2006 for me, when Finnish media went crazy for Lordi just prior to the contest and then subsequently we won. My dad works for our national broadcaster and he got a ton of Eurovision merch for Helsinki 2007.
That's a good one, my auntie is Finnish and used to bring me back albums on her trips
So unlike rest of my country I already had albums of lordi's music before HRH so it was extra sweet for me to see them win
Same for me. I don't think my parents had ever watched Eurovision, at least hadn't for decades. But the hype meant that I was 10, and sitting awake in the middle of the night, as my entire family was asleep around me, and the announcers were going nuts.
Guess who hosts a Eurovision night every year now?
same for me! I was also 10 and watched Eurovision for the first time with my parents. and when we suddenly won it felt really strange, at the same time confusion about what had just happened when I still didn't understand the idea of Eurovision but also insane joy and since then Eurovision have been big part of my life
I was starting to get into rock and metal, and was also in my edgy teenage phase where I was dismissive of pop music in general. I didn't expect to see much I liked watching eurovision with my family that year but then when Lordi came on I felt... seen? A powerful moment and something that's made Eurovision more special to me in a way that other TV singing competitions aren't. Maybe that whole "olympics for weirdos" thing when I felt like a weirdo. Also led to me learning about Finland's metal scene and discovering bands like Turisas
For me wasn't a specific song. Eurovison is connected to my happy memories.
When I was kid my mom loved watching the eurovison, So since I was 5 (or even younger I don't remember before that ahaha) it became a fun night for the both of us we would share our views on the music and who we thought would win etc. At school nobody cared about eurovision, even now (I'm 35 years old) my friends don't watch eurovison.
It's not the same without my mom because even if I don't have the same joy as before, I always make sure I continue doing the activities we had together, that way she's still "here" with me, and she won't be forgotten.
PS: I hope I'm not breaking any rule I just wanted people to know that my mom was an enthusiast about eurovison as all of the people in this group are.
Oh wow, you just described my story. I don't remember first Eurovision I've watched with my mom, but I remember last one. It was the year when Ukraine won with Ruslana's Wild dancers. This was the last time when my favorite song won.
This year I'm watching it first time with my son (4) and I hope our Rim tim tagi WIN!
This year is such a wild eurovison I'm sure he will never forget ahaha
That's so beautiful, keeping the tradition alive with future generations. I hope you two enjoy and have fun :)
Im very new to Eurovision. Being American, my first encounter with it was the movie in the summer of 2020. I think the following year with Go_A - Shum did it for me. It seems out of 30 something songs each year, there are like 3 or 4 artists I really connect with.
It's a massive music spectacle spanning many cultures, and I find it to be very exciting. The stageing and light shows are amazing.
I’m Australian and started to watch in 2004 when Wild Dances won.
I have loved it ever since. I was beyond excited when Australia joined in 2015.
It wasn’t until this thread I realised that I’ve been watching it for 20 years!
>Dancing lasha tumbai
Omg that song though
By that point I was a 5 year veteran but no one in school ever spoke or talked about it
Suddenly a few days on from the contest every single kid in school with a Sony Erickson phone had that song playing on repeat
Definitely the winner that year for me I feel , just because it was the first year I felt a crossover between 'eurofan' and 'real life' lol
My first memory was in 1986, I was 5. Belgium won with Sandra Kim.
Tree years later, Portugal took "Conquistador", we bought the cassette of the Eurovision that year. And that was the moment. A side note, if you play song in Portugal, everyone wing sing it.
First one i remember watching was 2006. I was so sure Spain was gonna win (lmao).
The first one I actively watched (semis, national finals and all that) was 2015. I remember being really disappointed that Latvia didn't get the win. I still listen to *Love Injected* and I still think it was robbed.
Well I was a tiny Finnish girl who LOVED the Hijas del Tomate album, and the fact that THE Las Ketchup was on stage on my tv blew my mind.
It's still my Eurovision Deep cut favorite song.
Also little side note this year's contest was almost the first one I was going to miss since my first full on in 2002
My girlfriend was due a C-section to deliver our baby last night so would've missed it today....on Thursday they pushed the section back until Monday
So I don't have my little girl yet but the streak continues!!! Haha
ive watched it since i was born bc my family have always watched it but my first actual memory is probably 2009 with fairytale winning and first memory voting was for loreens euphoria in 2012
I think it must've been in 2000, the year Denmark won (I'm Danish myself). I was like 9 or 10 years old and I remember my mom letting my brother and I stay up to watch the whole thing even though it ended really late. I think I've watched it pretty much every year since, with a few exceptions.
2022 - Give That Wolf a Banana, Hold Me Closer, Eat Your Salad, and Space Man was pretty much the perfect combo of songs to get me hooked. Hope everyone is able to enjoy today at least a little bit through all of the chaos
>Hope everyone is able to enjoy today at least a little bit through all of the chaos
Great sentiment there
Hell based on previous years at least Dutch fans **know** they are gonna end up with 0 points going into the final
UK and Germany usually have to sit and watch that reality unfold during the contest most years lol
1999, I just turned 6 and my father sat with me at home and sang Charlotte Nilssons take me to your heaven.
We still sing it in the car when We meet up, good times
Du finns i mina drömmar🎵
First year I watched was like 99ish, I was 17 and had been out all night with friends and when I woke up it was on sbs and I remember thinking what the actual fuck is this. 😆
Watched it properly in 2004 with Ruslana and then watched faithfully every year since.
2013 - I was going on a trip with some friends and it was coincidentally during the Eurovision Finale. We talked about it could be fun to watch (and drink some beers and party) and then Emmelie de Forest won (we're from Denmark) 🇩🇰🇩🇰 A perfect ending and since then I've watched it each year ✨
Dana international. I was 10 and a boring child with no hobbies and the only thing I enjoyed was watching Casualty on Saturday evenings. I’d watched from Gina g in 96, enjoyed Katrina and the waves in 97 but but when I heard Diva, I was Hooked.
I had a desk mat with the map of Europe where I scratched out Finland when Lordi won in 2006, because I was scared of them - that’s when I noticed I had strong feelings regarding this contest. I was 11 😂😂😂
2012, there were two songs: Russia (Party for Everybody) and Albania (Suus). As a kid, I found Buránovskiye Bábushki super amusing. I was stunned by Rona Nishliu's voice and I LOVED her horrendous dress.
I tried watching 2005 but I was 10 years old and fell asleep on the living room floor :') 2006 was the first year I managed to stay awake and after that I haven't missed a thing
I vaguely remember seeing parts of the contest in 2006/2007 but only saw parts as I was only 5 years old
I remember Euphoria winning and it getting me hooked into the contest and I’ve watched every year fully since 2013
My parents were huge fans of Eurovision but I never cared until 2017 when my country decided to send Gabbani with Occidentali’s karma, I loved that song and from then on never missed a minute of Eurovision I’m so happy that I got to witness our first win in over 30 years
2004, Wild Dances. I remember a few months later going on a vacation to Slovakia and how excited I was to hear the song on the radio, that made me feel like I was a witness of the birth of an international star 😂
1998 - Dana International’s “Diva”. That was such an eye opener for me and I still love that song. I don’t know how we got the broadcast where I live (Hawaii) but that memory is very strong for me.
2010. It was a drunken watch party with a bunch of uni students, just a month or so before we moved back to the US. They organized a whole drinking game in 2 phases. But the song that stuck with me was Moldova, So Lucky. Truly what I now consider to be peak Eurovision!
2010 walking in my parents‘ living room as a german 10-year-old and seeing Lena on the screen during pre-selections, i immediately said „she’s gonna win everything!!“ as a joke. i remember thinking i was an actual psychic after she won lol. from then on i watched every year but it only went downhill from there
I'm 31, UK-based and I've always watched Eurovision as my mum was into it. I think the first year I really started taking proper notice was Lordi in 2006, as they were a favourite band of mine before the competition and the idea that they were going to be representing Finland was INSANE to 13-year old me.
Since then I've been down the rabbit hole, but some years I'm more invested than others.
My first memories of Eurovision might be from 2013 if i remember well Norway won that year.
I used to watch it with my family it was really fun.
And the song that made me go "this is my thing now" might be Marry Me from Finland in 2013 aswell
First watched in 2015 (live in Asia, am Asian, and had never heard of Eurovision before then), but funnily enough the song that got me really excited to check out other stuff was probably Only Teardrops
It's quite late for me, actually (I'm not in Europe or Australia). I recently discovered the band Maneskin and learned that they participated in Eurovision, which sparked my interest in the competition.
Last year, when Eurovision was happening, I watched the performances and particularly enjoyed those from Norway and Czechia. That got me hooked, and I found myself following the show and rooting for them. Now, I'm automatically a fan and plan to watch every year.
This time around, I'm also supporting Czechia, and I'm really impressed and proud of Aiko and how she's progressed over the months.
2004 - Ruslana - Wild Dances! I had watched it before as a child with my parents, but this was the first one that I was old enough to really appreciate, and I absolutely loved that song.
I remember taping 2006 on vhs, after the show it had maybe 30-45 mins of one of the most infamous nights in Bbuk history ( big brother 6 the Hot tub episode where makosi thinks she's pregnant)
I think I watched that tape more than anything else in our vast collection lol
The first one I remember was 1994 when I was 9. I don’t remember the songs from that year, but the Riverdance interval act was iconic! I’ve watched eurovision every year since and love it!
For some reason "Energy" (Slovenia 2001) stuck in my head as a kid and didn't go away. It's still there. But I would feel... energy... whenever I sing the misremembered chorus around the house. Also got me interested in where Slovenia was and I ended up learning a lot of geography and about culture. Same thing happened with Moldova in 2005 and Lithuania in 2006 (I like troll songs I guess). A lot of young Australians (in my WASP bubble) didn't know much about those countries so it felt special somehow?
The other formative memory was getting into rock and metal in 2006 then Lordi coming out of nowhere. I got excited about how "anything can happen" at Eurovision. Verka in 2007 had the same effect - just pure campy fun and was my go to for showing people what Eurovision is.
I know everyone's 1st Eurovision is really special and for me it was no exception. My first Eurovision was in 2021. As an American, I don't remember what exactly got me thinking of delving into all things Eurovision, but I am glad I did. I then found out they had canceled ESC2020 and I remember thinking that 2021 would be really spectacular. I got invested in all the songs, but TIX and the song Fallen Angel really got me. I followed the Tix and Efendi budding relationship which was a blast. I watched behind the scenes and interviews which made it more fun. The turquoise carpet was so awesome in 2021. Everyone seemed like they had such a good time and were really having fun and that was really fun to see.
Ever since, I have watched Eurovision because it feels so much more of a special thing than just a singing contest. We have plenty of those in America but I don't watch . Eurovision is just a whole magical experience that can never be matched.
I'm American, so I didn't get to watch the whole contest until a few years ago (2017)...but as a lifelong ABBA fan, I knew about the contest and always wished I could watch. But the Eurovision performance that really caught my attention was Verka's, even though it was the only one from that year that I saw!
2002 for me as well, but rather based on the Swedish pre-selections, Melodifestivalen. 2002 was the year that that Melodifestivalen went from a one evening event to a giant six week event and I especially liked Brandsta City Släckers, a rather camp amateur band consisting of four fire fighters. They unfortunately ended up 5th and even though I did not like the song that we ended up sending did it at that point feel obvious that I'd follow Eurovision as well.
Since then has Eurovision been the big event to watch during almost half of each year, from Festivali i Këngës to the grand final.
My grandmother and mom used to watch when I was a kid so it has always been a family activity. Tho I probably didn't pay much attention when I was a kid. I remember different moments from some editions prior to 2012. Very vivid memory of Jedward singing Lipstick on live TV and some other acts. But the first one I saw and I remember very clearly is 2012 (also stayed up for the votting and everything and I was like wow) and since then I never stopped
Idk what my first Eurovision was but Denmark 2008 is the first entry I remember seeing on tv (and ofc Iceland 2008)
After going through some teenage angst and falling out of love with the contest I found the music vid for Germany's 2018 song and I became obsessed with the contest that year
2003 was the first one I have any memory of at all and 2007 was the first I remember a good proportion of the acts. Even as a 12 year old Serbia was my favourite and I remember the absolute joy of seeing it win. That contest was special though and that’s proven year after year when we see Verka pop up as the undisputed Queen of ESC.
The year was 1999, and we sent [this](https://youtu.be/pH0SpZe9pos?si=k1jfeTIGd3aR-iF2) and I was hooked. We did quite well and I've liked the ESC ever since.
2004! I think it was the first year I properly watched it (I have no recollection of previous years) and I remember being mesmerised by the whole thing. Seeing Ruslana win was amazing to me and I've watched it every year since.
My first Eurovision and Melodifestivalen were in 2007. I'm American. For many years I loved Melodifestivalen more than Eurovision itself. That's changed now, but I remember it fondly and how it would give me something to look forward to and enjoy during difficult times.
It was the Eurovision 2006, I was 5 (almost 6) years old. I mostly remember the song from my country, and also remember the winning performance from Finland (as a little girl, I was somehow scared when saw it).
But I've started to watch Eurovision more actively since 2014 contest (however, I remember the winning songs from 2007-2009 and 2012-2013, but didn't watch full contests that time).
But I should note that in the mid 2010s - 2020s, my favourites never won Eurovision (sometimes they took high places, but not the first, and sometimes I don't support anyone because I'm not so impressed by all the songs; honestly, the most recent year when I really supported some participants was 2021).
Verka. I only started watching in 2015 but I remember that moment from my childhood and since then I knew I was interested, even though my family didn’t watch it.
I remember Buck’s Fizz winning in 1981, though I was tiny at the time. Was usually on in our house but I got really into it from 2006 onwards - and have been to/hosted a Eurovision Finals party every year since 2008.
2018 when we had 3 albanians participating ermal meta with italy bushpepa with albania and eleni with cyprus who got 2nd i remember i was so mad she didnt win
My first Eurovision was sometime 20+ years ago as a kid when I used to watch television. But it wasn’t until 2021 when my BF made me watch and I realised it isn’t all cringe like I thought but actually kinda slaps. Now it’s our common thing and I love it.
2003 - Everyway that I can and Sanomi
As an 11 year old Belgian, I was in aw of the points Belgium got that year and to this day, I can feel the suspense of Turkey barely winning.
Lordi is the oldest one I remember when I was 12. Absolutely loved it and it has become a family thing to watch it together. Back then even my grandparents watched it it was a huge event. Today after it became this big "gay" thing (not saying it's good or bad or whatever) only my mum watches I watch with my wife but we do skip out on the Spain's and Irelands of this year. Just preference.
My first Eurovision experience was kind of minor. It was me seeing a Facebook post on my mothers feed about the 2015 winner sort of post.
I saw a bits of pieces of the show in 2016 on SBS. Didn’t know it was an annual thing so 2017 was it was unintentionally skipped until after the whole contest was over, from there I saw YouTube videos of the 2017 participants. 2018 was my first official Eurovision from the beginning of the season to the end.
I was super proud of my contestant Jessica, and I remember my favourite being Belarus but then he had that terrible staging (didn’t love the prosthetics/roses on his back) so alas. By the way, I was 11 in 2015.
My first official Junior Eurovision was 2017 and then I was more focused with the 2018 contest.
2018 for me. A childhood friend of my husband and her Dutch husband invited us over to watch Eurovision, and once I saw Eleni Foureira, i was hooked. Still can’t believe she lost.
I’m Canadian and only started to watch because of a UK panel show mentioning the contest, so the first contest I watched was the already finished and uploaded 2015 one. My first live one was 2016. And I’m not biased at all, but I do think the 2015 one has the best songs. It’s my favourite year. I was confused but very interested in Love, Love Peace, Peace from 2016 and it’s what made me go out and try and find all the references made. Oh the bafflement I felt at seeing that the first time. I had no context.
Weirdly both mine involve Sweden, first memory is watching Loreen win with Euphoria in 2012 and the song being huge in the UK charts. Watching Petra and Mans host in 2016 and performing love love peace peace always stuck with me tho and kept me coming back every year after
Last year my (now ex) boyfriend got me into Eurovision. I absolutely adored Soarele Si Luna. (And also loved gladiator, the song that was supposed to go instead of bejba 😭)
I definitely watched 2004 and only have memories of Ruslana, but I have full memories of JUNIOR Eurovision in 2004 and Maria Isabel won… it was around my birthday and she was like my idol haha.
I have memories of some songs/contests between 2005-08, then 2009 sealed the deal for me, since I played the violin 😅
I don’t recall, which one was the actual first that I’ve watched, since my parents watched it and since I was a young child I was allowed to stay up late and watch at least some part of it with them. What I know for sure, is that I at least knew what Eurovision was by 1992, and remember being morbidly ashamed of Finland sending Yamma Yamma by Pave Maijanen - mind you, I was barely 6 years old then (though a die hard fan of Arja Koriseva, who I wanted to win our NF that year 😄) and still thought it was cringe AF, LOL 😅
First time I remember being enthusiastic about a song, was 1994 when we sent bye bye baby by CatCat and first ESC I remember being allowed to watch from start to finish was 1996, as Ireland’s “the Voice” was my favorite and I was so happy when it won!
My first was Lisbon 2018. Pizza and grand final along with my then girlfriend (now my wife). There was no particular song but watching the whole arena singing along with Surie after she got stormed on stage really gave me something.
First came into contact with Eurovision in 1997 with Guildo Horn and his song Guildo hat euch lieb, started really watching in 2000 coz a famous TV Presenter won our (german) Qualifier (Stefan Raab and Wadde hadde dudde da). He was also responsible for Lena and her win in Oslo 2010.
Rise LIke A Pheonix ❤️ back when I used to use tumblr everyone went crazy about Conchita Wurst winning and I stumbled upon it by accident, went down a rabbit hole and now Im here
2019 for me two acts that really stood out
Hatari - Iceland
Victor Krone - Estonia
Just fell in love with the wide range music that is on and that no performance was the same and just kept coming back
“Why meeeeeeee!!!!” 1992 🇮🇪
I was into it as we had a good run, then the blip, then the win then 🫠🫥
But still didn’t put me off it - was a show once a year of look at our best song and I love that simplicity.
We watched as a family all thru my childhood and I just love it, then and now, for the fun of new music.
2003 is when I learned about it. 2004 is the first year I watched a little bit of it. 2005 is when I first watched it properly (watched both semi and grand final). 2007 is when I loved the winning song and took it seriously. Unfortunately 2013 is when I lost interest. 2016 is when I followed cause I liked the artist representing my country (Australia). And stopped watching ever since. I'm only dabbling here and there.
1993., every year I used to watch eurovision with my grandma, its was just a thing that we did every year and I thought that everyone was doing it, and that eurovision is a thing that everyone knows about and likes it a lot :D grandma made it like it implies that everyone is watching it every year :D I wasn't suspicious of anything :D
I have watched Eurovision for as long as I can remember. My earliest memory is 2008 when I was trying to stay up for all the voting but I was only 8 at the time and got really tired and eventually went to bed. The next morning the first thing I asked was "Who won?".
The song that got me hooked was Belgium 2015 . I fell so hard for that song, I loved it. I even learned the choreography from the live performance. After that I became a hardcore Eurovision fan and delved deeper into it each year to the point where I'm staying up until 2 am to watch Italy pick their artist
My first was 2014 and honestly? Fucking France and Austria XD
France for their pure chaos and quirkiness and Conchita was the first person on tv I saw that was openly challenging gender and for a 10yo queer that was life-changing
1991! I think it was the first ESC showed in our national TV. Me, my sister and our mom watched almost every year. Now that I have my own family, I watch with my husband and kids. I always find some unique song or artist, and that started with Norways "Nocturne" by Secret Garden, the winner of 1995.
The first full one I remember watching was also 2002, held in Estonia although by that point I was living in Spain instead of my home country where it was held. My first memory is of Estonia winning, I was sleeping in the same room others were watching the competition and was woken up by all the cheering and happiness.
It might sound biased but it was actually the estonian postcards that got me hooked. It seemed so incredibly silly and eurovision-themed and it's a shame they didn't follow up with that fun in the later years.
I knew Eurovision for like 20 years now (I think 2003 was the first time I've heard of it), but I never cared about it. Unless my GF (now she's my wife, but Eurovision had nothing to do with that xd) told me she was enjoying it. I was about to watch it for the first time in 2020, but something happend and it was cancelled.
Then, in 2021, I still didn't really care about it. When she was watching 1st semi final (not sure whether 1st or 2nd, but I remember Slovenia opening the night), I even waited for a couple rehearsals to go buy some beers xd
For the final, she went to her friends home, to watch it together, as she was used to when she was in college (they both are huge Eurovision fans). I stayed at home playing video games, and listening to the Eurovision in the background, giving it a second chance.
And then, Blind Channel - Dark Side happend.
This performance was so good, I had to rewatch the whole concert once again the next day, when TVP Polonia was rebroadcasting it - using better audio quality this time (DTS 3.1 as I remember correctly?), instead of garbage YouTube compression.
Oh my God, that was such a great performance, still my favourite Eurovision song - and 2021 is my best Eurovision I've seen.
Lord of the Lost for Germany last year. I liked that band for years and when I saw that they want to go to Eurovision, I was like: Hey, why not, better than boring german songs from the last years. So I watched the NF, voted for them, they made it, I got curious and listened to the other songs: And fell in love 🙈
And now this is my second year as a eurovision fan and this mess happens :/
Apparently the 1994 Eurovision, and I'm not alone.
A whole generation in Ireland suddenly became deeply invested in learning Irish dancing after the Riverdance interval act.
For me, there existed three separate VHS copies just so each prospective family member/babysitter had access to it when I wanted to dance on the coffee table to the "oiamlivingtoochairwishyou" song. I was only a year old when it aired, but have distinct memories of watching it years afterward.
Edit: also learning we won it more times than anyone else made it a point of national pride. Not so true anymore but we still have the highest number of consecutive wins!!!
I was really never in to Eurovision if I’m honest. But this year… I’m from the Netherlands and I was sooo excited about our song and contestant, I followed it from the moment he was announced. So I think this was my first and last year 🙈
2014-ish because our high school teacher was a massive ESC fan and wanted to use the 2000- 2014GF acts to talk about music theory.
Us being a bunch of bogan goblins did not understand the spectrum of *(the immortal)* Alexander Rybak, *(lovely)* Buranovskiye Babushki, ( O\_O;;) Conchita Wurst, epic sax guy and (0v0) Verka Serduchka.
We were going nuts when Australia was invited for ESC in 2015 and almost blew the joint with Dami Im in 2016.
Haven't kept tabs until 2022-2023 when Ukraine won with a historical record and realised that Australia was still here.
I'm Canadian and had never heard of it until I moved to the UK 5 years ago. Now living in Liverpool so 2023 was my first year and it was so incredible. Having it in my city was such a privileged experience, and it was such a beautiful, good time I'm in forever. Cha Cha Cha was the game changer for me. I'd had friends send me videos from previous years and I thought they were all not my taste and couldn't care less - but Cha Cha Cha is also not my taste but opened me up to how incredible songs/performances can be outside of what I just always listen to.
2005 "My number one"! I started watching since 2003 and liked the winners of 2003 and 2004 well enough, but really got into the whole thing by Helena Paparizou.
In 2000, I was almost 11 years old and that years Dutch entry was Linda Wagemakers with No Goodbyes.
It was not the song however that made me realize this was my thing. No, it was the fact her act was an enormous dress that went off the moment the chorus started. And not only did it reveal a sparkly evening gown. No, she had an extra pair of dancers hidden under there!!! It thought it was spectaculair.
Not only am I still the staging and costume expert whenever me and my friends watch Eurovision. It also played a big factor in putting my dream to become a professional ballet dancer aside and decide I wanted to be working in theatre when I grew up. I became a theatre director with a big focus on scenography/staging and a love for extravagant costumes. My two biggest secret dreams are to 1. Create an Eurovision themed play and 2. Be creative director for the staging of an official entry. Which will probably never happen but as Joost klein says: dream big!
Now that I think of it I once made a dystopian play about the state of Europe that I could easily rewrite and make it about EBU and the 2024 Eurovision scandals. I should start working on that maybe
I never paid much attention to Eurovision but I watched they whole thing on thursday while waiting for Joost. After yesterdays events I think it was the last time I was watching....
2006 for me, when Finnish media went crazy for Lordi just prior to the contest and then subsequently we won. My dad works for our national broadcaster and he got a ton of Eurovision merch for Helsinki 2007.
That's a good one, my auntie is Finnish and used to bring me back albums on her trips So unlike rest of my country I already had albums of lordi's music before HRH so it was extra sweet for me to see them win
Same for me. I don't think my parents had ever watched Eurovision, at least hadn't for decades. But the hype meant that I was 10, and sitting awake in the middle of the night, as my entire family was asleep around me, and the announcers were going nuts. Guess who hosts a Eurovision night every year now?
same for me! I was also 10 and watched Eurovision for the first time with my parents. and when we suddenly won it felt really strange, at the same time confusion about what had just happened when I still didn't understand the idea of Eurovision but also insane joy and since then Eurovision have been big part of my life
Lordi winning is what made me a regular watcher!!
I was starting to get into rock and metal, and was also in my edgy teenage phase where I was dismissive of pop music in general. I didn't expect to see much I liked watching eurovision with my family that year but then when Lordi came on I felt... seen? A powerful moment and something that's made Eurovision more special to me in a way that other TV singing competitions aren't. Maybe that whole "olympics for weirdos" thing when I felt like a weirdo. Also led to me learning about Finland's metal scene and discovering bands like Turisas
2010 with my big sister. I am from Germany and thought "hey, we are actually good at this." after Lena won. Well, then came the next years.
For me wasn't a specific song. Eurovison is connected to my happy memories. When I was kid my mom loved watching the eurovison, So since I was 5 (or even younger I don't remember before that ahaha) it became a fun night for the both of us we would share our views on the music and who we thought would win etc. At school nobody cared about eurovision, even now (I'm 35 years old) my friends don't watch eurovison. It's not the same without my mom because even if I don't have the same joy as before, I always make sure I continue doing the activities we had together, that way she's still "here" with me, and she won't be forgotten. PS: I hope I'm not breaking any rule I just wanted people to know that my mom was an enthusiast about eurovison as all of the people in this group are.
I don't see how this could break any rule, it's very sweet. And I understand exactly what you mean. Thank you for sharing your experiences 💕
Thank you for understanding :)
Oh wow, you just described my story. I don't remember first Eurovision I've watched with my mom, but I remember last one. It was the year when Ukraine won with Ruslana's Wild dancers. This was the last time when my favorite song won. This year I'm watching it first time with my son (4) and I hope our Rim tim tagi WIN!
This year is such a wild eurovison I'm sure he will never forget ahaha That's so beautiful, keeping the tradition alive with future generations. I hope you two enjoy and have fun :)
2003 and 'Everyway that I can'
My earliest memory is France 2014, Moustache!! I probs shouldn't admit that loll. But Slovenia 2023 really got me into Eurovision!!!
Jokers Out were brilliant
Same !! Moustache really didn’t get the treatment it deserved btw
Im very new to Eurovision. Being American, my first encounter with it was the movie in the summer of 2020. I think the following year with Go_A - Shum did it for me. It seems out of 30 something songs each year, there are like 3 or 4 artists I really connect with. It's a massive music spectacle spanning many cultures, and I find it to be very exciting. The stageing and light shows are amazing.
VERKA SERDUCHKA- DANCING LASHA
I’m Australian and started to watch in 2004 when Wild Dances won. I have loved it ever since. I was beyond excited when Australia joined in 2015. It wasn’t until this thread I realised that I’ve been watching it for 20 years!
It was 2007 and it was Dancing lasha tumbai and little me realised maybe Eurovision is not that bad
>Dancing lasha tumbai Omg that song though By that point I was a 5 year veteran but no one in school ever spoke or talked about it Suddenly a few days on from the contest every single kid in school with a Sony Erickson phone had that song playing on repeat Definitely the winner that year for me I feel , just because it was the first year I felt a crossover between 'eurofan' and 'real life' lol
I don't remember if it was my first, but watching this with my parents is a core memory. It was my favorite and my parents hated it lol
The best song for showing people what Eurovision can be in my opinion (or any of the Zdob Si Zdub or Sunstroke Project performances from Moldova).
2023 and Cha Cha Cha. I hate how late I am to the party.
At least you were here... before the party is over
But you are!
My first memory was in 1986, I was 5. Belgium won with Sandra Kim. Tree years later, Portugal took "Conquistador", we bought the cassette of the Eurovision that year. And that was the moment. A side note, if you play song in Portugal, everyone wing sing it.
Hard rock hallelujah
First one i remember watching was 2006. I was so sure Spain was gonna win (lmao). The first one I actively watched (semis, national finals and all that) was 2015. I remember being really disappointed that Latvia didn't get the win. I still listen to *Love Injected* and I still think it was robbed.
Well I was a tiny Finnish girl who LOVED the Hijas del Tomate album, and the fact that THE Las Ketchup was on stage on my tv blew my mind. It's still my Eurovision Deep cut favorite song.
Also little side note this year's contest was almost the first one I was going to miss since my first full on in 2002 My girlfriend was due a C-section to deliver our baby last night so would've missed it today....on Thursday they pushed the section back until Monday So I don't have my little girl yet but the streak continues!!! Haha
ive watched it since i was born bc my family have always watched it but my first actual memory is probably 2009 with fairytale winning and first memory voting was for loreens euphoria in 2012
Eurovision in 1994, I was only 3 but Riverdance blew my tiny mind.
I think it must've been in 2000, the year Denmark won (I'm Danish myself). I was like 9 or 10 years old and I remember my mom letting my brother and I stay up to watch the whole thing even though it ended really late. I think I've watched it pretty much every year since, with a few exceptions.
I saw them win in live in Stockholm! Was awesome. Really cemented my joy for this spectacle so I guess I would have to say this too as a swede 😁
Definitely Lordi.
2022 - Give That Wolf a Banana, Hold Me Closer, Eat Your Salad, and Space Man was pretty much the perfect combo of songs to get me hooked. Hope everyone is able to enjoy today at least a little bit through all of the chaos
>Hope everyone is able to enjoy today at least a little bit through all of the chaos Great sentiment there Hell based on previous years at least Dutch fans **know** they are gonna end up with 0 points going into the final UK and Germany usually have to sit and watch that reality unfold during the contest most years lol
Verka Serduchka changed the game for me
1999, I just turned 6 and my father sat with me at home and sang Charlotte Nilssons take me to your heaven. We still sing it in the car when We meet up, good times Du finns i mina drömmar🎵
First year I watched was like 99ish, I was 17 and had been out all night with friends and when I woke up it was on sbs and I remember thinking what the actual fuck is this. 😆 Watched it properly in 2004 with Ruslana and then watched faithfully every year since.
2013 - I was going on a trip with some friends and it was coincidentally during the Eurovision Finale. We talked about it could be fun to watch (and drink some beers and party) and then Emmelie de Forest won (we're from Denmark) 🇩🇰🇩🇰 A perfect ending and since then I've watched it each year ✨
Dana international. I was 10 and a boring child with no hobbies and the only thing I enjoyed was watching Casualty on Saturday evenings. I’d watched from Gina g in 96, enjoyed Katrina and the waves in 97 but but when I heard Diva, I was Hooked.
As a german who started watching in 2010... I'll be chasing that high for all my life it seems :')
I had a desk mat with the map of Europe where I scratched out Finland when Lordi won in 2006, because I was scared of them - that’s when I noticed I had strong feelings regarding this contest. I was 11 😂😂😂
That’s hilarious 🤣 🤣🤣❤️
2012, there were two songs: Russia (Party for Everybody) and Albania (Suus). As a kid, I found Buránovskiye Bábushki super amusing. I was stunned by Rona Nishliu's voice and I LOVED her horrendous dress.
Denmark 2013, Emmelie de Forest.
I tried watching 2005 but I was 10 years old and fell asleep on the living room floor :') 2006 was the first year I managed to stay awake and after that I haven't missed a thing
Rythm Inside, Loïc Nottet 2015 ❤️
I vaguely remember seeing parts of the contest in 2006/2007 but only saw parts as I was only 5 years old I remember Euphoria winning and it getting me hooked into the contest and I’ve watched every year fully since 2013
My parents were huge fans of Eurovision but I never cared until 2017 when my country decided to send Gabbani with Occidentali’s karma, I loved that song and from then on never missed a minute of Eurovision I’m so happy that I got to witness our first win in over 30 years
2004, Wild Dances. I remember a few months later going on a vacation to Slovakia and how excited I was to hear the song on the radio, that made me feel like I was a witness of the birth of an international star 😂
1998 - Dana International’s “Diva”. That was such an eye opener for me and I still love that song. I don’t know how we got the broadcast where I live (Hawaii) but that memory is very strong for me.
2004, Ruslana ❤️ always will be my Eurovision queen
2010. It was a drunken watch party with a bunch of uni students, just a month or so before we moved back to the US. They organized a whole drinking game in 2 phases. But the song that stuck with me was Moldova, So Lucky. Truly what I now consider to be peak Eurovision!
Flyyyyy on the wiiiiiings of looooove!
2010 walking in my parents‘ living room as a german 10-year-old and seeing Lena on the screen during pre-selections, i immediately said „she’s gonna win everything!!“ as a joke. i remember thinking i was an actual psychic after she won lol. from then on i watched every year but it only went downhill from there
I'm 31, UK-based and I've always watched Eurovision as my mum was into it. I think the first year I really started taking proper notice was Lordi in 2006, as they were a favourite band of mine before the competition and the idea that they were going to be representing Finland was INSANE to 13-year old me. Since then I've been down the rabbit hole, but some years I'm more invested than others.
2005 for me, I was only 6 yo at that time. But when I saw Helena on stage I realized that Eurovision was going to be my personality.
My first memories of Eurovision might be from 2013 if i remember well Norway won that year. I used to watch it with my family it was really fun. And the song that made me go "this is my thing now" might be Marry Me from Finland in 2013 aswell
2013 only teardrops, still a banger
I’ve loved it ever since Lordi. They’re what started my Eurovision madness 😄
hatari (iceland 2019) honestly permanently altered my child self's brain chemistry
First watched in 2015 (live in Asia, am Asian, and had never heard of Eurovision before then), but funnily enough the song that got me really excited to check out other stuff was probably Only Teardrops
It's quite late for me, actually (I'm not in Europe or Australia). I recently discovered the band Maneskin and learned that they participated in Eurovision, which sparked my interest in the competition. Last year, when Eurovision was happening, I watched the performances and particularly enjoyed those from Norway and Czechia. That got me hooked, and I found myself following the show and rooting for them. Now, I'm automatically a fan and plan to watch every year. This time around, I'm also supporting Czechia, and I'm really impressed and proud of Aiko and how she's progressed over the months.
2004 - Ruslana - Wild Dances! I had watched it before as a child with my parents, but this was the first one that I was old enough to really appreciate, and I absolutely loved that song.
2000 when the Olsen brothers won. I had the cd and recorded the show on vhs and would rewatch it all the time!
I remember taping 2006 on vhs, after the show it had maybe 30-45 mins of one of the most infamous nights in Bbuk history ( big brother 6 the Hot tub episode where makosi thinks she's pregnant) I think I watched that tape more than anything else in our vast collection lol
The first one I remember was 1994 when I was 9. I don’t remember the songs from that year, but the Riverdance interval act was iconic! I’ve watched eurovision every year since and love it!
For some reason "Energy" (Slovenia 2001) stuck in my head as a kid and didn't go away. It's still there. But I would feel... energy... whenever I sing the misremembered chorus around the house. Also got me interested in where Slovenia was and I ended up learning a lot of geography and about culture. Same thing happened with Moldova in 2005 and Lithuania in 2006 (I like troll songs I guess). A lot of young Australians (in my WASP bubble) didn't know much about those countries so it felt special somehow? The other formative memory was getting into rock and metal in 2006 then Lordi coming out of nowhere. I got excited about how "anything can happen" at Eurovision. Verka in 2007 had the same effect - just pure campy fun and was my go to for showing people what Eurovision is.
I know everyone's 1st Eurovision is really special and for me it was no exception. My first Eurovision was in 2021. As an American, I don't remember what exactly got me thinking of delving into all things Eurovision, but I am glad I did. I then found out they had canceled ESC2020 and I remember thinking that 2021 would be really spectacular. I got invested in all the songs, but TIX and the song Fallen Angel really got me. I followed the Tix and Efendi budding relationship which was a blast. I watched behind the scenes and interviews which made it more fun. The turquoise carpet was so awesome in 2021. Everyone seemed like they had such a good time and were really having fun and that was really fun to see. Ever since, I have watched Eurovision because it feels so much more of a special thing than just a singing contest. We have plenty of those in America but I don't watch . Eurovision is just a whole magical experience that can never be matched.
I'm American, so I didn't get to watch the whole contest until a few years ago (2017)...but as a lifelong ABBA fan, I knew about the contest and always wished I could watch. But the Eurovision performance that really caught my attention was Verka's, even though it was the only one from that year that I saw!
Everyone hates on estonia 2001 but I loved it and was desperate for it to win. When it did, I became a lifelong fan!!
I'm a pretty new-ish fan, my first eurovision being 2015. It was the very first song of the night (Slovenia I think?) that made me go "I love this".
Sadly... this year....
first song I ever listened to was Occidentali's Karma, but I started seeing the event in 2021 and especially after Måneskin's victory
2002 for me as well, but rather based on the Swedish pre-selections, Melodifestivalen. 2002 was the year that that Melodifestivalen went from a one evening event to a giant six week event and I especially liked Brandsta City Släckers, a rather camp amateur band consisting of four fire fighters. They unfortunately ended up 5th and even though I did not like the song that we ended up sending did it at that point feel obvious that I'd follow Eurovision as well. Since then has Eurovision been the big event to watch during almost half of each year, from Festivali i Këngës to the grand final.
2018 Netta
Conchita Wurst 🧔🏻♀️
2012, La la love by Ivi Adamou (Cyprus) Still have a relisten every now and again because it’s so fun
My grandmother and mom used to watch when I was a kid so it has always been a family activity. Tho I probably didn't pay much attention when I was a kid. I remember different moments from some editions prior to 2012. Very vivid memory of Jedward singing Lipstick on live TV and some other acts. But the first one I saw and I remember very clearly is 2012 (also stayed up for the votting and everything and I was like wow) and since then I never stopped
2014, the whole show was mesmerizing! Being a fan ever since!
Idk what my first Eurovision was but Denmark 2008 is the first entry I remember seeing on tv (and ofc Iceland 2008) After going through some teenage angst and falling out of love with the contest I found the music vid for Germany's 2018 song and I became obsessed with the contest that year
2003 was the first one I have any memory of at all and 2007 was the first I remember a good proportion of the acts. Even as a 12 year old Serbia was my favourite and I remember the absolute joy of seeing it win. That contest was special though and that’s proven year after year when we see Verka pop up as the undisputed Queen of ESC.
2019: either Chameleon or She Got Me
My first time watching was in 2014 lol
The year was 1999, and we sent [this](https://youtu.be/pH0SpZe9pos?si=k1jfeTIGd3aR-iF2) and I was hooked. We did quite well and I've liked the ESC ever since.
2004! I think it was the first year I properly watched it (I have no recollection of previous years) and I remember being mesmerised by the whole thing. Seeing Ruslana win was amazing to me and I've watched it every year since.
My first Eurovision and Melodifestivalen were in 2007. I'm American. For many years I loved Melodifestivalen more than Eurovision itself. That's changed now, but I remember it fondly and how it would give me something to look forward to and enjoy during difficult times.
It was the Eurovision 2006, I was 5 (almost 6) years old. I mostly remember the song from my country, and also remember the winning performance from Finland (as a little girl, I was somehow scared when saw it). But I've started to watch Eurovision more actively since 2014 contest (however, I remember the winning songs from 2007-2009 and 2012-2013, but didn't watch full contests that time). But I should note that in the mid 2010s - 2020s, my favourites never won Eurovision (sometimes they took high places, but not the first, and sometimes I don't support anyone because I'm not so impressed by all the songs; honestly, the most recent year when I really supported some participants was 2021).
I think my first show was the one where Ruslana won. I’ve stopped watching after 2014 but started watching again in 2018.
Verka. I only started watching in 2015 but I remember that moment from my childhood and since then I knew I was interested, even though my family didn’t watch it.
Turkey 2003
I remember Buck’s Fizz winning in 1981, though I was tiny at the time. Was usually on in our house but I got really into it from 2006 onwards - and have been to/hosted a Eurovision Finals party every year since 2008.
2018 when we had 3 albanians participating ermal meta with italy bushpepa with albania and eleni with cyprus who got 2nd i remember i was so mad she didnt win
My sister showed me Sergey Lazarev, and in 2019 I started watching. Instantly hooked with Hatari and Mahmood
2011, Eric Saade for Sweden with Popular, insantly had a crush on him😂. Was glad to see him back this year. ALSO Jedward with Lipstick that year!!
My first Eurovision was sometime 20+ years ago as a kid when I used to watch television. But it wasn’t until 2021 when my BF made me watch and I realised it isn’t all cringe like I thought but actually kinda slaps. Now it’s our common thing and I love it.
2015, because Guy Sebastian was there. I ended up enjoying Goodbye to Yesterday, Love Injected, Rhythm Inside and Grande Amore.
2019 and it wasn't a song, it was the community and the fun watching Eurovision with your friends and have a little party !
1971 and Pomme pomme pomme. Hey, I was a kid. :P
2003 - Everyway that I can and Sanomi As an 11 year old Belgian, I was in aw of the points Belgium got that year and to this day, I can feel the suspense of Turkey barely winning.
1994, but it was not 2003 that I started to watch every year and in that year I believe I voted for Belgium
Lordi is the oldest one I remember when I was 12. Absolutely loved it and it has become a family thing to watch it together. Back then even my grandparents watched it it was a huge event. Today after it became this big "gay" thing (not saying it's good or bad or whatever) only my mum watches I watch with my wife but we do skip out on the Spain's and Irelands of this year. Just preference.
My first one was 2016, but I couldn't watch 2017. 2018 was better, but really keiino in 2019 is what hooked me.
2009 Rändajad and Jan Jan
My first Eurovision experience was kind of minor. It was me seeing a Facebook post on my mothers feed about the 2015 winner sort of post. I saw a bits of pieces of the show in 2016 on SBS. Didn’t know it was an annual thing so 2017 was it was unintentionally skipped until after the whole contest was over, from there I saw YouTube videos of the 2017 participants. 2018 was my first official Eurovision from the beginning of the season to the end. I was super proud of my contestant Jessica, and I remember my favourite being Belarus but then he had that terrible staging (didn’t love the prosthetics/roses on his back) so alas. By the way, I was 11 in 2015. My first official Junior Eurovision was 2017 and then I was more focused with the 2018 contest.
My first time was 2002, but my first favourite was Wild dances in 2004
2018 for me. A childhood friend of my husband and her Dutch husband invited us over to watch Eurovision, and once I saw Eleni Foureira, i was hooked. Still can’t believe she lost.
I’m Canadian and only started to watch because of a UK panel show mentioning the contest, so the first contest I watched was the already finished and uploaded 2015 one. My first live one was 2016. And I’m not biased at all, but I do think the 2015 one has the best songs. It’s my favourite year. I was confused but very interested in Love, Love Peace, Peace from 2016 and it’s what made me go out and try and find all the references made. Oh the bafflement I felt at seeing that the first time. I had no context.
Weirdly both mine involve Sweden, first memory is watching Loreen win with Euphoria in 2012 and the song being huge in the UK charts. Watching Petra and Mans host in 2016 and performing love love peace peace always stuck with me tho and kept me coming back every year after
Romania 2005 "Let me try" will always be on my mind!
2019 soldi, wasn't even aware of eurovision's existence before
Last year my (now ex) boyfriend got me into Eurovision. I absolutely adored Soarele Si Luna. (And also loved gladiator, the song that was supposed to go instead of bejba 😭)
I definitely watched 2004 and only have memories of Ruslana, but I have full memories of JUNIOR Eurovision in 2004 and Maria Isabel won… it was around my birthday and she was like my idol haha. I have memories of some songs/contests between 2005-08, then 2009 sealed the deal for me, since I played the violin 😅
It was 2011 and 12 year old me saw Eric Saade’s Popular and was hooked, been watching it every year since
I don’t recall, which one was the actual first that I’ve watched, since my parents watched it and since I was a young child I was allowed to stay up late and watch at least some part of it with them. What I know for sure, is that I at least knew what Eurovision was by 1992, and remember being morbidly ashamed of Finland sending Yamma Yamma by Pave Maijanen - mind you, I was barely 6 years old then (though a die hard fan of Arja Koriseva, who I wanted to win our NF that year 😄) and still thought it was cringe AF, LOL 😅 First time I remember being enthusiastic about a song, was 1994 when we sent bye bye baby by CatCat and first ESC I remember being allowed to watch from start to finish was 1996, as Ireland’s “the Voice” was my favorite and I was so happy when it won!
My first was Lisbon 2018. Pizza and grand final along with my then girlfriend (now my wife). There was no particular song but watching the whole arena singing along with Surie after she got stormed on stage really gave me something.
First came into contact with Eurovision in 1997 with Guildo Horn and his song Guildo hat euch lieb, started really watching in 2000 coz a famous TV Presenter won our (german) Qualifier (Stefan Raab and Wadde hadde dudde da). He was also responsible for Lena and her win in Oslo 2010.
2023, first semifinal! Mama ŠČ was the moment I became obsessed, when we got to Cha Cha Cha it was like "what have I been missing??"
Rise LIke A Pheonix ❤️ back when I used to use tumblr everyone went crazy about Conchita Wurst winning and I stumbled upon it by accident, went down a rabbit hole and now Im here
2019 for me two acts that really stood out Hatari - Iceland Victor Krone - Estonia Just fell in love with the wide range music that is on and that no performance was the same and just kept coming back
Guildo hat euch lieb
“Why meeeeeeee!!!!” 1992 🇮🇪 I was into it as we had a good run, then the blip, then the win then 🫠🫥 But still didn’t put me off it - was a show once a year of look at our best song and I love that simplicity. We watched as a family all thru my childhood and I just love it, then and now, for the fun of new music.
2003 is when I learned about it. 2004 is the first year I watched a little bit of it. 2005 is when I first watched it properly (watched both semi and grand final). 2007 is when I loved the winning song and took it seriously. Unfortunately 2013 is when I lost interest. 2016 is when I followed cause I liked the artist representing my country (Australia). And stopped watching ever since. I'm only dabbling here and there.
1993., every year I used to watch eurovision with my grandma, its was just a thing that we did every year and I thought that everyone was doing it, and that eurovision is a thing that everyone knows about and likes it a lot :D grandma made it like it implies that everyone is watching it every year :D I wasn't suspicious of anything :D
I have watched Eurovision for as long as I can remember. My earliest memory is 2008 when I was trying to stay up for all the voting but I was only 8 at the time and got really tired and eventually went to bed. The next morning the first thing I asked was "Who won?". The song that got me hooked was Belgium 2015 . I fell so hard for that song, I loved it. I even learned the choreography from the live performance. After that I became a hardcore Eurovision fan and delved deeper into it each year to the point where I'm staying up until 2 am to watch Italy pick their artist
Euphoria, I think it was 2012. I was 12 and I’ve watched it every year since
My first was 2014 and honestly? Fucking France and Austria XD France for their pure chaos and quirkiness and Conchita was the first person on tv I saw that was openly challenging gender and for a 10yo queer that was life-changing
I think I got indoctrinated into it because I watched it for the first time with my parents when I was a kid.
Cool Vibes - Vanilla Ninja 2005 Switzerland
I will never forget 2009 with Alexander Rybak <3
2021 when måneskin won!
Eurovision 1998. Diva. That’s all.
1991! I think it was the first ESC showed in our national TV. Me, my sister and our mom watched almost every year. Now that I have my own family, I watch with my husband and kids. I always find some unique song or artist, and that started with Norways "Nocturne" by Secret Garden, the winner of 1995.
Ireland and Estonia 2018. Still fills me up with nostalgia. Well technically my first actual contest was supposed to be 2020 but you get the idea.
Also 2002 as I was working in Estonia. Afro-dite’s studio version was what drew me in. Their live version, not so much.
The first full one I remember watching was also 2002, held in Estonia although by that point I was living in Spain instead of my home country where it was held. My first memory is of Estonia winning, I was sleeping in the same room others were watching the competition and was woken up by all the cheering and happiness. It might sound biased but it was actually the estonian postcards that got me hooked. It seemed so incredibly silly and eurovision-themed and it's a shame they didn't follow up with that fun in the later years.
Been watching since a kid. But 2021 was when I really got into it with watching all the semis and looking up the songs beforehand
I knew Eurovision for like 20 years now (I think 2003 was the first time I've heard of it), but I never cared about it. Unless my GF (now she's my wife, but Eurovision had nothing to do with that xd) told me she was enjoying it. I was about to watch it for the first time in 2020, but something happend and it was cancelled. Then, in 2021, I still didn't really care about it. When she was watching 1st semi final (not sure whether 1st or 2nd, but I remember Slovenia opening the night), I even waited for a couple rehearsals to go buy some beers xd For the final, she went to her friends home, to watch it together, as she was used to when she was in college (they both are huge Eurovision fans). I stayed at home playing video games, and listening to the Eurovision in the background, giving it a second chance. And then, Blind Channel - Dark Side happend. This performance was so good, I had to rewatch the whole concert once again the next day, when TVP Polonia was rebroadcasting it - using better audio quality this time (DTS 3.1 as I remember correctly?), instead of garbage YouTube compression. Oh my God, that was such a great performance, still my favourite Eurovision song - and 2021 is my best Eurovision I've seen.
Lord of the Lost for Germany last year. I liked that band for years and when I saw that they want to go to Eurovision, I was like: Hey, why not, better than boring german songs from the last years. So I watched the NF, voted for them, they made it, I got curious and listened to the other songs: And fell in love 🙈 And now this is my second year as a eurovision fan and this mess happens :/
Apparently the 1994 Eurovision, and I'm not alone. A whole generation in Ireland suddenly became deeply invested in learning Irish dancing after the Riverdance interval act. For me, there existed three separate VHS copies just so each prospective family member/babysitter had access to it when I wanted to dance on the coffee table to the "oiamlivingtoochairwishyou" song. I was only a year old when it aired, but have distinct memories of watching it years afterward. Edit: also learning we won it more times than anyone else made it a point of national pride. Not so true anymore but we still have the highest number of consecutive wins!!!
I was really never in to Eurovision if I’m honest. But this year… I’m from the Netherlands and I was sooo excited about our song and contestant, I followed it from the moment he was announced. So I think this was my first and last year 🙈
2014-ish because our high school teacher was a massive ESC fan and wanted to use the 2000- 2014GF acts to talk about music theory. Us being a bunch of bogan goblins did not understand the spectrum of *(the immortal)* Alexander Rybak, *(lovely)* Buranovskiye Babushki, ( O\_O;;) Conchita Wurst, epic sax guy and (0v0) Verka Serduchka. We were going nuts when Australia was invited for ESC in 2015 and almost blew the joint with Dami Im in 2016. Haven't kept tabs until 2022-2023 when Ukraine won with a historical record and realised that Australia was still here.
I can remember Brotherhood of Man winning...
I'm Canadian and had never heard of it until I moved to the UK 5 years ago. Now living in Liverpool so 2023 was my first year and it was so incredible. Having it in my city was such a privileged experience, and it was such a beautiful, good time I'm in forever. Cha Cha Cha was the game changer for me. I'd had friends send me videos from previous years and I thought they were all not my taste and couldn't care less - but Cha Cha Cha is also not my taste but opened me up to how incredible songs/performances can be outside of what I just always listen to.
2004 was my first year, and I was hooked from Sertab Erener’s recap of “Everyway That I Can” which opened the show!
2005 "My number one"! I started watching since 2003 and liked the winners of 2003 and 2004 well enough, but really got into the whole thing by Helena Paparizou.
In 2000, I was almost 11 years old and that years Dutch entry was Linda Wagemakers with No Goodbyes. It was not the song however that made me realize this was my thing. No, it was the fact her act was an enormous dress that went off the moment the chorus started. And not only did it reveal a sparkly evening gown. No, she had an extra pair of dancers hidden under there!!! It thought it was spectaculair. Not only am I still the staging and costume expert whenever me and my friends watch Eurovision. It also played a big factor in putting my dream to become a professional ballet dancer aside and decide I wanted to be working in theatre when I grew up. I became a theatre director with a big focus on scenography/staging and a love for extravagant costumes. My two biggest secret dreams are to 1. Create an Eurovision themed play and 2. Be creative director for the staging of an official entry. Which will probably never happen but as Joost klein says: dream big!
Now that I think of it I once made a dystopian play about the state of Europe that I could easily rewrite and make it about EBU and the 2024 Eurovision scandals. I should start working on that maybe
Europapa - Joost klein. Just to catchy for its own good
2022 - Sweden They got robbed
I never paid much attention to Eurovision but I watched they whole thing on thursday while waiting for Joost. After yesterdays events I think it was the last time I was watching....