The Herald - The Herald Magazine
WEEKEND TV Eurovision on song,
SATURDAY
Eurovision Song Contest 2022 (BBC1, 8pm)
From beating England in the delayed 2020 Euros to Strictly professional Giovanni Pernice picking up the glitterball trophy, there’s little doubt that 2021 was Italy’s year.
The country is even hosting tonight’s Eurovision final after rock band Maneskin won last year’s contest with their song Zitti E Buoni. Graham Norton is our man in Turin, providing the commentary, while the presenters are singing stars Mika and Laura Pausini, and Italian TV host Alessandro Cattelan. But which nation will triumph this evening?
Understandably, the bookies are predicting a victory for Ukraine (providing they made it through the semi-finals), who are represented by Kalush Orchestra.
Their frontman, Oleh Psiuk, is certainly hoping that they can send a message, saying: “I really believe that unity is important at the moment.
“Our song has managed to unite so many Ukrainians and I hope that it will unite Europeans – and maybe the whole world.”
While few people would begrudge a Ukrainian victory, some UK fans may be secretly wondering if this could also be the year the British salvage Eurovision pride.
As one of the ‘Big Five’, the UK automatically qualifies for a place in the final, but last won in 1997 with Katrina and the Waves.
Perhaps more damningly, it hasn’t made the top 10 since Jade McEwen represented the UK with the Andrew Lloyd Webber-penned It’s My Time in 2009 (although Blue came close in 2011) and finished bottom in 2019 and 2021.
However, there are hopes that this year’s entrant, Sam Ryder, might be a genuine contender with Space Man.
SUNDAY
The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Celebration (STV, 8pm)
Get ready for a truly historic occasion – Hollywood A-lister Tom Cruise and British TV gardening legend Alan Titchmarsh, together at last. Oh, and it’s also The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Celebration, one of the first big events marking the Queen’s 70 years on the throne.
Perhaps we shouldn’t be so surprised that such a historic occasion (no other British monarch has ever reached this milestone) has brought together such a starry and, let’s be honest, slightly random list of celebrity contributors, all ready to pay their own tributes to the Queen and take part in what is being described as a ‘theatrical arena event’.
Broadcast live from the private grounds of Windsor Castle, ITV promises it will be a “a celebratory, star-studded show, complete with show-stopping performances and an epic journey through history, told by some of the most well-renowned and respected names in film and television.”