7 ms·

We are so culturally different to the rest of Europe, I'm very very glad we stayed out. Us having any sort of leading voice in Europe would have been ridiculous

We are so culturally different to the rest of Europe, I'm very very glad we stayed out. Us having any sort of leading voice in Europe would have been ridiculous. Hopefully we withdraw fully from the EU, and the Euro collapses. Just watch the Eurovision song contest for an idea of how ridiculously different Europe is from the UK, and how widespread the whole "we like them but not them" thing is.

epscylonb 15y ago
I am not sure I would like UK "culture" to be judged by our eurovision entries and suspect most europeans would feel the same. The UK does have a problem though, in many ways we are much more like america economically than the rest of europe, but european is trade is big part of our economy.
- maximusprime 15y ago
  Well, we try to enter songs/artists we think will appeal to Europe's tastes. And mainly fail, because we are so different from them. It's fairly obvious that our countries usual musical output is pretty decent, and if we entered any of that into the contest, we'd win (If it was actually anything to do with the song). I love the Eurovision song contest though, because it highlights how ridiculous the idea of integrating Europe is. You get countries who always vote for each other even when the song is rubbish, and you get no one voting for us, even when we have a half decent song. The Eurovision song contest is the best advert for a 'euro-skeptic'.
  - zeugma 15y ago
    I won't take the eurovision to measure europe's culture. First it is not "European" anymore, neither politically (Swizerland) nor geographically (Algeria and Israel for example are participating). Secondly, France and Germany do not succeed very well and they participation is rather ridiculous.
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
- nakkiel 15y ago
  I know very little about the economy in the UK and I'm curious to understand why you say that your economy is closer to that of the US than that of France or Germany (or any other EU economy for that matter).
nakkiel 15y ago
You shouldn't really judge the rest of Europe through Eurovision. I don't want to pull the wrong rope but how can you group cultures like Slovakia, Spain, Greece... and saying "we" are different. Europe as a whole is a bunch of countries with different cultures that team up together to be stronger. The only common treat is the continent.
Atropos 15y ago
The membership in the European Union is key, having the Euro doesn't really make the integration much deeper. There are practically no laws that don't apply to the UK just because they are not in the Euro. You can be happy that you aren't involved in the "saving the euro" mess and you should be. But believing that you are somewhat distanced from the EU or that it would be possible to believe is totally delusional - the european integration is extremely deep even if the euro fails and in my opinion cannot be stopped or reversed.
disgruntledphd2 15y ago
You know, as an Irish person living in England, I have to respectfully disagree. If the UK was in the euro, there might actually be a chance of meaningful finanical regulation at a global level, as the City being part of the euro would have made a huge difference to the way this crisis has unfolded. In addition, the cultural differences are not really that large. Europe has a common fascination with arguments and alcohol, especially the Northern parts (which include Uk, Ireland, Scandanavia, Netherlands and Germany). Historically, there have been huge links between the UK (and ireland) and these countries. To claim that there are these huge differences based on the Eurovision is a little absurd. That being said, while watching the Eurovision i often find myself regarding them with a mix or horror and bemusement, but thats mostly because they're the kind of people who go on the Eurovision, not because they are of different nationalities.

epscylonb 15y ago

I am not sure I would like UK "culture" to be judged by our eurovision entries and suspect most europeans would feel the same. The UK does have a problem though, in many ways we are much more like america economically than the rest of europe, but european is trade is big part of our economy.

maximusprime 15y ago
Well, we try to enter songs/artists we think will appeal to Europe's tastes. And mainly fail, because we are so different from them. It's fairly obvious that our countries usual musical output is pretty decent, and if we entered any of that into the contest, we'd win (If it was actually anything to do with the song). I love the Eurovision song contest though, because it highlights how ridiculous the idea of integrating Europe is. You get countries who always vote for each other even when the song is rubbish, and you get no one voting for us, even when we have a half decent song. The Eurovision song contest is the best advert for a 'euro-skeptic'.
- zeugma 15y ago
  I won't take the eurovision to measure europe's culture. First it is not "European" anymore, neither politically (Swizerland) nor geographically (Algeria and Israel for example are participating). Secondly, France and Germany do not succeed very well and they participation is rather ridiculous.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
nakkiel 15y ago
I know very little about the economy in the UK and I'm curious to understand why you say that your economy is closer to that of the US than that of France or Germany (or any other EU economy for that matter).

nakkiel 15y ago

You shouldn't really judge the rest of Europe through Eurovision. I don't want to pull the wrong rope but how can you group cultures like Slovakia, Spain, Greece... and saying "we" are different. Europe as a whole is a bunch of countries with different cultures that team up together to be stronger. The only common treat is the continent.

Atropos 15y ago

The membership in the European Union is key, having the Euro doesn't really make the integration much deeper. There are practically no laws that don't apply to the UK just because they are not in the Euro. You can be happy that you aren't involved in the "saving the euro" mess and you should be. But believing that you are somewhat distanced from the EU or that it would be possible to believe is totally delusional - the european integration is extremely deep even if the euro fails and in my opinion cannot be stopped or reversed.

disgruntledphd2 15y ago

You know, as an Irish person living in England, I have to respectfully disagree. If the UK was in the euro, there might actually be a chance of meaningful finanical regulation at a global level, as the City being part of the euro would have made a huge difference to the way this crisis has unfolded. In addition, the cultural differences are not really that large. Europe has a common fascination with arguments and alcohol, especially the Northern parts (which include Uk, Ireland, Scandanavia, Netherlands and Germany). Historically, there have been huge links between the UK (and ireland) and these countries. To claim that there are these huge differences based on the Eurovision is a little absurd. That being said, while watching the Eurovision i often find myself regarding them with a mix or horror and bemusement, but thats mostly because they're the kind of people who go on the Eurovision, not because they are of different nationalities.