Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
AS a little girl I used to wait all year for the Eurovision Song Contest to come around again and when it did I was glued to the television, barely acknowledging anyone around me until it was over.
As a teenager I was also keen to watch, but for very different reasons - it was a great laugh to see what new and embarrassing songs and routines the contestants were going to come up with.
Now, as a fully grown adult I have to admit I do my best to avoid it like the plague as I no longer find it amusing, just embarrassingly cringe worthy!
It seems though that the ignominy of it all will soon be repeated as the Arab world has decided that they will be holding one too. The question is though will be any better? It would be nice to think it will be.
It should at least have more dignity to it than the Eurovision Song Contest now does and there is so much talent and money in this part of the world that it's doubtful they will allow the dearth of talent that the Eurovison is now famous for to get anywhere near the stage.
The contest, to be developed for broadcasters by Tanweer Group in partnership with Nibras Media will incorporate the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), with countries eligible to take part including Bahrain, Algeria, Comoros (who?), Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
As the Eurovision Song Contest stands today it has become much less of a true but friendly competition among rival countries and much more of a political statement of support for the nations of Eastern Europe.
Trust good old BBC presenter Terry Wogan to comment conspiratorially to the camera: "The word has gone out, it's Russia's turn this year".
An amusing side joke that had many a person tittering in their cups of tea, but little did everyone realise it was much more of a prophecy than a joke, with Russia' Dima Bilan walking away with the crystal microphone.
The only real surprise left in the contest is that more Central European countries haven't followed Italy's lead by dropping out of the contest due to political, funding and artistic reasons.
If the 'Big Four' (Germany, Spain, France and the UK) who are the major contributing financiers of the contest, it's unlikely that the contest would be able to find enough money to keep going much longer.
It's no secret that the Eastern Europeans all vote for each other rather than the most talented performer and some pundits fear there is a strong possibility that "Arabvision" could follow in the same tune.
"It is bound to be just as biased as the Eurovision contest," warned Radio Bahrain DJ Mohammed Janahi. "When it comes to voting, if people are allowed to vote for their own countries, the rulers will open free lines and send the message out that everyone should vote as many times as possible - much like they do for Star Academy.
"If, on the other hand, like Eurovision they are not allowed to vote for each other then they will definitely vote for their friends and neighbours. GCC members will vote for each other, North Africans will vote for each other as well, and so on. There is too much loyalty in this part of the world for it to be any other way."
It would be interesting to see, however, if such a contest would catapult local talent into stardom. While Eurovision hasn't really produced any international chart toppers for many years now, it has been the starting line for many singers that have since made it big all over the world.
You only need to think about ABBA to see that taken seriously - and when properly thought out - superstardom can follow.
It's little surprise really that the Eurovision contest is taken as such a joke these days when you take into consideration the lunacy of some of the acts put forward.
Ireland's attempt at an entry this year is a classic example: Dustin the Turkey - a purple-beaked rapping glove puppet that didn't make it past the semi-finals. Some would say that it is a shocking example of the quality of entries we can expect in the contest these days but I'd rather look at it as Ireland's way of protesting about how the contest is turning into one big joke.
Only time will tell what the future hold for a MENA version of the contest but it's gratifying to see that another opportunity to show off the talents that this part of the world has to offer has now presented itself ... and soon it will be time for YOU to take the advice of Buck's Fizz, the UK's 1981 one Eurovision winners, by "Making Your Mind Up".
Editor's note: Before we receive any letters of complaint from our many Comorosian readers living in the kingdom - The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa on the northern end of the Mozambique Channel between northern Madagascar and northeastern Mozambique.
