry is from Azerbaijan, Turkey, Germany, or Switzerland, it’s in English. And no, it’s not all Greek to me. Here’s where we learn what “Be My Valentine” is in Ukranian. Ironically, the entries from the UK often finish near the bottom. There’s no accounting for the judge’s musical taste. But neither is there any doubt that the bridge between the nations and the nearest thing to a universal language since Latin ruled is English.
Presenting … Finland!
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And what’s it like to Shine in Dutch?
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