Eurovision heads to Asia for the first time – the Basenji has its yodel ready

What does this mean for your Basenji?

The Basenji does not bark. It yodels: a high, drawn-out sound that devotees of the breed call a “barroo”. In Switzerland that ought to have been enough to join a traditional yodelling club, but such clubs tend to ask where one is from, and the answer is the Congo Basin. A stage outside Europe therefore suits it nicely. It needs no make-up artist, having groomed itself before every appearance as thoroughly as a cat. Whether it turns up to the dress rehearsal is, however, entirely its own decision. The Basenji has hunted without a director for thousands of years and has never once needed choreography.

What you can do now: Do not interrupt the yodel, even at six in the morning. Applause is permitted; calls for an encore are pointless.