No matter how long the buildup, the end of Eurovision Song Contest season always feels like it comes too soon. After two weeks submerged in the fan bubble, I’ve lost all sense of space and time, if the Euroclub had stayed open for another week I’d probably have suffered multiple organ failure and I genuinely can’t remember the last time I had a conversation with another human being that wasn’t related to voting stats and running orders. Clearly, this can’t go on.
And yet, my heart is already breaking at the prospect of leaving Stockholm and returning to something resembling normality. One of the reasons I regularly throw away half of my annual leave and any hope of financial stability in order to see the Contest through from start to finish is the opportunity to really live in a foreign city, even if it is through the distorted funhouse mirror that is Eurovision. From Malmö to Copenhagen to Vienna, each trip has given me memories and experiences that I’ll treasure for a lifetime.
This year has been particularly significant to me because – as I mentioned in an earlier blog – Stockholm is a city that has played a key role in my love affair with the Contest. Yes, some fans may complain about Sweden’s polished competence and dominance over the contest in recent years, but this is a country that loves Eurovision with a truly unique fervour. Coming from the cynical and detached UK, it’s near impossible not to fall for the passion and enthusiasm on display here.
Like all host cities, Stockholm’s unique culture and history offers a wealth of pleasures beyond the Eurovision Song Contest bubble.
Photo: totallystockholm.se
During my time here, I’ve spent time with friends who have made the leap and actually relocated to Stockholm full time – something that’s been my ambition since my first visit to the city way back in 2008 for that year’s Melodifestivalen finale. Hearing their stories and spending time here over the past two weeks has only strengthened my resolve to make this happen. Ironically, the cost of attending Eurovision for the past four years has played a not insignificant role in keeping this dream from becoming a reality, so I’ll have more of a stake than many in the final destination of the 2017 Contest.
I’m writing this final piece before the Saturday live show, so at time of writing next year’s host city could be anywhere from Sochi to Paris, Yerevan, Kiev or even back here in Sweden. It’s been an emotional rollercoaster of a final week, and while I’ve been remarkably lucky with my own personal favourites this year – I’m still elated about the Austrian qualification I barely dreamed to hope for on Tuesday – it’s been predictably hard to watch many of my friends and fellow pundits, plus the artists and delegates themselves who have worked so closely with us throughout this process – suffer the agony of an early exit.
That’s the game though, and like dedicated sports fans, the emotional investments we make in our favourite teams can manifest in euphoric highs and devastating lows. While some of us have cultural loyalties, the fresh batch of songs and artists we’re presented with each year affords us the rare opportunity to choose where we plant our flags with a relatively clean slate each Contest, but if anything this only intensifies the sting when Europe fails to recognise a song or artist that you’ve made a strong personal connection to.
The thrill of victory for some mixed with the agony of defeat for others can turn the Eurovision Song Contest into an emotional rollercoaster for fans and artists. Photo: eurovision.tv
Still, life goes on – for the fans and for the artists, many of whom will leave Stockholm with enhanced career opportunities and wonderful memories no matter where they fall on the scoreboard. The hardest blow for the unsuccessful semi finalists is to go through months of preparation and anticipation only to miss the opportunity to see things through to the Saturday show, but the success of Bulgaria’s Poli Genova this year is proof that there’s always a possibility for redemption.
As for the fans, the post-Eurovision lull period always requires some adjustment, but we only have to wait a few short months before the first batch of national finals roll around to kick things off all over again, not to mention the upcoming Junior Eurovision Song Contest in November, which will be sporting some interesting format changes that ESC Insight will naturally be looking over with a fine tooth comb.
Frankly, a little time away from Eurovision is healthy too. With that in mind I look forward to a couple of extra days in Stockholm, not only so that I can avoid the chilling prospect of hotel checkouts and international flights mere hours after staggering blearily out of the EuroClub, but also so that I can enjoy the city from the perspective of a regular tourist, undistracted by rehearsal analysis, blogging deadlines and schlager singalongs. Wherever we do end up next year, I look forward to doing it all again with the rest of my ESC Insight compatriots and the many friends I’ve made along the way, but until then, it’s time for a much-needed break. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, after all…