Eurovision in America: A Boom Bang a Blog Investigation

The first clue that our friends across the Atlantic just can't get enough of Eurovision was found in the Chelsea district of New York, just a short stroll from Greenwich Village.

This, as the canopy is testament to, is Mary Ann's diner, which may be named after the UK entry of 1979 performed by that ever popular combo of Black Lace, but then again maybe not. I should really have gone in to ask the owner why the place was so-called, but because I wasn't particularly hungry and didn't think that it really was named after a Eurovision song, I decided to just have my photo taken by the canopy instead. Roger Cook must be quaking in his boots.

Our journey then took us to San Francisco on America's west coast, where another hint that our US cousins just love Eurovision was slap bang in the shadow of the TransAmerica Pyramid. Tricolore were the three Il Divo-style singers who attempted to represent the United Kingdom in 2005 with the song Brand New Day. They didn't make it through the national heat, but perhaps their defeat must have been felt very keenly by the owners of this establishment, who maybe named it in their honour. My investigation is struggling a bit here.

Staying in San Francisco, this establishment probably wasn't named after the veteran Eurovision composer, Ralph Siegel, who wrote Germany's 1982 winner and about 317 other entries for his homeland. It can be found on Mission, a street not to far away from the famous Castro. Tragically, when we passed the establishment, it was closed, so we couldn't pop in and ask the owner if they had Dschingis Khan on the jukebox so we could entertain the guests with our "Hoo! Ha!" dance routine.

So there you have it, three places in America with very tenuous Eurovision connections. It's proof positive that every single person in America loves the Song Contest and watches it every year. Ahem.