It's All Coming Back To Me Now - Eurovision. How I Love Thee.

"Wanna Go To Sweden?"

By Jo Michelmore

It's that time of year again. Eurovision. How I love thee.  The whole concept appeals to me in so many ways. The strange and varied performances, the music, the dancing, the sequins, the glitter, the pyrotechnics, the bad choreography, the terrible lyrics and the sometimes awful singing, there’s so much to love. 

Last year, I drank warm beverages, ate chocolate biscuits and watched Eurovision at a friend’s house, because Eurovision should always be a social event. The winner, Sweden, was predicted by my friend and not surprisingly, they won, because well, it’s perfectly pop and perfectly Eurovision. 

During the extensive voting and counting process, my friend and I discussed how fun it would be to actually go to Eurovision, to see the glitter and sequins and all this kind of ridiculousness first hand.

 

 

When Loreen was announced as winner, a thought popped into both our heads.

“I could go to Sweden” I said.

“Yeah, I’d like Sweden” he said. 

“Wanna go to Eurovision?” I said….and the rest is now history, because this week, my beautiful friend and I hop on a plane and head to our first ever real life Eurovision experience. Excited much? Yes. Yes I am.

Imagine the things I could witness, like in 1990, when Spain’s backing track didn’t work properly so the performers, Azuca Moreno just walked off stage. Brilliant. Please let me see something like this! 

 

Or the German entrant from 1998, Guildo Horn. He’s old, he’s balding, he’s singing a song with his own name in it, he strips out of his pale blue velveteen suit mid-way through and then, when you think it can’t get better, he starts playing the bells. It’s weird, it’s Eurovision, it’s awesome. Please let me see something like this!

 

Or another German entrant, Stefan Raab, from 2000, probably the creepiest entrant I’ve seen. I just don’t know where this was going and no matter how many times I see it, I still don’t quite get it. Were they taking the piss? I can't decide. Cowboys? Sequins? Disco? Rap? What? Please let me see something like this!

 

But mostly; mostly I want to see something like In Culto, Lithuania’s entry in 2010, which is probably my second favourite entry of all time. Five boys, fake instruments delivered by a stage hand half way through and then, when you think it’s kind of average, at 2:10, things get real. Please, please, please let me see something like this! 

 

…and just in case you were wondering, yes, my favourite entry of all time is future vintage, performed only two years ago in 2011 by Eurovsion entrants that I will always have a soft spot for, Ireland. It’s Jedward and I still unashamedly love it.

 

Keep your eyes on the blog over the next couple of weeks, where you can enjoy a Eurovision review in the style we do best…text style and get yourself following itsmykindofscene on instagram, where you'll no doubetedly see some strange and interesting photos from Eurovision Sweden!