As the world prepares for this weekend’s Eurovision Song Contest — where each nation submits one song and competes, American Idol-style, for votes, — it’s also preparing for a showdown between Russian authorities and gay pride organizers, who plan on marching Saturday despite a ban from Moscow, which is also hosting Eurovision. And just as pride organizers hoped, timing the march with the global stage of Eurovision is highlighting their plight on a global scale.
The Netherlands may louse up the Eurovision Song Concert if Moscow’s authorities block the gay pride parade which is planned to take place in Moscow on May 16 – the day of the Eurovision Final. The position of The Toppers was supported by the Dutch Minister of Education, Ronald Plasterk, Novie Izvestia daily reports. “If violence takes place, I will immediately leave for the Netherlands,” Gordon, front man of The Toppers, says. The other two singers from The Toppers trio have also said that their reaction will depend on whether the Moscow gay parade will be interrupted or not. [Russia Today]
How does all the attention help organizers? Theoretically, international pressure on Russia would shame them into permitting the parade, but the Kremlin-controlled Moscow isn’t exactly known for caring what anyone else thinks. There’s also the attention it will bring to gay activists’ claim that’s in front of the European Court, which is asking for $1 million in compensation for Moscow’s discrimination.
Tallskin
Your more parochial american gay readers of this may be intrigued to know that a gay yank is singing for Germany this year!
Will that generate more interest?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/may/13/gay-march-eurovision
tavdy79
Significantly, the march is happening the day before IDAHO, which just increases the publicity. There are quite a lot of events planned, including the launch of A Day In Hand in London, and if the Kremlin moves against Moscow Pride many of those events could easily turn into protest marches which would raise awareness amongst straights.
Miguelito
Eurovision is mainly, essencially, since ever, a gay event. Russia should have never been allowed to join. A pitty so many gay eurovision voters just voted for the cute russian singer, forgetting politics..
Tallskin
Miguelito,
the voting in the Eurovision song contest was changed for this year and will now be done by a panel of judges.
The old system that led to the eastern block countries voting en masse for russia for fear of having their gas turned off is no longer in operation.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/eurovision/
the voting rules are here http://www.bbc.co.uk/eurovision/about/
Personally speaking I fucking hate the Eurovision song contest! I am only interested in it this for gay political reasons!
Smokey Martini
@Tallskin:
Oooh, you’re right. And the singer is quite stunning, too!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feKOA4Rs3vE
^ That be the official video to the song right there.
Sean
I hate to say it, but despite the “gesture of good will” from the Netherlands here, they’re most likely not gonna qualify from their semi tomorrow, and thus wouldn’t need to be in Moscow on Saturday anyway. Not because of the gay issue, but because their song sucks.
Tallskin
SEAN,
all the songs in the Eurovison always suck big time!
Even the British entry always sucks!
Sean
There’s plenty of wonderful songs this year: Norway, Iceland, Bosnia. Hungary’s song is fun, and so gay it makes Perez Hilton look butch. Britain just never takes it seriously and sends shitty songs.
kevin (not that one)
Russia, like Iran, China, and North Korea, could give a rat’s ass about what the West with their high-fallutin’ “human rights” has to say.
I mean, is this not the country where the term “gulag” originated from?
Honestly, my heart goes out to the country’s LGBTs. They are treated just like the Jews were/are and we should give all Russian LGBTs a get-out-of-jail-free card by immediately issuing visa’s for any Russian who has been previously imprisoned or in danger of imprisonment for being LGBT.
At the same time, we should immediately HALT all immigration of Russian Evangelicals to America, where they come here and attack LGBTs and act as the stormtroopers for the fundamentalist bigots.
KyleR
Eurovision, the gayest compilation on the planet! Greece’s Sakis Rouvas, Norway’s Alexander Rybak (Who is hotter than that Russian and who has a gorgeous smile), Montenegro’s Andrea Demirovic… Seriously!
And I think Russia won because… Oh I don’t know? It’s a good song! I like it!!
And this is about music not politics!
KyleR
Uh… Competition.
kevin (not that one)
@KyleR: “And this is about music not politics!”
How incredibly naive.
What gay paradise do you live in?
ttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt
@Tallskin:
You aren’t parochial? The only times I see you post is when you complain about how this blog (written by an American) is to American focused or if it is on posts like this, about Europe or Britain. Stop waving your finger.
Tallskin
ttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt – the old Queerty was a lot more interested in what was going on abroad – this new team seem more interested in fashion mags that gay rights issues. Which is fine, as far as it goes, but fashion just doesn’t interest me, being an old gay politico. I just find it vacuuous, like I find an enthusiasm for football or cricket or golf, fatuous and vacuuous.
Occasionally a light bulb goes off and they show some interest by posting items that effect gays outside the of the USA.
Thing is I suppose I shouldn’t complain cos the USA has always been very inward looking and obsessed with itself (the idea of American exceptionalism) – but since the USA proclaims itself the ‘best goddamed country on earth’ and our rulers, I expect our colonial masters to at least show some interest in the stupid saps that it pretends to govern!
Am I wrong?
Tallskin
http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/interactive/2009/may/13/eurovision-song-contest-uk-ranking
This may interest some of you more obsessed with the Euro song bollocks!
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@Tallskin:
don;t confuse your hyper-magnified european bullshit with reality. the ones who talk about exceptionalism are republicans and who gives a shit about them.
pss your british, ever hear the pot, kettle, black saying? or are you just that arrogant?
TANK
There’s usually a fair representation of retards on this site…like the christers homophobes stalking the prejean stories, and the obamabots who would never criticize him for his silence backtracking and inaction on civil rights.
strumpetwindsock
@ttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt:
Actually if you mention Christians he’s johnny-on-the-spot as well.
But I think he was just trying to be helpful; having an american in the mix is going to raise a bit more interest.
And you should check the stats. Queerty readership is only 75% American, and it’s INTERnet as in INTERnational, so cut the U.S. chauvanism, please.
@TANK:
Obamabots? Hey man, when did you switch sides? Last thing I remember you were arguing to cut Obama some slack:
http://www.queerty.com/what-has-obama-done-for-your-lately-well-um-nothing-actually-20090429/#comment-156043
http://www.queerty.com/what-has-obama-done-for-your-lately-well-um-nothing-actually-20090429/#comment-156080
Then again, I suppose staying on the trendy side of things is the logical thing to do.
ttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt
“Queerty readership is only 75% American, and it’s INTERnet as in INTERnational, so cut the U.S. chauvanism, please”
wondeful, and I’m not being chauvinistic, I don’t like the fact that the only thing Tallskin seems to be here for is complaining.
strumpetwindsock
@ttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt:
But my dear, I thought complaining was the name of the game, only bitchy.com was already taken.
ttttttttttt
@strumpetwindsock:
I guess so, everyone fucking complains, we all hate eachother and most of us are bitchy.
dgz
how is europe simultaneously so sophisticated culturally and so backwards musically? yikes, Eurovision songs are *almost* universally terrible! they make the Jonas brothers look like groundbreaking prodigies.
Tallskin
dgz
we ‘arrogant’ Brits also sneer at continental European pop music.
But I don;t think the continent that gave us Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms, Wagner, Mahler, Bruckner, Sibelius, to name but a handful of composers, has anything to be ashamed of musically.
Not to mention in recent times: Kraftwerk, BonyM (hah hah), Abba, DaftPunk, Justice, Sigur Ros, to name, again, but a handful.
The US and Britain also can produce shit rock and pop music as well !!
dgz
@Tallskin:
abba is “recent?” boy, you trippin. superiority complex or not, Eurovision songs are objectively bad. lyrics, beats, and chord structure. it just seems strange when Sweden (for example) has successful and accomplished pop writers/producers. i simply don’t understand why Europop consistently sounds like b-side tracks from “ultimate dance 1997.”
and that “gay yank” singing for Germany is no exception. he was on Oprah yesterday and his song almost gave me an aneurysm.
(btw, your joke about eastern bloc votes and russian gas was honestly hilarious.)
KyleR
@kevin (not that one):
Uh… I don’t live in some gay fantasy land. I know that Russia along with Poland, Belarus, and other eastern bloc nations have appalling records on gay rights. But answer me this, what will not voting for a SINGER do to help bring tolerance to those nations? To help the LGBT comminuties in those nations?
Have you even considered that there is the possibility that by saying that the gay community shouldn’t vote for certain countries could do more harm than good? Especially with the ultra-national groups in those countries? They face enough persecution let’s not go adding to it by doing some half-brained knee jerk reaction to a song contest that could actually end up making things worse for those people.
kc-420
“I’M GAY” BY KC-4:20