Eurovision 2020 might have been canned but its replacement Coronavision, dreamt up by a London-based artist on a budget of £3.50, was a smash hit!
2020 is the first year since 1956 not to have a Eurovision – for Richard DeDomenici the opportunity was too sweet to miss. He said: “I made the rather rash decision to stage my own replacement international song contest instead, promising to broadcast it online, from my kitchen in Watford, on the same night as the Eurovision Final would have taken place.
“A decision that has since been described variously as naive, arrogant, romantic and megalomaniacal.
“I was, at least, fairly certain that such an endeavour was theoretically possible, having recently discovered that you can replicate many of the functions of an outside broadcast tv truck (live vision-mixing from multiple sources, with added real-time graphics, music and interactive elements) using a laptop, a mishmash of free software, and a relatively stable wifi signal."
30 performers battled it out in Richard DeDomenici’s contest, which was broadcast live on Facebook on May 16 – they wrote and performed their own songs and a panel of judges cast their votes.
The winner was Lorna Rees from Christchurch who represented Canada and whose song ‘Quelle est le Date de Ton Anniversaire?’ was inspired by trying to date during social distancing and Tricolore text books.
Lorna, whose husband and sons also appear in the video, said she was: “utterly thrilled” to win. Watch it here!
For director Richard the event was a fabulous climax to a lifelong interest in Eurovision. He added: “In 2012, following a particularly vivid dream, I formed a radical Eurovision tribute act called Fux Bizz, who have since performed over ten times around the UK, which is at least nine times more than any of us anticipated.”
Richard hopes his contest showcased: “the exciting potential of Asymmetrical Broadcasting.” He added: “This is the perfect time to seize the means of production, question hierarchies, and reorder the world in our favour.”
Read more about Richard's vision here.
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