Undeterred by “Jaja Ding Dong” snub, the town from Eurovision stumps for its Oscar
Húsavík is a town in Iceland that was previously best known for being the country’s oldest settlement and for its exceptional whale watching opportunities. With the release of Eurovision Song Contest: The Story Of Fire Saga, however, Húsavík became a focus of attention not just for its history and natural beauty, but because it’s the hometown of the film’s Lars Erickssong (Will Ferrell) and Sigrit Ericksdóttir (Rachel McAdams).
Now that Lars and Sigrit’s ode to their hometown, “Húsavík,” has been shortlisted for Best Original Song at this year’s Academy Awards, the Icelandic town has decided to make the most of the opportunity with a campaign called “An Óskar For Húsavík.”
A commercial from the group—which stresses on its website that it’s “in no way affiliated with Netflix or the writers of [Eurovision]”—sees a man named Óskar Óskarsson give a little tour of his town that includes highlights like “dancing whales” and a great view of the Northern Lights. He explains that Húsavík would be even better if it had a “shiny new Óskar” to go along with all of this. And so the town is trying to improve its odds of winning one by asking its elves for help, having its children constantly sing the song, and launching its own for your consideration campaign.
Aside from the glory the award would bring, Húsavík hopes to use the attention surrounding it to reinvigorate its tourism industry, which has suffered during the pandemic, and to help fundraise for a Eurovision museum that would bring more money into the town.
The only issue we can see with Húsavík’s plan is that the wrong Eurovision song was shortlisted for the Oscar. If only “Jaja Ding Dong” had been selected, the award would be a shoo-in. Our thoughts on this are echoed, of course, by Húsavík’s own “Jaja Ding Dong” Guy, who’s participated in the campaign only to demonstrate that his love of the track hasn’t diminished at all.
[via Jenelle Riley]
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