Once the glitter cannons and wind machines are packed away after the big show in May, what do Eurovision fans do?
Last summer, the ESC Insight team discovered a beautiful, unspoilt and totally fictional island where where it’s somehow always early May. The sun shines daily, the temperature is comfortable, coffee and local beverages are free and plentiful but there’s a strangely restrictive policy on music imports. In order to gain access to this paradise, visitors are required to declare their eight favourite Eurovision-related songs and, co-incidentally, reveal the stories of how the Song Contest has changed their lives.
With the ESC Insight team on the ground in Lisbon, we’ll be taking the opportunity to bring you a live episode of Eurovision Castaways on May 8th, where you’ll be able to hear the stories that get edited out of the podcast and see Ellie in Customs Officer mode, putting our guests through the full paperwork.
In the 2017 off-season, we welcomed the ESC Insight team and some friends of the parish:
- Ewan goes back to the start and argues that it’s not always all about the melody.
- Lisa-Jayne takes us from Christer Björkman to Conchita.
- John Paul shares his near-death Eurovision experiences.
- Sharleen tells tales of crimes and misdemeanours involving Tim-Tams.
- Sam Ross talks flags and scruffy jazz singers.
- Jon Jacob talks music theory and obsolete VHS collections.
- John Egan reminisces about the early days of internet fandom.
- Chris Halpin has big love for the Benelux region.
- Monty Moncrieff has the biggest and best luxury yet.
- Ellie celebrates an underloved Eurovision year
Castaways Live takes place at EuroCafé (location and access details) at 2pm on May 8th (Semi Final 1 live day). The event runs during the day so all are welcome, not just EuroCafé pass holders.