The closing ceremony of the #CoFoE conference recommending 🇪🇺 treaty change has started with an interpretive dance recital and I’m really confused. audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/ebs/live/2
Now Guy Verhofstadt is speaking in French and I’m really confused!
Never seen him speak in anything other than English in this hemicycle.
Now he’s speaking English.
“In contrast to what we may think, people don’t fear change,” Verhofstadt tells national EU governments. “On the contrary, they urge us to reform the 🇪🇺union, and they want this to happen now.”
“In 2019 when the idea was floated for this conference, the world was a very different place than the world we are in today” says Verhofstadt to the national leaders.
“Since 2019 we have had a pandemic…and now 77 years after WW2 we have again a devastating war on European soil”
“Whatever the result of 🇺🇦war, the world of tomorrow will be a different place,” says Verhofstadt. “It will be a world dominated by empires: 🇨🇳🇷🇺🇮🇳🇺🇸.”
“In such a world order, only Europe as a bloc can survive. Only united can we protect the interests of our citizens”
“European integration is no longer a choice, it’s become a question of necessity, a question of survival” says Verhofstadt
“These recommendations from citizens offers a roadmap to that, to avoid that we become irrelevant or even disappear. A Europe that is sovereign is possible”
“There is no time to waste, let’s be loyal to the outcome of this conference,” Verhofstadt says, looking at #Macron.
“Let’s implement its conclusions as soon as possible, because it’s the will of the people. Let the will of the people prevail.”
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The problem with the first option is you need to take the metro between train stations in Paris to switch, whereas in Lyon it's the same station
But...
🇪🇸Renfe & 🇫🇷SNCF don't have a ticketing agreement, so there's no way to get the preferred option as a combined ticket.
It doesn't show up on either website (Renfe won't even let you choose Brussels as a destination). Even 3rd party sites like SNCB Intl & Trainline can't show it
Tonight is the first semi-final for #Eurovision2023 in 🇬🇧Liverpool.
It's happening on the 25th anniversary of the 1998 contest hosted in 🇬🇧Birmingham, a transformative year that marks the boundary between the 'old' and 'new' Eurovision.
In 1998 Dana International became the first trans (and 1st openly LGBT) person to win the ESC.
Following the '98 contest it was decided to make two major rule changes: countries no longer had to sing in their national language and they weren't required to use an orchestra.
Those changes transformed what had become a stale archaic-looking contest in '90s into the explosion of spectacle in 2000s - helped also by the entry of enthusiastic Eastern European countries unable to participate during Communism.
The bookies have 🇸🇪Sweden as the favourite to win, followed by 🇫🇮Finland and 🇫🇷France.
But Sweden's odds have gotten worse since rehearsals started.
The singer, #Loreen, already won for 🇸🇪 in 2012 with Euphoria, a global hit hitting number one on the charts in 21 countries.
Among fans, I keep hearing "I predict Sweden will win but I don't want it to win". People like the song but think a 🇸🇪win is too predictable. 🇸🇪has dominated the contest for 2 decades.
If 🇸🇪win again they'll match Ireland's record for most wins - 7.
As the 🇬🇧#Coronation takes place in London, here's some fun facts about monarchies around the world.
I find Americans have the mistaken impression that Europe has many monarchies. In fact, excluding microstates, there are just 8 - and only 3 have been there more than 200 years.
There are actually more monarchies in Asia than in Europe.
The world has 16 kings, and only one queen (🇩🇰). Then there are 4 princes, 3 sultans, 2 emirs, 1 pope and 1 emperor (🇯🇵).
There are 4 types of monarchies remaining in Europe:
🇬🇧British
🇸🇪🇩🇰🇳🇴Scandinavian
🇳🇱🇧🇪🇱🇺Low Countries
🇪🇸Iberian
🇻🇦🇱🇮🇦🇩🇲🇨Microstates
This map shows when other European monarchies ended (most give the year of national independence from a imperial monarchy)
Surely the most important thing happening in🇬🇧this weekend😉
I'll be there covering. Here's the mother of all threads on the most important things to know for this year. 🧵1/23
The context: Despite what many think (Europeans' cultural cringe and all), #Eurovision is a big deal.
It's the most-watched annual live event in the world, with an average 200m viewers each year. That's more than the 🇺🇸Superbowl, Oscars & Grammys combined en.as.com/en/2022/03/14/…
Each year 40,000 visitors descend on the #Eurovision host city.
🇬🇧Liverpool is hosting this year. They've built a fan zone holding 15,000 people. There will be 9 shows over the week (televised: 2 semis & 1 final).