ESC Covers decide today to ALAN TURBERY from AUSTRALIA to is a true Eurovision collector. Although a big fan and collector of ABBA items, it is not all he has. He wrote a few days ago the following: Continue reading ALAN TURBERY – A EUROVISION AND MUSIC COLLECTOR
Tag Archives: Malmo
LONELY PLANET COMPETITION – ENTRY NUMBER THIRTEEN
WORST AND BEST EUROVISION by Kyle Woods from the United States of America
As a disclaimer, since I’m participating in judging the competition, I will withdraw myself from eligibility for the prize, but it’s still fun to write a short note.
My best and worst Eurovision experiences…hmm…where to start. I have been to six Eurovisions now, starting in Düsseldorf and continuing through Stockholm.
Let’s start with the worst experience to get it out of the way. It was probably Copenhagen. The whole show felt cheap and poorly run. Having the show on a tiny island out of town accentuated transportation problems and really made me feel unwelcome in the city. Plus the Danes were homicidal with their bicycles. But let’s not dwell on the negative!
But I think my favorite experience from a travel perspective was, somewhat surprisingly, Malmo in 2013. The city was so small that I was constantly running into people I knew. Other cities like Vienna and Stockholm perhaps had more to offer in terms of things to see and do, but Malmo had its own charm and offered much more in terms of interactions with other fans.
I think my favorite thing I did in Malmo was a little river boat tour. It was just a cruise through the canals, and nothing particularly special. However, we happened to be there on the day they were doing a Balkan Music Party. You may not know that I spent a good portion of my life living in the Balkans (primarily in Croatia) so that music and those languages feel like home to me. I was also with a couple fans who live in Switzerland but are originally from Croatia, Serbia, and Kosovo. So it was a Balkan group on this little Balkan music cruise, and we just had a blast. We sang and danced and made utter fools of ourselves, rocking with Riva and longing for Dzuli.
It was a simple diversion, but it put a sort of stamp of approval on that whole Eurovision week, which was spent in many small memorable moments.
LONELY PLANET COMPETITION – ENTRY NUMBER NINE
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.
VALENTINA MONETTA – 2013 PROMO SINGLE
Here is the second Valentina promo CD, the one from the 2013 Eurovision in Malmo