Most Brits take for granted the UK’s right to go straight to the final at the Eurovision Song Contest. But this privillege could be removed should the Scottish Government’s plan to set up a separate Scottish broadcaster (if there is a ‘yes’ vote in the upcoming referendum) go ahead, reports the Daily Mail. The UK at a semi-final? Could you imagine that – could this be a wake-up call? Will we finally send our best and brightest musicians?
Not only that, but the proposed Scottish broadcaster, the Scottish Broadcasting Service, would be asked to reapply for EBU member status. This means, probably, a lengthy process of waiting and bureaucracy before we know if an independent Scottish state could show its face at the Contest.
This isn’t exactly a difficult thing to deal with – let’s be honest – the EBU saw the break-up of states such as Serbia and Montenegro in 2005, so there is a precedent for these processes – in contrast to the debate regarding prospective EU membership, I think we can safely say that this will not result in panic. It’s quite simple – every independent broadcaster calmly waits and applies.
In this vein, it could mean that it’ll be a year out for both the rest of the United Kingdom and the newly independent Scotland, but who’s to say that this won’t make the Contest more interesting in future years?
Yes, being a resident in Edinburgh myself has allowed me to appreciate more the sort of talent the Scots have produced over the years – could anyone imagine the likes of Annie Lennox, Amy MacDonald, Paolo Nutini or Calvin Harris representing this country known for its beautiful landscapes and bagpipes?
Like with all things in this referendum, we won’t know a thing until the thing is held and we have a result. If there is a ‘yes’ vote, perhaps we’ll see a bit of friendly banter between the United Kingdom and Scotland, akin to the sorts of cheeky battling we’ve observed in Scandinavia. Or, if a ‘no’ vote is what the Scottish people will have to bear, then perhaps the UK will continue to send its selection of geriatrics and C-list singers to the Contest whilst the rest of Europe holds magnificent national selections and/or openly publicises its entries through the mainstream media.
One can only wonder…
James Puchowski is our Scottish correspondent, who writes occasionally for his own personal Eurovision blog ESCZorgen. You can follow him on Twitter also – @puchowskijk
La BBC seguira siendo la BBC con Escocia fuera o dentro de Reino unido,ellos son una tv fuerte.Pero pienso que en esc se le castiga por ser mienbro del big five.Esc es un concurso inparcial y poco democratico en este sentido.Hecho de menos con la alegria que la BBC concursaba en su epoca de esplendor eran divertidos y modernos…una pena
Isn’t this old news, from like November? D: I don’t see them taking a whole year off..
http://www.scotreferendum.com/questions/would-the-scottish-broadcasting-service-sbs-join-the-european-broadcasting-union-ebu/
It would be cool to see Scotland on its own in ESC, though. They do sure have a lot of talent & would hopefully take advantage of the freedom from the BBC.
If this happens, will Scotland require all entries include bagpipes?
The removal of Scotland wouldn’t affect our status. BBC will still have the funding as there are many BBC dramas sold to other countries, as BBC gets 60% of ratings from Wales/England anyway..
I would like an independent Scotland, but I think, until their broadcaster is approved by the EBU, Scotland will still enter under the UK (this would probably be for one contest).
United Kingdom without Scotland will be in BIG 5 with BBC.
And Scotland’s broadcaster would be SBS….formally BBC Scotland.
I don’t think Scottish independence would change anything .. Big 5 status is based on the 5 largest broadcasters in Europe with BBC being the largest one followed by
Das Estre in Germany being close behind …
Scotland would just have a new broadcaster an would have to qualify .. Simple as …
@Kerry…Scotland is lame? Really? Is this your arguement? OK…long live Steps, Atomic Kitten and Blue….obviously real musicians.
Scotland is lame. Long live England–home of real musicians
There won’t be any “cheeky battling” due to the childish, hateful attitudes of Scots as partially demonstrated in this “article”.