| Eurovision Song Contest News - 2008 Belgrade, Serbia 

Ben Gray

Hi everyone. I'm Ben, from Herts, which is near London in the United Kingdom. I am a student studying media and games development. I'm also a very, very big fan of Sonic the Hedgehog. I am currently producing and directing a short film combining live action and computer animation. It is about the legends of Atlantis and it features Sweden's 2006 song - Invincible!

I'm still fairly new to Eurovision - only known about it since 2005. Unfortunately I am from a country that sees Eurovision as a camp joke, but I absolutely love it. Weird and wonderful and spreading acknowledgement of all European nations to the world. I don't believe there is anything politically biased about Eurovision itself, but if there is, only the fans are to blame. They're the ones who discuss political topics when they should be discussing songs, and audiences boo countries or voters devoid them of points for political reasons. I do believe it is silly for countries to give the most points to their neighbours - that after all is proven.

I don't tend to root too much for my own country although I do wish we would take it more seriously. I am really happy that after the embarassments of Daz and Scooch we finally have a more competent entry coming from a talented singer and an all round great guy. Warm wishes to Andy Abraham. =)

Judging by the songs and how much the countries themselves interest me, I would like to see Eurovision 2009 hosted in Reykjavik, Bern, Warsaw, Oslo, London, Lisbon, Valletta or Sofia, (assuming the capital cities of each country will be the hosts.)

My full ranking for this year's songs, with blunt opinions: (Taking off Darko's idea.)

12pts: Iceland (Absolutely brilliant!)
10pts: Switzerland (World-class)
08pts: Norway (Sophisticated sexiness)
07pts: Poland (Radiant)
06pts: Ukraine (Hard-hitting)
---------- 06th: United Kingdom (Underrated)
05pts: Israel (Beautiful)
04pts: Turkey (Solid)
03pts: Sweden (Inspiring)
02pts: Malta (Energetic)
01pt: Portugal (Magical)

12th: Bulgaria (Ambitious)
13th: Serbia (Mystical)
14th: Moldova (Uplifting)
15th: Denmark (Cheerful)
16th: France (Quirky)
17th: Armenia (Catchy)
18th: Hungary (Pretty)
19th: Andorra (Likeable)
20th: Romania (Classy)
21st: Greece (Consistent)
22nd: Belgium (Delightful)
23rd: Slovenia (Mediocre)
24th: Azerbaijan (Brave)
25th: Bosnia & Herzegovina (Interesting)
26th: Montenegro (Second-rate)
27th: Georgia (Cringey vocals)
28th: The Netherlands (Underwhelming)
29th: Cyprus (Fickle)
30th: Czech Republic (Bland)
31st: Estonia (Entertaining)
32nd: Albania (Nice but forgettable)
33rd: Russia (Powerful but annoying - my prediction to win.)
34th: Germany (Lacking)
35th: Finland (Can do better)
36th: Latvia (Juvenile)
37th: Belarus (Tacky)
38th: San Marino (Monotonal and disappointing)
39th: FYR Macedonia (Commerical)
40th: Croatia (Typical)
41st: Ireland (Uncalled for)
42nd: Lithuania (Odd)
43rd: Spain (Pathetic)