Late in the day, I know, but can I just correct a few oft-repeated errors surrounding this year's Eurovision? Yes, I can. It's my bloomin' blog and I'll say what I like. So there. (Ooh, get her! Who does she think she is - Angelica Agurbash?)

1) There are no Eurovision semi-finals
Tonight's show is a qualifying round for Saturday. It should be called a Qualifer. By definition, you can't have one semi-final; there would have to be two. EBU, please stop this 'semi-final' nonsense at once!



2) We're in Kyiv, not Kiev.
The only excuse for using 'Kiev' is if you're Russian. Which, admittedly, the majority of the city's inhabitants are, but, officially speaking, 'Kiev' went out the window ten years ago, even if traditional upholders of factual accuracy, like the entire BBC News website, have failed to notice. There was an official Ukrainian government decree in 1995, to standardise the spelling as Kyiv. So, if you can be bothered to wade through the legalese, read it here, then impress your friends and use the proper, official spelling, as favoured by Ukrainians: Kyiv.

At the start of the Eurovision season, the EBU was producing publicity material with both spellings. (You may have seen some 'Kiev' logos around.) However, the NTU (Ukrainian Television) lobbied successfully for all 'Kiev' references to be removed, and there's no sign of it anywhere here. (It still says 'Kiev' on the UK version of the CD though, possibly all versions of it, as that was produced earlier.)



3) We're in Ukraine, not The Ukraine.
Simon on Quarter Hours addressed this weighty issue back in November, when there were more important things going on here in Ukraine. I agree with his analysis in the final paragraph as to why we often hear and read this error.



4) This is not the 50th anniversary of Eurovision.
Hell, we haven't even had the 49th anniversary yet! That will be next Tuesday, 24 May; the 49th anniversary of the first Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in Lugano, Switzerland. This is the 50th contest. The 50th anniversary will be on 24 May 2006, although the official 'Fifty Years of Eurovision' concert, with all of Europe able to choose the favourite Eurovision song ever (which will be Abba's 'Waterloo', so don't hold your breath) will be in Copenhagen in October this year. Disgracefully, the BBC currently plans not to show it, but we'll see what the EBU press conference here tomorrow has to say about that. As a licence-payer, I demand to see it, at least on BBC3, if not BBC One.


Good, glad we got all that sorted. Yes, it's very hot here in the media bouncy castle. I'm feeling just a wee bit dehydrated and ever-so-slightly tetchy. Perhaps the fact that I'm feeling ever-so-slightly, er, testosterone-charged, with no bloody, er, release, so far this week has something to do with it. (Are you reading 'sexual frustration' between the lines here, dear reader? I do hope so.) I also seem to be losing my voice, which isn't surprising, with the number of 'shouting in the ears' conversations I've had at the Euroclub every night so far. It was bound to happen. My mate Dermot, reporting for Irish radio, lost his voice completely the night before last, with hilarious cconsequences, as he took to communicating at the Euroclub by typing in his mobile phone and holding it up to people. The message "I normally speak", which he waved in the face of the BBC's lovely commentator Paddy O'Connell, as I was having a conversation (out loud) with Paddy, was a particular favourite of mine. Poor old Dermot had to hand over his slot, so to speak, so his mate Keith, of Irish Eurovision website All Kinds Of Everything, did yesterday's radio report to Ireland instead - very well, so I hear.

Normal service will be resumed later, hopefully with some predictions from Chig and the assembled masses out here.
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