The Eurovision Song Contest 2019 is almost upon us, with less than a week to go until the Grand Final. And as your friendly neighborhood Eurovision fan, to me this time of year is basically better than Christmas. Okay, so my home country, the UK, probably won’t do too well, but who cares? Eurovision is so much better when you don’t take it too seriously, and just embrace it for the fun and craziness that it is. And, with that in mind, I thought I’d honor the world’s biggest live TU music spectacle by seeing which UK universities match up with this year’s songs…
(There being 41 songs in the contest this year, I’m afraid I didn’t do a pairing for every single song and uni. Soz).
Bangor University – Georgia – The Patriotic One
Out of all the songs I mention in this article, this one is unfortunately probably the least likely to qualify, so you likely won’t see it in the Grand Final on Saturday night. But, like Bangor and its Welsh pride, it’s very patriotic – ‘Keep on Going’ expresses Georgian strength and encourages peace (huh, never seen peace expressed in a Eurovision song before…).
The University of Manchester – United Kingdom – The BIGGER One
Thought I’d join in with the bants - IT’S BIGGER!!!!
— Michael Rice (@MichaelRiceOff) 3 May 2019
For added bants, check out the replies.
One of the prevailing memes Eurofans will all look back on from this year’s Eurovision is the BIGGER meme surrounding UK representative Michael Rice’s song ‘Bigger Than Us’. What is bigger than us? What is bigger than everything we see? No one knows, although he’s presumably singing about love (this is Eurovision after all). And which university is bigger than all the others in the UK? The University of Manchester, which is the UK’s biggest single-site university and has the biggest student community at 40,140.
And, as a side note, if Eurovision was a personality contest rather than a singing contest Michael would win hands down. The lad from Hartlepool is an absolute sweetheart and is embracing his Eurovision experience for the fun that it is, including being a great sport about the BIGGER meme. He’s humble, genuinely good-natured, and an absolute credit to the UK. No matter what the result on Saturday, he should be extremely proud.
The University of Newcastle – Spain – The Fun One
Ask anyone where the most fun place to study in the UK is, and they’re likely to say Newcastle. The city frequently features in lists of the best student cities in the UK, including the QS Best Student Cities index, with high praise for its eclectic nightlife. Basically, Newcastle students know how to have a good time.
Its overall fun vibe aligns it most to Spain’s song ‘La Venda’, an absolute banger which is reminiscent of a football anthem and is guaranteed to get you singing along, whether or not you know a word of Spanish. If this song doesn’t put a smile on your face, you are DEAD INSIDE.
Bournemouth University – Moldova - The Sandy One
You’ve got to hand it to Moldova – they’ve managed to make a dated, clichéd ballad a lot more interesting with the addition of sand art on the LED screen behind singer Anna Odobescu. In true Eurovision style, this has caused a bit of drama, since Ukraine already brought this innovative idea to life in their performance back in 2011, as we all remember well. Obviously.
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