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Eurovision Part 2
May. 12th, 2016 11:11 amSo! Last night was the jury rehearsal for the second semifinal, and of course we were there. Fun!
Some time before the show, we decided to try poking around in town to see if we could find a Sami flag to bring with us, since Norway sent a Sami singer this year, and the friend that I'm visiting is also Sami.... These flags were initially banned this year, because the powers that be were going to crack down on a rule stating that only the official flags of participating countries are permitted. But after some controversy, these rules were relaxed, and regional/local flags of the participants were permitted. So, this year, the specific ones under question were the Sami flag, as I mentioned, and the Welsh flag (UK's act is from Wales). There's a bit more about that here - like the article says, even the participants themselves are not exempt from flag ban stuff.
UNFORTUNATELY we were not able to find a Sami flag, which is a bummer. But maybe we'll be able to get our hands on one before the final (and we'll wave it even if Norway doesn't make it to the final, just to make a point). Some people definitely managed to bring in flags that are not participating nations, though - I saw a Canadian flag in the audience! And there were some people sitting near us with a big Brazil flag too. :) So I guess security isn't being that strict about it.
As for the show itself - unfortunately, this time, we weren't lucky enough to get a seat upgrade. But we could still see the stage relatively well, so that was all right. Last day was definitely better view-wise, though. And I think I preferred last day's show overall - it had more songs/acts that were to my taste.
( More about the show )
Some time before the show, we decided to try poking around in town to see if we could find a Sami flag to bring with us, since Norway sent a Sami singer this year, and the friend that I'm visiting is also Sami.... These flags were initially banned this year, because the powers that be were going to crack down on a rule stating that only the official flags of participating countries are permitted. But after some controversy, these rules were relaxed, and regional/local flags of the participants were permitted. So, this year, the specific ones under question were the Sami flag, as I mentioned, and the Welsh flag (UK's act is from Wales). There's a bit more about that here - like the article says, even the participants themselves are not exempt from flag ban stuff.
UNFORTUNATELY we were not able to find a Sami flag, which is a bummer. But maybe we'll be able to get our hands on one before the final (and we'll wave it even if Norway doesn't make it to the final, just to make a point). Some people definitely managed to bring in flags that are not participating nations, though - I saw a Canadian flag in the audience! And there were some people sitting near us with a big Brazil flag too. :) So I guess security isn't being that strict about it.
As for the show itself - unfortunately, this time, we weren't lucky enough to get a seat upgrade. But we could still see the stage relatively well, so that was all right. Last day was definitely better view-wise, though. And I think I preferred last day's show overall - it had more songs/acts that were to my taste.
( More about the show )
Yuu. Fic writer & book lover. M/Canada.