Bring on the ‘gorilla:’ Eurovision final brings glittery fun
KIEV, Ukraine — A man in a tacky suit and his “gorilla” are one of the favourites to win this year’s Eurovision song contest. By the event’s standards, that’s kind of understated.
Millions of Europeans are likely to be glued to their tubes on Saturday evening for Eurovision’s final — either tapping their toes to pop-music trifles or gazing with amused irony at the performers’ garish outfits. The event produces parties that rival those for the NFL’s Super Bowl
Someone previous winners have been shocks to the eyeballs — such as Finland’s monster-masked Lordi in 2006 or bearded drag-queen chanteuse Conchita Wurst of Austria in 2014.
But last year’s winner Jamala, whose victory brought the 2017 competition to the Ukrainian capital, struck a more serious note with a song about the 1944 forced relocation of Crimean Tatars by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.