An unforgettable, dizzy week

Well thought best to write something within 1 week of returning from Eurovision, rather than leaving it 1 year like last time though! You can see why it's tempting to leave it, though... it's such an intense week, micro-focusing on everything that's going on (and boy was there a lot of keep refreshing this week!), then a massive crescendo at pace on Saturday night, and you are spat out exhausted back into Gatwick by mid-afternoon Sunday. The only way to cope is to rapidly cut off the Eurovision oxygen supply!

However after a tough few days emotionally and physically, we're just about back on an even keel after an amazing week. It was a lot of fun - despite what social media may have you believe, there was joy and dancing and the usual enjoyment all around. Yes there were some weird undertones - and, guys, we found ourselves in the same hotel as Eden and the delegation for the first part of the week so we had it, guns and all! - but if you didn't let them get to you, or read Twitter too much (this was the year that the 'fandom' truly took leave of its senses) then it was fine.  Of course the booing and the tension at times was real - it was always going to be - but at the end of the day Eurovision soldiered on, thanks of course to an amazing script by Edward af Sillen, brilliant hosting by Petra and Malin, and overall the solid SVT touch that kept the show on the road with laughter (lots of it - so many great sketches and skits!) and nostalgia. Tak!

What of the results? Probably don't have the energy for a lengthy exposition, but we will say that Switzerland was a great winner and watching Nemo sing their lungs out impeccably while jumping around that stage was quite the spectacle and deserving of all that jury love. We didn't necessarily go mad for the song on first listen, it was something of a grower, but it truly deserves its place in the illustrious hall of Eurovision fame.

As for the UK... well, a mixed bag. It certainly was a relief to see us creep into the left-hand-side from the Jury votes (at one point it felt like we were going nowhere, but some lovely juries put us top 3 - again, tak Sverige!). Given the massive excitement from people we speak to on Sunday who had seen the staging in the arena, and the talk of 'top 10' at that point... well, at least they weren't totally wrong that it had appeal! The televote result was a bit of a gut punch, though. This article has some thoughtful perspectives of perhaps why it didn't connect in the end. The key is we need to Keep Trying - we're not totally off-beam - we will find a way.

Was great to see France back in the top 5. Being as French as they can be seems to be their secret to success (cf. 2021). How can we be even more British? I mean Sam probably best typifies that sound, if we are to be cliched about it. What's the next version of that?

Right, as we continue to decompress and process the entire thing, we'll leave it here and look forward to speaking, no doubt in 11 months time, with our 2025 Top 10 before we step on a plane to Zurich/Basel/Geneva! 

But to end: it was wonderful to be back in Sweden, and I hope it won't be long until they get their 8th win and we return to Stockholm. Marcus and Martinus executed the brief and got a creditable 9th as a result - we think our 'good luck' vibes helped!

The EUROfiasco Top 10 for 2024

QUICK LINKS: Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

As (all being well!) hopefully unveiled today - here are the ten songs (plus a pair of outsiders) that float our boat this year. There's a good level in bops, and at the same time no one obvious standout - which all bodes well for a pretty exciting Eurovision!

We head off tomorrow for a week that hopefully will be drama-free and full of the joy that our beloved contest can bring. 

And good luck Olly - you're bringing a superb, radio-friendly, catchy-as-hell banger to the stage and if we can stage it well and get a decent draw then we could be in with a shout of a good placing.

As to who will win... Croatia? Netherlands? France? Italy?... it really could be any of 10 or so songs at this stage. Bring it on!

What's Another Year?

Yes, it nearly has been a year since the last post on this blog.. which was before Eurovision 2023. It says a lot about the sorry state of this website that we've not said a word about a contest that was actually hosted in the UK for the first time in 25 years, the first one we've ever been to, the one we thought would never happen...

But the reality is, yes, updating this website - which was already happening pretty infrequently - has fallen off a cliff, and I guess we just have to accept that. Life is busy! And we've not been that prolific on other social media either so don't think that the website has been abandoned in favour of other stuff...

Anyway this won't be a comprehensive round-up of 2023 either, but it is important to say that it really was epic. Not just as a contest - although the BBC absolutely rose to the challenge and delivered one of the best Eurovisions ever, without question. But also as a city. Liverpool was the absolute antidote to Tepid Turin, in every way. The entire city was going for it - every bar, every shop, every restaurant - they all had Eurovision branding and were marking the contest in some way. It was absolutely amazing, and even writing this now 11-and-a-lot months on I feel a bit emotional about it all.

I won't attempt to include much here except to note that we did make the telly - somewhat unexpectedly - by featuring in the opening titles of the 5pm news on the Saturday of Eurovision final day! 

And at about the time that was going out, we were in fact dancing in the foyer of the Pullman Hotel, being watched by Jan Leeming and a host of others who were on their way in and out of the building for the official BBC party.

Just two anecdotes across an amazing week. Oh - Samantha Janus! Performing at Euroclub! As we lived and breathed! We never thought we'd see it.

At our peak we were a motley crew of around 20, all looking to soak up some UK-at-Eurovision action. 4 of us were lucky enough to be at the final itself, while the gang had a great time in the Euroclub watching the final (and doing the dance). 

And now, we are but moments away from a return to Malmö, 11 years on from our 24-person-strong delegation! We'll be a more mangeable six people this year, which is probably for the best given some of the challenges there may be this year given #worldevents... but we will have a ball, I am sure.

The blog will fire up into life again for the Top 10, fear not - mainly as I'm about to write and schedule the post. But I can't promise much more in the way of updates for the next year - we may just have to accept that situation... and keep an eye on Instagram for a bit more of a topical flavour.

Celebrating the Young Heroes by the Riviera

For the first time, we put in an appearance at Junior Eurovision. Mainly because it was in Nice, and it's always nice to have an excuse to be by the seaside. And it really was glorious for late November!

France were the rightful winners as they had an absolute bop, and they seem to be basically acing Junior now. There were quite a few other bangers too, and overall it was a lot of fun to see a smaller-scale Eurovision up close! Catch a flavour of it all on the Instagram stories.

Great that the UK is still in this and doing pretty well by the way - 4th place not to be sniffed at in the slightest.

The EUROfiasco Top 10 for 2023

QUICK LINKS: Spotify | Apple Music | Vimeo | YouTube

Well, in a blink of an eye, it’s almost time for Eurovision! Possibly when we posted that last update before the end of 2022 there was a sense that we might post a little more often on here but.. well, who were we kidding if we thought that was likely?

But here we are - less than 24 hours from our departure to Liverpool - and who’d’ve thought this time last year that we’d be saying that eh? - and with the Flag-Waving in full swing, we can, in the spirit of the day, crown a King and/or Queen as the anointed EUROfiasco champion. And, in fact… it’s a Queen of Kings. What could be more appropriate?

Yes, Norway are our pick for 2023. But look it’s a close run thing and this is one banging line up of a top 10, and an incredibly strong 1-2-3 Nordic genius top selection. We can’t wait to see it all live and in the flesh in the coming week; and dance the night away on the Liverpool dance floors as we enjoy (nearly) every song of Eurovision 2023 and all that’s gone before.

And, of course, our Mae is one of those. She has absolutely leaned in to Eurovision like the champ that she is, already in the pantheon of legendary UK acts, whatever happens in the coming week - and of course, we hope, secretly and quietly, for something special - because she and the song deserve it. We’ll be wearing our T-shirts with gusto of course, all (at our peak) 15 of us who will be amongst the Liverpool crowds. You can as ever keep up with the things that we remember to post on our Insta. And we’ll see you on the other side!

(The links to our top 10 are all at the top of this post as you can see. You can also find the full 2023 EUROfiacso playlist over here on Spotify; a selection of all the stuff that caught our ear during the national final season).