I’m really enjoying watching this Eurovision Song Contest season’s selections unfold, including the legendary deluge that was 2023’s Super Saturday, but how did I get into watching music contests on foreign TV channels?
The first Song Contest that I remember was Oslo 1996. I was nine, living in England, and Gina G was a big deal. The Contest didn’t really become something I looked forward to until it made the trip to Helsinki in 2007. I picked up an enthusiasm for it from some friends at university, and since then it stuck. I’ve tuned into May’s Grand Final almost every year since then (sorry 2010, it was me, not you. In fairness I did start in Oslo all those years ago.).
At some point I became aware of the National Final season when each broadcaster selects or reveals that year’s entry… but I was intimated. It all seemed so big. How do you navigate all that? And how much time would it all take?
The Power Of Eurovision Again
Then something happened in 2020. No not that, I mean Eurovision Again. It brought a big slice of joy to a tough year, as it did for so many in the Eurovision community. And I found that community on Twitter. Suddenly the National Finals weren’t quite so daunting a prospect. Now they were intriguing and exciting.
It probably helped that 2021’s Eurovision calendar was a bit lighter, since so many of the Rotterdam 2020 artists were re-selected for Rotterdam 2021. And it definitely helped that I love a spreadsheet, so I could keep track of all the songs.
National Final Spreadsheets (image: Harriet Robinson)
But mostly it helped that so many fans really do want to share the Song Contest. The communty sites and podcasts helped me keep track of dates and find the links to stream the song releases, and watch all of the shows. The hashtags meant I could normally find someone on Twitter who knew (or could guess!) what was going on when I couldn’t speak the language. And before I knew it, I was obsessed with watching three different countries choose their Eurovision songs all at once on a Saturday night.
National Finals are like getting to have multiple Eurovision Song Contests, over several weeks a year, but in countless different flavours. I love getting on that roller coaster – will my favourites perform well? Will someone surprise me? Will the fan favourite win? What will go wrong?
It didn’t take long for me to fall in love with a song and watch it languish in its country’s Final. I was taken by surprise by a beautiful Albanian ballad – ‘Më Mbron‘ by Xhesika Polo. The song intrigued me from the start (I listened to it five times on the day I first heard it!) and Xhesika’s warm voice full of emotion touched my heart. Before long I was rooting for her to smash Festival I Kenges 59, and while she gave a beautiful performance, she didn’t even make the podium. The hardest thing was seeing so little love from other fans for it – the first of many lessons that taste is so personal. I couldn’t really understand why so many people were passing over this beauty, with its gentle swell and poignant vocals. I still listen to the song at least once a week and I still love it every time.
Almost Eurovision
National Final staging might not be quite so spectacular, and song quality might be even more variable, but for me, that’s part of the fun. It’s extra exciting when there’s a gem hidden away. And it’s extra surprising to find that other fans are celebrating a song you’ve snubbed.
Sometimes they’ve even changed my mind about them.
But it’s not just changed what music I listen to and who I follow on Twitter. I’ve started to learn a language in the vain hope that I might keep up a bit better in future, and (inspired by some of my new favourite artists) I’ve tried new ways to express myself through my clothes.
Of course, Måneskin went from ‘they’ll never even place at Sanremo’ to ‘they’ve gone and won Eurovision!”, yet I loved the magic in those early weeks when I devoured their music and soaked up their spirit of free self-expression. It helped me recover a sense of self-exploration that had laid dormant for several years. I absolutely love my first Måneskin-inspired purchase – my platform boots.
Maneskin inspired boots (Harriet Robinson)
It’s About The Community
Some of this I could have done with the main Eurovision Song Contest in May… but it wouldn’t be the same. Even with pre-parties in the run-up, there’s a special joy of seeing a song’s journey all the way through its National Selection to the big stage, and getting to know the artist along with it. But most of all, without following National Finals, I’d spend a lot less time with this beautiful, messy community of the Eurovision Song Contest.