Eurovision queen

chapter 10

On the day of ‘A Song for Europe’, they arrived at the TV studio in the early afternoon. There was a full tech rehearsal from 14.00. Every competitor had to know where to stand. The cameramen needed to work out their best angles. They had to fine tune the timings to fit the allotted screen time. It was a live show. If it dragged on it would impinge on the news.
There was a lot of hanging about backstage, before Maggie was called to perform. Then she had to wait because the previous competitor had a problem with the sound his microphone. Maggie learned he was used to singing with ‘auto tune’. Without it his tuning was way off.
She did not have that to worry about, thank goodness and at least she could get away with rehearsing without that dreadful frock!
She was not allowed to eat today. She could drink only water. Milk based products were phlegm producing. Tea, coffee and alcohol could dry her throat out for singing,
It was busy in the dressing room areas. Everyone had to double up. Maggie was paired with a skinny young waif of a dancer, who exercised so much she didn’t have to worry about what she ate. She’d brought a whole host of protein rich snacks to keep her going throughout the day. She was not full of conversation. She was too busy doing her impossible looking stretches on the floor. Just as well. As Maggie’s hunger worsened, she could feel her anger bubbling beneath the surface.

After the tech rehearsal was over and the director was sure he did not need to go over anything else, Maggie and the others had well over an hour to relax and get ready for the performance. Maggie actually had much more than that because her song was in the second half of the show.
Most people took the time to go and get something to eat, before coming back to get ready. Maggie was not able to do that. She had a hairdresser and a makeup artist fussing over her, then she had to be helped into her outfit. A plain matte silk red bolero had been sewn onto the top of the bodice. The same matte silk had been sewn in panels in two of the front seams. That made it look like it had always been a stripy dress. To avoid any wardrobe malfunctions, the zip was going to be sewn in the upright position and some extra securing stitches were placed to stop the bolero from slipping.
Now she was in the dress, despite the fact that it now fit her properly, it was still very tight. Going to the toilet with all that water inside her was a major expedition to avoid her train catching on something or trailing through something it shouldn’t and getting dirty.

Maggie’s performance went without a hitch and got good reception from the small audience in the studio. Then she had to go and wait in the ‘green room’. There, she could watch a monitor with her entourage and see what was going on, on the stage.
The people around her said she had done well. They all started to relax, drinking and eating little snacks that were laid out for them. Maggie still could not eat. She was still in that dreadful frock and, if she won she might have to go on stage again and sing. Alcohol was so drying to the throat. She pretended to enjoy the rest of the show, like the rest of them, but it was difficult when her belly kept rumbling the way it did.
After all the performances were over, they had more waiting as the votes came in. Luckily this process was not as drawn out as it was in the European version of the show. It was a simple tele-vote by the viewers ringing in. Then they announced the results in reverse order.

She had not come third.

She did not come second

She came first!

She sat for several seconds, stunned at the outcome, then she felt herself being manually pushed towards the stage. There was a lot of jostling about. Someone stood on her dress at one point. Even Simon found himself on the stage in a formal bow tie and dinner suit as the writer of the song accepting the small trophy.
Maggie gave a much more emotional performance the second time around to end the show.

Someone thrust a glass of champagne into her hand. She could feel her head spinning after a few sips on her empty stomach. She pleaded with Simon to help her.
He managed to guide her out of the green room where the party was back to her dressing room. He helped her out of her dress, carefully snipping the stitches that had held her in so securely. The hated, but expensive frock lay discarded on the back of a chair. Meanwhile, Simon and Maggie rejoined the party, with Maggie in much more Informal attire.
She headed straight for the buffet table. No one was going to stop her eating now! Their gamble had paid off. She would be heading off to Europe in three months time! They played Cliff Richard’s ‘Congratulations’ over and over.
Everyone wanted to talk to her and shake her hand. She had no idea who half of them were!
They managed to get away in the early hours of the morning. Maggie was drunk, but still hungry. They got a cab back to their rented flat. Simon started heating up frozen pizza. In the meantime, Maggie started eating. All she could find were healthy snacks, but she did not care as long it was something to put in her mouth!
They finally got to bed around four. Maggie was finally full and satisfied.