From Wikipedia: “The Eurovision Song Contest, is an international song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union. Each participating country submits an original song to be performed live and transmitted to national broadcasters via the Eurovision and Euroradio networks, with competing countries then casting votes for the other countries’ songs to determine a winner.” The entry songs are required to be original (e.g. written just for the contest); must be performed live (e.g. no lip-synching) and no more than six performers can be on stage during the performance.
Recently, the ‘rest of the world’ was added as being eligible to vote as a part of the popular vote. I started to get interested in the contest during my time living in the UK (2013 – 2018) and have continued to follow it. Last year, when I was particularly annoyed at work, I booked a trip to Copenhagen on impulse and decided I would attend it in person. The contest this year was held in Malmo, Sweden, just across the bridge from Copenhagen and with the trains and relative proximity, as well as the fact I had not been to Denmark, it seemed the right place to base myself. My thought process was that if I couldn’t get tickets to the actual event, I’d explore Denmark, do some hiking, and add another country to the list of places I’ve traveled. Checking out airfares, I found a great deal from Newark, a mere two hours’ drive from my home, and booked it. Hotels, as expected during a major event, were expensive, but I found a ‘capsule hotel.’ While I haven’t stayed in a hostel style accommodation since my study abroad during college, I figured that it would be fiscally responsible (especially after I’d paid significantly more than I usually do for a vacation on my trip to Egypt) to do so, so I booked that as well. Then, as you do, I started checking Facebook for fan clubs and informational pages on the event. I was fortunate to find the OGAE Rest of the World fan club where I connected with many other Americans that are as interested in Eurovision as I am (and some even more so).
We are a member of OGAE (l’Organisation Générale des Amateurs de l’Eurovision or the International Organisation of Eurovision Fans) International – a non-profit umbrella organisation of fan clubs. OGAE was founded in 1984 in Finland by Jari-Pekka Koikkalainen. Since its foundation OGAE has become the biggest organisation for Eurovision fans. Any country that has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest is eligible to have its own local OGAE club.
OGAE Rest of the World was approved in 2006 in Athens to be the home of Eurovision Song Contest fans in countries that are not active members of the European Broadcasting Union and therefore ineligible to participate in the yearly song contest.
Once I joined the fan club, I started to receive all the news about events that spread over the course of the week leading up to the Grand Final where the winning entry is selected. While I knew that there was more than just the Grand Final, I had no idea the number of activities that take place, or the intensity of an in-person experience. It was then that I realized this is so much more than what I had experienced thus far when watching the Final on television. I waited for the various ticket sales to begin and started to snatch up tickets to the preview shows, and the Grand Final viewing party sponsored by the OGAE. Setting my alarm for 4:00 ET as tickets went on sale at 10:00 CET, I picked up the preview shows for the Semi-finals. Basically, the previews are full dress rehearsals for the actual Semi-final shows that are broadcast on TV. In my case, I was able to get ‘standing’ tickets in the arena for the two semi-final previews and the grand final preview. Of course, at the time I bought the tickets I hadn’t scheduled my knee surgery, so that led to both booking a capsule hotel and standing for a 3- or 4-hour period in an arena for three shows. Fortunately, for the Grand Final viewing party, I was able to score a seated ticket.
I booked my surgery for March at the beginning of January and counted the weeks from the date of the surgery. The surgeon told me I could travel internationally after six weeks, and Eurovision would be almost 8 weeks afterwards. I would just need to take aspirin to prevent blood clots, and hope that I could get an upgrade on the way over to Copenhagen so I could stretch my leg periodically. Unfortunately, my usual tactic of curling up in my seat to sleep wasn’t going to work with a knee that wasn’t fully able to bend that soon after the surgery. To further complicate things, my job was eliminated, and I would be on notice from the end of April, so this would mean going on a vacation when my future employment is up in the air.
So, here’s the thing, I have a hard time explaining to the uninitiated why I wanted to go to this event so much. My American friends couldn’t understand it as they have no idea what it actually is (“Who are you going to see in concert in Sweden?” A pause and look of confusion when I say, “Well, there are 37 countries competing and they each send an entry. Oh, and the entry is all that they perform, over and over again until the final selection is made and a Grand Final of said entry is conducted to choose a winner.” Cue the confusion and a “Well, have fun then. . .”) My British and European colleagues were surprised and impressed that I’d make the effort to go since they didn’t think Americans even knew about this event.
In addition to the fact this contest is relatively unknown in the US, it’s also an intense week of music you wouldn’t normally hear state-side. The artists are generally resident in the country they are representing, and while many of the songs are in English, there’s an equal number that are in the native language of their country. The styles are all over the board, from ballads, to 80’s or 90’s pop, to hard rock or heavy metal, to traditional music of the country. Each entry is required to be something specifically written and performed at Eurovision, so it cannot be a song that they have already published or performed prior to the contest. In addition, the selection process within each country is competitive, so over the course of a few months, the countries are holding contests to determine who will represent them. This year, many of the artists are members of the LGBTQ+ community and this drove a lot of interest from that community globally (including in the US).
This brings me back to why I attended. As an INTJ, I think the idea of going to an intensely ‘people-y’ event is intriguing. Putting myself out there and attending activities with the fan club when I didn’t know anyone is challenging. Never one to avoid a challenge, I do what interests me, even when it means having to play the part of an extrovert. The good thing about this event was that I had time alone to recharge. I sat in lovely cafes in Copenhagen and enjoyed my breakfast over an hour or two, or brunch, while people watching and reading two books. I wandered through the city, taking in some beautiful royal parks and going on two small-group tours of the city; one focused on the hygge culture (from Miriam Webster, “a cozy quality that makes a person feel content and comfortable. During the long, dark winters when Danes retreat inside their homes, hygge is what brings them a great sense of comfort and joy.”) and the other on food, because I love exploring a country through its food.
The event was not without its challenges. Israel was allowed to participate which brought a lot of negativities to the contest. Sweden and Denmark have both welcomed many Muslim refugees, so the fact that Israel was being represented created tension within the host city and the fans attending who felt they should not be there. The Dutch performer had a run-in with a camera person who refused to comply when he asked her not to film him immediately after performing and was disqualified even though he had made it through to the final and was a fan favorite. It’s still unclear whether he did anything wrong, but the overwhelming sense amongst the fans is that the penalty was disproportionate to the crime, and this cast a pall over the final. Then, it was reported that Israeli TV had told parents not to let their children watch the Irish entry, in clear violation of the rules (the TV stations are not allowed to say anything about any entry). On the ground, there were rumors flying everywhere and at times it was unclear whether countries would pull out at the last minute in support of the Dutch performer.
In addition to the drama within the contest, there were issues with the train between Copenhagen and Malmo. The assumption was that you could easily travel between the two cities and there was even a fixed price ticket that would allow back and forth travel for the week. The first problem arose on Monday when fans were traveling to Malmo for the first semi-final preview show. An accident delayed trains for a few hours. Given security was very strict, it was important to be at the arena two hours in advance, but there was no way to know whether the accident would be cleared timely. I was lucky and able to catch a train in good time to queue up. I also chose to bring the cane since I knew that standing for 3 or 4 hours would be difficult. This meant that I had a visible indication that I needed to sit and was able to at least sit for the 45-ish minute journey between the cities.
For the first semi-final, I was able to push to the front and be close to a barrier, with a new-found English friend who was of similar stature. We were lucky that the taller men near us agreed that we would not block their view, and let us move to the front. My favorite part of the evening was when the Swedish host did her introduction. She said something in Swedish which caused the audience to laugh, and I turned to some Swedes near me to ask what she said. Apparently, she said how pleased she was to welcome the ‘homos’ and then quickly said ‘Eurovision fans.’ And, so, the Swedes were acknowledging that the vast majority of the fans did indeed include the LGBTQ+ community. Gotta love the Scandinavians for their bluntness.
On Tuesday, after my food tour, I went to a viewing party of the first semi-final (aka first broadcast of 15 countries). The purpose of the semi-final is to eliminate some of the entries in preparation for the final. There was no problem with the train, and I arrived in plenty of time to get a seat at a Spanish tapas restaurant where the ROTW club met to watch the first elimination round. Sadly, two of my favorites, Australia and Poland were knocked out, but the evening was fun, and the restaurant served Sangria Blanco (a favorite of mine that can be difficult to find in the US). I headed to the Eurovision Club with a young woman from Chicago and spent a few hours dancing and listening to the music.
Wednesday brought a new challenge with the trains. I had waited to leave my hotel until closer to when I needed to be in Malmo and discovered that the trains were significantly delayed. There were rumors of someone on the tracks and the trains could not run. Was it a protester? Or maybe a suicide? Or both? Who knew? The train company wasn’t saying and just showed trains delayed or canceled. As the train station in Copenhagen Central filled with Eurovision fans, the board showed train after train being canceled. I got word that the arena had agreed to delay the show by thirty minutes, but given the security issues, no one would be allowed to enter late. Eventually, I boarded a train that promised to get me there in time to enter the arena but ended up stopping at the airport (the last stop before crossing the bridge to Sweden). I met a lovely couple from Sweden that were trying to get home. It turned out that they had lived in Minnesota at one point (we are truly everywhere) and we chatted about the connection between the Scandinavian countries and Minnesota while we waited for news about whether we would ever get across the bridge. By the time they confirmed trains would run, the show had already started, and I knew that I would not be able to attend the event. At that point, I didn’t feel like just going to the club to meet up with other fans after the show. So, I reluctantly returned to the platform, and four hours later, arrived back in Copenhagen where I had a beer at a local bar and made the trek back to my hotel.
Since I could not attend the preview, I impulsively bought a resale ticket for the actual semi-final on Thursday night. So as not to miss it, I took a train that brought me to the arena five hours early. You do what you have to do to be on time, and this meant that I sat at a lovely Italian restaurant near the arena eating an interesting vegetarian pizza with a brie-style cheese and green apples and drinking wine as I killed time waiting for the doors to open to the arena. Once we were allowed to enter, I made my way to my seat where I met three Dutch fans who graciously offered to adopt me and buy me a beer. Alas, once they returned with said beer, they discovered that they were in the wrong section and quickly departed. I almost wanted to say, ‘take me with you,’ but ended up staying where I was and enjoying the show. The seats were not ideal since I was somewhat behind the stage, but I still got to experience the music firsthand and see the stage crew that worked so hard to both set up each performance, and the camera people who were filming each act. The most impressive one was for France, where the cameraman followed Slimane tightly, but then had to quickly back up (with another of the crew waiting at the edge of the stage to stop him from falling off) to take a long view. Of course, the performance was further enhanced when Slimane stepped away from the microphone and continued performing. Even in an arena filled to capacity with cheering fans, the depth of his vocals could still be heard. My French is by no means good, but I always find French music to be so emotional. This one did not disappoint.
Friday was another of the preview shows and after a late brunch, I returned to Malmo early again to ensure no travel issues. Rather than go directly to the arena, I made my way to the park where Eurovision Village was set up. I had gone there Sunday after lunch, and it was pretty empty in addition to cold and raining. I thought I’d give it another chance, but stopped for ice cream first to kill some more time and enjoy the sunnier warmer weather. After going through tighter security (it was getting more strict over the course of the week as more protesters arrived), I walked around the Eurovision Village which I found to be decidedly not worth the effort. While they had two stages and some performances, it just didn’t feel interesting. The other problem was that it was a couple miles from the arena, so not a comfortable walking distance, even for me who usually doesn’t mind walking. I grabbed an Uber and headed over to ensure that I’d be in the queue for doors opening. The driver wished me luck as I arrived, and I had to wonder whether he meant with the country I was supporting, or with the protests and drama in the contest. The metal detectors were in place, which while annoying didn’t slow down entry too much. Of course, having major metal in my knee now, I had to stop and empty my pockets. The security laughed as I pulled out two lipsticks (both in metal container). As with the other standing show, I decided not to get anything to drink so that I wouldn’t lose my place on the floor. Probably the only issue with being solo is that there is no one to hold your place while you run out (or let you back to where you were standing in the first place).
Friday was the preview show for the Grand Final, so this was when all 26 performers were scheduled to present their final effort. The news was full of more rumors and commentary about drama associated with the contest. The Netherlands had been disqualified with no explanation of what was so egregious that the performer was banned from participating. There was a question about whether the Dutch public would be able to vote, but in the end, they were allowed. Then, the Irish performer put out a statement that they wouldn’t perform in the final rehearsal on Saturday because of issues with the Israeli media who had told parents in Israel not to let their children watch due to the song containing references to witchcraft. Several performers were saying they might pull out in support of the Dutch performer; and on and on it went. When the show finally started, the negativity towards Israel had built to such a degree that many in the audience turned their backs to the stage as she performed or left during the song. When the head of Eurovision was introduced, the audience booed him loudly since he was the one that announced the decision about The Netherlands. My two favorites continued to be Switzerland and Croatia, but all of the performances were great. Even those songs that weren’t in English still impacted me, almost like you can understand them without the translation.
And, with that, the week was nearly over, and we were headed into the grand final. The club gathered at a restaurant for lunch which worked well since many of us were just barely getting up after the preview on Friday. For this part, I had a ticket to the official OGAE viewing party and afterparty in Malmo. Once again, I made my way over early to avoid any issues with the trains, and arrived well before most fans. A few of us early arrivals queued up when it was just the venue staff and a handful of us that were mostly staying in Copenhagen. For this one, I had gone with a seated ticket which meant that it wasn’t nearly as difficult for the knee. I have to say that seeing the final with a group of fans is significantly different than when I watched it at home last year, or in the Heathrow Airport Marriott in 2022 (when I was stuck there with COVID). While it isn’t the same as being in the stadium, the energy and enthusiasm of the other fans is contagious. Again, the booing could be heard for Israel during the broadcast, even though we had heard they would be using technology to suppress it for the home viewing audience. There was a smattering of booing and negativity in the room which was an unfortunate distraction. The reality is that the Israeli performer was quite talented, and her song entry was very good. While the fans in the viewing party and stadium didn’t approve, the vote by the public showed that her entry was actually appreciated by those voting from outside of the fan-bubble, as well as the juries from each of the participating countries.
In the end, Switzerland won off the back of a strong preference by the juries. It was disappointing since the fan favorite as well as the popular audience vote was for Croatia. Israel had a strong finish demonstrating that the fans weren’t necessarily representative of the juries and viewing audience, as well as the war wasn’t as big a factor as anticipated. There were also surprises with the French entry which I assumed wouldn’t have been as popular, but also did quite well. There was much speculation how The Netherlands would have done should they have been allowed to continue. Unfortunately, the UK entry which I actually liked did not do well at all with the general population. While they did not come last due to receiving votes from the juries, they did not get any points from the viewing audience. I suspect the staging may have put off some of the audience, but it was a blow for sure. After the show ended, I stayed for a couple more hours, waiting for some of the performers to arrive, but in the end, I left at 2:30 and most of them arrived after 3:00am. Given my flight was at noon, and I needed to take the train back across the bridge, I decided I should at least get a few hours of sleep before heading to the airport.
Such an emotional roller coaster of a week. Coming back to the relative normalcy of home felt oddly disconnected from everything I experienced at Eurovision. My Instagram and FaceBook feeds, as well as my Spotify playlist is still heavily focused on Eurovision, and I’ve started watching for whether the performers will make it to the US to tour. Of course, many of them scheduled concerts soon after the contest, but they are just in Europe, and I don’t have the means to go back so soon. Unless something changes, I am unlikely to go to Switzerland in May, 2025, however I am now looking at where US members of the fan club gather for viewing parties. I can’t imagine watching it alone again and am fully expecting May of each year to be either in the host country or somewhere in the US where Eurovision fans gather to participate in this amazing contest.
