Crowning The Best Eurovision Spin-Off Show Ever

You know its still off-season when this is what’s on your feed. Yet you have clicked the link now so why not have a squabble over the pressing issue of what the best Eurovision branded spin-off show (past and present) is?

7. American & Asia-Pacific Visions

What can I say? The Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) is a great format that works so well in Europe where it has grown history and cultural relevance. Translating that charm is always the issue. Be that with spin-offs more generally or selling the existing formula to other markets, it remains a usual sticking point. The concept of having more Eurovisions, covering different regions and featuring even more cultures is incredible. Hopefully we get to see it one day soon. But until the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) get one of them off the ground, I have to concede it is not a successful spin-off attempt. Fingers crossed everybody that the American Eurovision can get off the ground.

6. Eurovision Magic Circus Show

I’m so confused that this even ever existed under the Eurovision brand! In many ways the show is what you would expect, a big circus variety show, except it is also specifically for children. Broadcasters sent children to Geneva to represent them in performing circus acts, live music being provided by an onsite orchestra. In theory this makes a half decent show, all the draw of a circus and a live performing band to enjoy as the night passes by. The thing is though, at the end of the day that is all this ever was.

Great variety shows hit the TV all the time (many with circus acts) and they use a variety (excuse the pun) of strategies to keep viewers engaged. One is to have a charismatic host interacting with the acts, who ideally speaks the same language as the audience. Another is to have a vast array of different acts. From circus performers to singers, comedians to tap dancers – you can broaden the appeal of the show by having a larger target audience. The orchestra is also great but if I am tuning in for the orchestra chances are I care more about the music then the circus act.

All of these considered it feels to me that whilst the show is good it misses a key audience to hook into wanting more from it. Maybe doing a children’s contest was a mistake in this scenario where the show feels more geared towards nostalgic TV viewers? Factor in the lack of a major part of the Eurovision formula, competition, it seems remarkable to me that the show lasted for three season at all.

5. Eurovision Dance Contest

Ah yes that show where one celebrity and one professional dancer team up to do ballroom and Latin dancing. Y’know the one which Claudia Winkleman hosts! It can only mean one thing right…

No, not that one… The other one…

Strictly Come Dancing/Dancing With The Stars is one of the British Broadcasting Corporation’s most lucrative franchises, so why not try it out Eurovision style? At least that appears to have been something of the plan. Don’t get me wrong the Eurovision Dance Contest did have its own unique selling point, namely that it would show-off different European cultures dance traditions, which all in all is actually quite a good concept. Throw in Eurovision style voting and you have a show with every right of its own to exist.

The problem with it is whilst it is very enjoyable to watch it really does feel very unnecessary. With other very similar and highly localised shows in many of the participating nations, the attachment to a once a year European counterpart is less attractive. Each year I watch these celebrity competition shows it always starts with me proclaiming “who on Earth are they?” to a fair chunk of the so-called celebrities. Part of the charm is you inevitably get to know them over the course of a season. Creating that type of show with celebrities from other cultures you will never encounter again? It’s a no from me, even if the show is right up my ally.

4. Eurovision Young Dancers

From one dance related spin-off to another! Eurovision Young Dancers on the other hand feels more like Eurovision to me. The contest took place every other year (swapping with Eurovision Young Musicians) right up until as recently as 2017 and still has a live YouTube channel. The format? Broadcasters would send a dancer or dance couple of late teens/young adults to perform a dance routine before a jury would crown the winner.

Overall it is a fine format, though nothing groundbreaking. I wouldn’t mind seeing it return at all. To be honest, it at least makes more sense existing than its ballroom counterpart. Music in many ways feels to me to be a much more powerful medium to connect cultures though than dance alone and I feel this is where it falls slightly short.

3. Eurovision Choir

I wrote just the other day about how Eurovision restricts songs to only having six on-stage performers and why this can be such an issue. It therefore is kind of fitting that Eurovision Choir exists for all those wanting a choral polyphony of sound! Certainly having more voices does offer a very different show stylistically from the classic song contest. Unlike its big sister though the focus of this contest is clearly on the performers, who no longer have to perform an original song but rather simply perform the best.

How successful this format is is hard to say as for one it has had barely any editions produced (coronavirus potentially permanently ending the show all together) but it does feel very much justified in its existence. Choral music is a brilliant way of capturing different oral traditions from around the world and in that sense the show just feels perfect for a Europe-wide competition. Where this show probably falls short is rather that it confines itself to a niche audience. If you don’t like choirs this show ain’t for you and beyond that it really doesn’t add anything particularly unique to the table.

2. Eurovision Young Musicians

Doing somewhat better than the show it made way for every other year (Eurovision Young Dancers), Eurovision Young Musicians takes my number two spot. Ultimately it is a pretty similar idea to Young Dancers but replace the dancing with classical music. For me at least, this certainly helps it to connect as it stays truer to the Eurovision format whilst having a very distinct role – to cater for instrumental music as opposed to song.

All the lovers of Nocturne and Love Symphony can rejoice, this is your moment to see music compete at Eurovision without being forced to include lyrical content. If that wasn’t enough to distinguish the show, it once again deals with a restricted age-group of young contestants. Whilst their may not be so much variety in ages there is variety to be found in the instruments each of the songs are played on, which may even offer opportunities for the broadcaster to express something unique about their national culture.

If you like a night of classical music and the excitement of a contest, Eurovision Young Musicians is a great pick. It just doesn’t have that same accessibility I find in its song contest equivalent, which just benefits that bit more from the open-ended nature of the term “song”.

1. Junior Eurovision

If you can’t beat perfection (maybe a tad too far but c’mon it’s a Eurovision blog) then why not replicate it? The Junior Eurovision Song Contest (JESC) probably borrows the most from ESC out of all the other contests. In many ways it is simply just ESC but with children as the participants. The format works at its best here and it is undoubtedly the most successful of the many spin-offs the EBU have attempted to date.

Good music, some hopefully friendly competition and many cultures and music styles on display – it just works. The show has now even been running long enough that many former JESC artists have made the jump to mainstream ESC. Out of all the spin-offs listed here it is the one that will go ahead this year once again for sure and long may it continue, as long as it keeps finding ways to showcase incredible talent in a fun and safe way.

So Do You Agree?

Well is this ranking similar to your own? Were you even aware of all these shows of yore? It’s always great to hear from you (either in comments or via social media so please get in touch).

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