Goodbye to Kyiv, but hello to a summer of discussion. Ewan Spence and Ellie Chalkley look back at the results from this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.
Eurovision Insight Podcast: The Final Daily Show From Kyiv
As the Eurovision family says goodbye to Kyiv, Ewan Spence and Ellie Chalkley take a moment to look back on the results of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Read more about Eurovision at escinsight.com.
British Academy (BAFTA) nominated broadcaster and writer Ewan Spence is the voice behind The Unofficial Eurovision Song Contest Podcast and one of the driving forces behind ESC Insight. Having had an online presence since 1994, he is a noted commentator around the intersection of the media, internet, technology, mobility and how it affects us all. Based in Edinburgh, Scotland, his work has appeared on the BBC, The Stage, STV, and The Times.
You can follow Ewan on Twitter (@ewan) and Facebook (facebook.com/ewanspence).
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This was quite the year. Thanks for your coverage.
I don’t think Portugal quite came out of nowhere, though. The signs were there. It was the strongest performer on iTunes for some time before the final and in interview after interview artists and others called Portugal their favourite.
But since Italy was so talked about and Portugal went about its business quietly, combined with Portugal’s past track record, this was a victory that crept up on most people.
Its so well deserved.
I do feel sorry for the Bulgarian delegation, though. Sure, it was Bulgaria’s best-ever result, but its like how Olympic athletes detest silver and don’t mind bronze so much. Just missing out is quite a bad feeling and most years Beautiful Mess would likely have been the winning entry. The tight televote and it beating the score of last year’s winner, despite being second, is testament to that.
Also feel sorry for the UK, but to stay on topic, I’ll end with remarking that I’m looking forward to see what Portugal’s win this year shapes the entries Eurovision and the national selection get going forward.
And I agree with Ellie that the Finnish language entry from UMK was very nice.
Watching the broadcast, there was a magical moment after Salvador had performed when the camera was filming Artsvik’s reaction. You could see how touched she was by the performance and then we witnessed her wipe away a tear. I think this probably reflected how a lot of the viewing public may have felt hearing this song for the first time. I’m so happy Portugal has finally won without compromising anything of their national culture and language. It still seems surreal that they did finally get their first win, and every time I realise it’s true I smile.
I thought Ukraine did themselves proud too with the show.
Thanks to the whole team for all the podcasts this season and for keeping us all up to date with such in-depth discussions.
To Ewan, Ellie and the team, thanks for another sterling effort this year. I look forward to hearing your detailed post contest analysis.
This was quite the year. Thanks for your coverage.
I don’t think Portugal quite came out of nowhere, though. The signs were there. It was the strongest performer on iTunes for some time before the final and in interview after interview artists and others called Portugal their favourite.
But since Italy was so talked about and Portugal went about its business quietly, combined with Portugal’s past track record, this was a victory that crept up on most people.
Its so well deserved.
I do feel sorry for the Bulgarian delegation, though. Sure, it was Bulgaria’s best-ever result, but its like how Olympic athletes detest silver and don’t mind bronze so much. Just missing out is quite a bad feeling and most years Beautiful Mess would likely have been the winning entry. The tight televote and it beating the score of last year’s winner, despite being second, is testament to that.
Also feel sorry for the UK, but to stay on topic, I’ll end with remarking that I’m looking forward to see what Portugal’s win this year shapes the entries Eurovision and the national selection get going forward.
And I agree with Ellie that the Finnish language entry from UMK was very nice.
Watching the broadcast, there was a magical moment after Salvador had performed when the camera was filming Artsvik’s reaction. You could see how touched she was by the performance and then we witnessed her wipe away a tear. I think this probably reflected how a lot of the viewing public may have felt hearing this song for the first time. I’m so happy Portugal has finally won without compromising anything of their national culture and language. It still seems surreal that they did finally get their first win, and every time I realise it’s true I smile.
I thought Ukraine did themselves proud too with the show.
Thanks to the whole team for all the podcasts this season and for keeping us all up to date with such in-depth discussions.