Eurovision queen

chapter 11

Alvin came calling the next day at seven. She was going to be busy! She was now definitely going to be in the Eurovision Song Contest!
Maggie was hungover and bloated from her late night blow out. She did not want to know right now.
He was persistent.
He had another three months to get her body into perfect shape! By then, she would be able to slip into the red crystal dress with no shapewear, no extra panels and no bolero.
Maggie groaned. Could she really go through another three months of starvation and torture in the gym?
They had to get going, Alvin reminded her. She had a full workout to get in before having a shower and breakfast. Then she had an interview to do for the morning magazine programme for independent television. Hopefully they would have time for a fresh salad for lunch, with a bit of fruit, before they met with the execs to discuss the video to go with the song. Following that he planned a run through the park before meeting the press for another interview. This evening, she was appearing on ‘The One Show’, an evening magazine programme for the BBC.
Tomorrow morning, she had a photo shoot with ‘The Mail On Sunday’ including an interview. She would be performing her song , or lip syncing in the afternoon for a recording of a chart show.
The day after that there were interviews to do for the radio, more photo shoots and more telly.
From now on, she was in the public eye. There could be no scandal as that might jeopardise the UK’s position in the competition. She would not comment on politics or any current affairs because that could also taint the UK’s position. She was an ambassador for her whole country for the next three months. Every time she was interviewed she had to look happy and excited for the upcoming competition.
Other than that, she was encouraged to be herself.

That week was just the start!
Following that she was promoting her song every day. Every day her diary was filled by the music execs. Alvin acted as her secretary guiding her through the process as well as making sure she did her workouts, sometimes twice a day. He was always present at mealtimes, making sure she did not stray from her set programme.
Alongside all that came the travelling. For the first month she stayed in the UK, visiting most of the cities promoting her song in the competition and as a single.
After that month, the aim was to try and visit most of the 40 plus countries taking part to do more promotions before landing in Rotterdam a week before the contest for rehearsals and the contest itself.
Of course she could not go to Australia! It was far too far away, but she recorded an interview via a video link from London for them. Smaller countries like San Marino that had no airport were omitted, but she did a video link from the next most convenient place.
It was certainly a whistle stop tour! She was often taken directly to a TV studio from the airport. After the interview, she might have a photo session, then she could book into the hotel, have a bite to eat, sleep, then fly out to the next destination early the next day. Many of the flights were, thankfully, short, but she still had a lot of waiting around to do,
Security was tight. She travelled with Alvin, a security guard called Ted, a make up artist, stylist and a hairdresser. She could not afford to go anywhere looking anything less than perfect.
She and her entourage had the privilege of travelling first or business class on all flights so that she would arrive at her destination relaxed and ready to be interviewed.
She also had homework to do. She had names of her interviewers to learn. A few key phrases of the local language and a bit of basic geography helped. Anything that might get the UK an extra vote or two would help their cause. The cost was not as important as votes.
She had no days off and no time for sightseeing. It was Eurovision all day every day!

By the time she finally reached Rotterdam, she was exhausted! She was already sick of smiling, sick of being pleasant to people all the time.
At least she did not have to perform in the semi finals, she thought.
She was joined in Rotterdam by her dancers and backing singers, Simon came with some music execs, there were the roadies who had brought her stage set, a wardrobe mistress came with the dreaded dress. Then there was the crew that came with the BBC, two commentators for the semifinals and two for the final, including Graham Norton.
A week before the contest, every contestant was there. Every country was allotted a fifteen minute slot to rehearse on the main stage. How they used that time was up to them. Some concentrated on the performance, others needed to rehearse in costume, others concentrated on the set. Getting the technical aspects such as sound and lighting right at this stage was just as important as the performance.
It was important for Maggie to be at the venue every day, even though she was not on stage. She could be interviewed by any of the 40 plus TV companies involved at any time. Otherwise, she could find a quiet spot backstage to rehearse with her singers and dancers, watch her competitors rehearse and try to keep calm.
There was a lot of waiting around.