Yeah, Yeah, Fire It doesn’t take a hot mess of drag queens to work out what happened to ‘Fuego’ in 2018. Placed alongside the bops, it lay quietly until it arrived in Lisbon. The press room’s reaction to the first technical rehearsal created a virtuous cycle of promotion and opportunity. One of Eurovision’s classic viral moments whipped up the frenzy. Buying a few more pyrotechnics saw Foureira storm into the pantheon of legends. With the first and second technical rehearsals now closed to the press, how can we get a ‘Fuego‘ moment in 2024? Welcome to one of the subtle moments of strategy at t ..read more

So, I’m a dad. I’m a dad to this Stockholm-born monster of a 5-year-old who was button bashing on the Melfest app before he could count to ten. And it’s little surprise if you know me that I have a child who also absolutely adores Eurovision. He has his favourite songs on his own mini-speaker/disco ball and will request to watch recaps and fan made voting sequences all throughout the on-season (yes, if there was any doubt he was my child or not, his love of voting sequences most definitely proves it). He’s also a very lucky boy. He’ll be heading down to Malmö to watch Eurovision in person, tic ..read more

There is a furious controversy over Israel’s inclusion in the Eurovision Song Contest during its ongoing assault on Gaza, but this is not the only country where geopolitical concerns have intruded on this year’s Song Contest. Azerbaijan and, to a lesser extent, Serbia have both engaged in conduct that might raise questions. This article looks at those lesser-known controversies, and raises some questions about the relationship between democracy, human rights and Eurovision. Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh In 2023, Azerbaijan’s long-running conflict with Armenia ended in forcible deportation of ..read more

The European Broadcasting Union have revealed changes for how the running order of the Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final will be coordinated. In the years since 2013, the Song Contest running order has been decided in part by producers, with each country that is not the host nation drawing first half or second half, and from that constraint producers have created their best running order for the show. This was also the case for this year’s Semi Finals. That restriction still exists. After each Semi Final (and after the second rehearsals for the Big Five) the participants who have qualified ..read more

Those attending the Eurovision Song Contest will know that one of the stresses and strains of attending the Song Contest in person is the quest to find somewhere to stay. Often in the host city hotel supply is quickly snapped up, with last year’s Contest leading to the most successful month for the Liverpool hotel industry with record occupancy rates. That is no different for Malmö. If anything it is arguable that the hotel demands in Malmö are much more, Liverpool had 10,182 hotel rooms at their disposal last May, whereas Malmö has just over 4,000, not enough on its own to cope with the ..read more

The Facts Of The Draw On Tuesday March 26th the running order for the Semi Finals of the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest were revealed. We now know that Silia Kapsis, the youngest entrant in the competition representing Cyprus, will open the competitive side of the Song Contest. Following her on Tuesday May 7th and Thursday May 9th will be each of the other competing acts at Eurovision 2024 will be on stage singing to impress the continent and beyond. Constraints were put on this running order from the Allocation Draw in January, which had already decided in which Semi Final, and which half of ea ..read more

Israeli broadcaster KAN will appear at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024. This has not been a certain outcome all season. Israel’s 22-episode-long selection show to find a Eurovision artist was originally postponed and rescheduled citing the death of two Israeli soldiers in October. By February, all was complete and 20-year-old Eden Golan had won the right to represent Israel. Israeli media reports that following Eden’s victory, the song ‘October Rain’ was first submitted as a possible Eurovision entry for Eden, followed by ‘Dance Forever’. Both, we understand, were rejected by the European Bro ..read more

This year’s Melodifestivalen final marked my 25th National Final that I have attended in person. I have been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to travel around many of the various competitions around Europe, and it’s a privilege that I am very grateful for. Most of those visits have been under an ESC Insight wing, and I can only hope that the vague attempts at educating, informing and entertaining you have been worthwhile. This article is a little memoir of my memories attending different National Finals around Europe, and, I hope, it might inspire some of you to include a National Fi ..read more

Going, Going, Gone Over the past decade, several countries have disappeared from the roster as broadcasters left the Eurovision Song Contest for various political or financial reasons. Turkey and Slovakia last appeared in 2012, although the latter could potentially return in 2025. Bosnia & Herzegovina haven’t shown up since 2016 because of financial constraints. Hungary left in 2019. Belarusian broadcaster BTRC was suspended in 2021 for breaching Eurovision and EBU rules, and the following year, the EBU decided to suspend representatives from its three Russian members, forcing them out of ..read more

The team behind 2024’s Eurovision Song Contest have announced a number of changes to the voting and presentation in Malmö. The Big Five and our hosts Sweden will perform live in the Semi Finals they are voting in. These performances will be part of the main running order of the night, mixing in their performances with those countries looking to qualify for Saturday’s Grand Final. Voting in the Grand Final will now commence as the first song starts, not as the last song finishes. And for viewers in the Rest Of The World category (ie they are in a non-participating country), they have an additio ..read more