My first Eurovision Song Contest: Stockhölm 2016 by Enrique Lopez de Vallejo

I am a follower of the ESC since I was a child. But I have always followed it from a distance, from “my living room”. Internet and new technologies allow us to get very close to the details surrounding ESC but, after several years of all kind of difficulties, I decided to fulfill my dream.

This special journey began in January, when the Spanish broadcaster announced when and where would be chosen Spanish entry. I managed to attend the show and I could see the special atmosphere accompanies all related to ESC.

Just then I set my mind to go to Stockhölm. It was a bit late because I didn’t belong to any official fan club and, as is well known, there are a lot of difficulties to get tickets. After having contacted OGAE Row I received all the help I didn’t get from the fan club of my country. I got a mail telling me that a member of OGAE ROW, due to work commitments, couldn’t attend and how I could buy his package.

After several weeks of making arrangements, at long last, I arrived in Stockhölm. I traveled alone but, from the beginning, I could check it would be a great time. I never felt lonely. In fact, I met the first eurofan when I was trying to open my room door at the hotel. Two strangers, from Germany and Spain, who spent the evening and lived the first semi-final dress rehearsal show together, as if they knew each other for a long time.

That was the beginning of a few unforgettable days, exploring a beautiful city, meeting new people from all around the world and enjoying the ESC events. And it could say that I have “Stockholm Syndrome ” (if I may make the joke): memories come flooding in and trapping me since I got back to my routine and it is a rare day that I do not find myself humming a song of this year. I guess it is due to a long-awaited desire for going and living it. Or because it has been one of the few really good things that I have enjoyed in the recent past. I am therefore convinced this will be a turning point in my life.