Sun, music & friends – By Sascha Stolp

Before this year, I’ve always considered Malmö 2013 as my favourite Eurovision. But could never figure out why. Yes the sun was shining (surprisingly) and the Eurovision spirit was everywhere you went in the city. But it also had some of the biggest negatives, like the standing area positioned in the back behind a lot of cameras and that big bridge meaning we actually didn’t get very good views. And Baku the year before was so magical and I made so many great new friends, so why wasn’t that my favourite?

I realised that the reason Malmö was my favourite is that it was the first contest I went to where I already had a big Eurovision friendship group from the moment I arrived. You couldn’t walk past the Euro Fan Cafe without being stopped by someone for a chat. You couldn’t walk through any of the town squares without running into people you knew. You’d sign up for a tour boat of the canals (a boat which just happened to play Eurovision power ballads while gently floating through the city) and you already knew half the boat before the tour began (and knew the other half by the end of the tour).

This was the Eurovision where I felt like an important part of a community. A community which was brought together by a love of music, regardless of where you were from or which song you were supporting. Before Malmö, Eurovision had been something I had attended and enjoyed. Now Eurovision was something I was a part of.