Light Your Fire! Theme & slogan unveiled.

The 2012 Eurovision Song Contest has an identity. The slogan is ‘Light Your Fire!’ and the logo is that of a stylized flame in a rich colour palate of reds, yellows and oranges. Representing Azerbaijan’s age-old moniker ‘Land of Fire’, I was expecting something along these lines. Created by London-based design agency Turquoise, the visual identity has been explained as thus: “Fire is an elemental force that, for centuries, people have gathered around to tell stories, sing songs, dance and celebrate. In much the same way that the Eurovision Song Contest has done since it began in 1956. We feel that the visual identity we have created reflects what’s best about the contest itself and the event as a whole: It’s engaging, dynamic, warm and, most of all, imbued with a sense of fun“.

Personally, I like it. Even if I find it slightly derivative from past themes. The flame logo is, stylistically, very similar to Moscow 2009 (The Fire Bird) and slogan smacks of Dusseldorf 2011 (‘Feel your heart beat! compared to ‘Light your fire!’). They’ve even used the exclamation mark again! Nevertheless, it is a sound identity that is very rich visually and lends itself to a potentially strong television presentation. You can check out the all the design work Turquoise have done here.

So come on Europe! Let’s all prepare to light our fires come May.