As 2025 draws to a close, Ewan Spence settles back into a high wingbacked chair, pours out a toast to the New Year, and takes his own look back at the shadow cast over the Eurovision Song Contest in 2025.

On Saturday December 13th France’s Lou Deleuze won Junior Eurovision 2025 with the song ‘Ce monde’. ESC Insight’s Ben Robertson does a deep dive into the voting from the 23rd edition of Junior Eurovision to find the stories hidden within the statistics.

No countries from anywhere north of Poland are taking part in Junior Eurovision, despite this region being one of Eurovision's most popular areas. Ben Robertson watches their equivalents in Sweden and Denmark to work out what they do differently, and what Junior Eurovision should learn from them.

Phil Doré considers the options for those appalled by the recent EBU decisions regarding the Eurovision Song Contest: whether to boycott, not boycott, partially boycott, or explore alternatives.

Following the EBU's General Assembly last week, Fin Ross Russell is bringing his journey with the Eurovision Song Contest to an end. Here, he writes about his emotions, around the vote, the disappointment at the route the Song Contest is taking, and why he has to walk away from the Contest.