Eurovision Show

Wow! It’s the end of an era as we roll out the 250th and final edition of the show. We bow out in style with our 2024 contest contender countdown which includes the bonus points from our wider pool of Superfans, and their predictions about who will lift the crown in Malmö. Plus, we look back fondly on 5 years of the show that persuaded so many to indulge in the guilty pleasure of Eurovision!…

The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 is the 68th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It is scheduled to take place in Malmö, Sweden, following the country’s victory at the 2023 contest with the song “Tattoo” by Loreen. It is the third time that Malmö has hosted the contest.

Marko Purišić, known professionally as Baby Lasagna, is a Croatian singer-songwriter and music producer. He is set to represent Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 with the song 'Rim Tim Tagi Dim'.

Joost Klein, known mononymously as Joost, is a Dutch musician, rapper, singer and former YouTuber. He is set to represent the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 with the song 'Europapa', which became his first song to top the Dutch Single Top 100.

Nemo Mettler, known mononymously as Nemo, is a Swiss rapper, singer and musician who plays the violin, the piano and the drums.

Nemo’s 2015 EP Clownfisch reached number 95 in the Swiss charts. In 2017, Nemo released a single “Du”, which reached number 4 in Switzerland. On the second season of The Masked Singer Switzerland in 2021/2022, Nemo was unmasked as a panda and finished in fifth place.

On 29 February 2024, Nemo was announced as the Swiss representative in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 with the song “The Code”, and is scheduled to perform in the second semi-final of the contest, on 9 May.

We’ve finally reached the end of our 2024 previews as the Superfans cast their ears over the final four contest contenders. Our triple play travels take us to this years hosts Sweden for some more memories, we catch up on the weeks Eurovision News AND have something important to reveal about the show!…

Hera Björk Þórhallsdóttir is an Icelandic singer who represented Iceland in 2010 with the song 'Je ne sais quoi', where she finished 19th. She won Söngvakeppnin 2024, the Icelandic national final for Eurovision, with the song 'Við förum hærra'/'Scared of Heights' and is set to represent Iceland for a second time.

Ladaniva is a French-Armenian world music group originally from Lille. The duo consists of Armenian singer Jaklin Baghdasaryan and French multi-instrumentalist Louis Thomas. They are set to represent Armenia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 with the song 'Jako'.

Sweden has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 62 times since making its debut in 1958, missing only three contests since then (1964, 1970 and 1976). Since 1959, the Swedish entry has been chosen through an annual televised competition, known since 1967 as Melodifestivalen. At the 1997 contest, Sweden was one of the first five countries to adopt televoting. Sweden has hosted the contest six times: three times in Stockholm (1975, 2000, 2016), twice in Malmö (1992, 2013) and once in Gothenburg (1985); and is set to host for a seventh time in 2024 in Malmö.

Sweden, along with Ireland, is the most successful country in the Eurovision Song Contest, with a total of seven victories. Sweden also has the most top five results of the 21st century, with 13; in total, Sweden has achieved 26 top five results in the contest. After finishing second with Lill Lindfors and Svante Thuresson in 1966, Sweden went on to achieve its seven victories with ABBA (1974), Herreys (1984), Carola (1991), Charlotte Nilsson (1999), Loreen (2012 and 2023) and Måns Zelmerlöw (2015).

John Lundvik is a Swedish singer, songwriter, and former sprinter. He was part of the athletic team for IFK Växjö. Lundvik also has a singing and songwriter career having composed songs for films and the Wedding of Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, and Daniel Westling in 2010.

In 2018, he competed in Melodifestivalen with his song “My Turn”, finishing in third place.
He then participated again in Melodifestivalen 2019 with the song “Too Late for Love”, where he advanced directly to the final. Upon winning he went on to represent Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019, finishing in fifth place. In the same contest, he represented the United Kingdom as one of the songwriters of “Bigger than Us” performed by Michael Rice, which finished in 26th place (last).

It’s our penultimate batch of contest contenders for this years crown and our Superfans step up once again to put them through their paces! Our look back through the contest history of a specific nation takes us East to Armenia as we raid their archives, and we bring you up to date with the latest stories making the Eurovision News over the last 7 days…

Marcus & Martinus are a Norwegian dance-pop duo consisting of identical twin brothers Marcus and Martinus Gunnarsen. Since winning Melodi Grand Prix Junior in 2012, they have won numerous prizes and participated in Melodifestivalen in 2023 and 2024. They won the latter and will represent host nation Sweden in Malmö with the song 'Unforgettable'.

Marina Satti is a Greek singer, songwriter, actress and music producer. Her music combines traditional Greek, Arab, and Balkan sounds with urban elements, rhythm, and production. She is set to represent Greece at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 with the song 'Zari.'

Armenia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 15 times since making its debut in 2006, when André became the first participant representing Armenia and was the first singer from the Caucasus region to compete at Eurovision. Armenia has reached the top 10 on seven occasions, with the country’s best result in the contest being two fourth-place finishes, achieved by Sirusho with the song “Qélé, Qélé” (2008), and Aram Mp3 with “Not Alone” (2014). 2011 was the first year that Armenia failed to advance from the semi-final round. This was followed by the country withdrawing from the 2012 contest due to security concerns in the host city, Baku. In 2018 and 2019, Armenia consecutively failed to qualify from the semi-finals for the second and third time respectively.

Inga and Anush Arshakyan are an Armenian folk singing duo. In 2000, Inga and Anush entered the State Song Theater of Armenia. Both of them performed national, ethnic songs and songs written by A. Grigoryan and Anush. They sang in many cities of Armenia as soloists.

The Arshakyan Sisters were chosen by the Armenian public on 14 February 2009, to represent the country at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 to be held in Moscow, Russia, with the song “Jan Jan”. The song won a place in the Eurovision final on 16 May, winning one of ten spots from the first semi final on 12 May. They eventually finished in 10th place with 92 points. Although it was Armenia’s less successful performance in the Eurovision so far (until 2011), it gave the country a fourth successive top ten placing.

As Eurovision week draws closer, so to does the end of our review season. Will the Superfans have enough bile to see them through? Of course they will, and they savage four more entries this week. As the Grand Duchy returns to the contest, we celebrate the history of Luxembourg in our Triple Play and, as always, catch up on the biggest stories from another week of Eurovision News…

Oliver Alexander Thornton is an English singer, actor and LGBT+ activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the pop band Years & Years and is set to represent the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö with his song 'Dizzy', which marked his first release under his own name.

Marina Satti is a Greek singer, songwriter, actress and music producer. Her music combines traditional Greek, Arab, and Balkan sounds with urban elements, rhythm, and production. She is set to represent Greece at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 with the song 'Zari.'

Luxembourg has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 37 times since its debut at the first contest in 1956. The nation participated in all but one event between 1956 and 1993, only missing the 1959 contest. After finishing among the bottom seven countries in 1993, Luxembourg was relegated and prevented from competing in 1994. The nation did not return to the contest in 1995, and would make no further appearances over the next three decades. The country is set to return to the event for the first time in 31 years in 2024.

With five wins, Luxembourg is one of the contest’s most successful nations, and between 1983 and 1994 the nation jointly held the record for most contest wins by a single country. Luxembourg won the contest in 1961, with the song “Nous les amoureux” performed by Jean-Claude Pascal, in 1965, with the song “Poupée de cire, poupée de son” performed by France Gall, recorded back-to-back wins in 1972 and 1973, when the nation was represented by “Après toi” by Vicky Leandros and “Tu te reconnaîtras” by Anne-Marie David, and most recently in 1983, with the song “Si la vie est cadeau” performed by Corinne Hermès. The contest has been held in Luxembourg four times, in 1962, 1966, 1973 and 1984, all of which took place in Luxembourg City. In addition to its five wins, Luxembourg recorded two third-place finishes in 1962 and 1986, and in total has placed within the top five 13 times and within the top ten 20 times. Luxembourg’s fortunes in the contest changed in later years, with the nation’s last seven appearances resulting in four placements in the bottom five.

The band Modern Times, consisting of Simone Weis and Jimmy Martin, was the last (until 2024) participants for Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest and performed the song “Donne-moi une chance” in the 1993 contest . The song finished in 20th place with 11 points. This was to be the last entry for the Grand Duchy until 2024.

The band were Luxembourg nationals and were the last of 9 acts to have sung for their country in 37 attempts. They were backed on stage by Patrick Alessi who had provided backing vocals previously at the Eurovision Song Contest 1983 for Luxembourg and was also in the 1996 Belgian national final.

We’re two thirds of the way through this years contenders and the Superfans are relishing tearing into four more entries this week. Our triple play travels take us to the Balkans for some more memories, and we bring you up to date by wrapping up the big stories making the Eurovision News over the last few days…

Nemo Mettler, known mononymously as Nemo, is a Swiss rapper, singer and musician who plays the violin, the piano and the drums. Nemo is set to represent Switzerland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 with the song 'The Code'.

Marie-Sophie Kreissl, also known professionally as Kaleen, is an Austrian singer, dancer and choreographer. She is scheduled to represent Austria at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 with the song 'We Will Rave'.

Albania has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 19 times since its debut in 2004. Festivali i Këngës, a long-standing song contest that takes place every year in Albania since 1962, is used to select the country’s entrant for that year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Albania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time in 2004 with Anjeza Shahini placing seventh. It remained the country’s highest result in the contest until 2012, when Rona Nishliu finished fifth.

Lindita Halimi, commonly known as simply Lindita, is a Kosovo-Albanian singer and songwriter. She rose to fame after winning the sixth edition of Top Fest with “Ëndërroja”.

In 2016, she participated in the fifteenth season of American Idol. In 2017, she represented Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “World”, after winning Festivali i Këngës 55. Recognized for her powerful and versatile vocal delivery ranges from screaming to opera singing, Linda has had collaborations with Stevie Wonder in 2013 and Valerie Simpson. She has also opened for the Backstreet Boys.

Four more contenders for this years crown face off against our Superfans as they continue their reviews of all the 2024 entries. We head to Ukraine for our National Triple Play, celebrating one of the most succesful nations of the modern era at Eurovision. Plus we cherry pick and feed you the biggest stories making the Eurovision News over the last seven days..

Marko Purišić, known professionally as Baby Lasagna, is a Croatian singer, songwriter and music producer. He is set to represent Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 with the song 'Rim Tim Tagi Dim'.

Aleksandra Katarzyna 'Ola' Wielgomas, known professionally as Luna, is a Polish singer and songwriter. She is set to represent Poland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 with the song 'The Tower'.

Ukraine has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 18 times since making its debut in 2003. The nation has won the contest three times: in 2004 with “Wild Dances” by Ruslana, in 2016 with “1944” by Jamala, and in 2022 with “Stefania” by Kalush Orchestra, thus becoming the first country in the 21st century and the first Eastern European country to win the contest three times. Ukraine hosted the 2005 and 2017 contests in Kyiv.

Since the introduction of the semi-final round in 2004, Ukraine is the only country outside of the “Big Five” to have qualified for the final of every contest they have competed in, and has been placed outside the top-ten only six times. Ukraine has a total of eight top-five placements, with Verka Serduchka (2007) and Ani Lorak (2008) both finishing second, Zlata Ognevich third (2013), Mika Newton fourth (2011) and Go_A fifth (2021), in addition to its wins. The only countries with more top-five results in the 21st century are Sweden (13) and Russia (10). There has been suggestions that Ukraine, Sweden and Italy form a “big 3” of modern Eurovision based on their mostly top 10 results.

Tvorchi, Ukrainian for ‘creatives’, are a Ukrainian electronic music duo from Ternopil, formed in 2018 by producer Andrii Hutsuliak and vocalist Jimoh Augustus Kehinde. They have released four studio albums: The Parts (2018), Disco Lights (2019), 13 Waves (2020) and Road (2020). Winners of the National Selection for Eurovision 2023 and the YUNA Awards in 2021 and 2022.

Tvorchi represented Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 with the song “Heart of Steel”, placing sixth in the final with 243 points. Ten minutes before the duo performed at Eurovision, their hometown of Ternopil was hit by a barrage of Russian missiles, injuring two people and damaging warehouses in the city. During the voting window, the group held up a makeshift sign with ‘Ternopil’ written on it.

We’re half way through this years contest contenders, but there’s no sign of our Superfans slacking yet! They are back to pour cold water over four more hopefuls this week as we continue our journey towards Malmö. We also remember more past entries, including three from Austria in our National Triple Play aswell as catching up on the big stories making the Eurovision News…

Anna Saba Lykke Oehlenschlæger, known simply as Saba, is a Danish singer, musical theatre actress and model. She is set to represent Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 with the song 'Sand'.

Natalia Barbu is a Moldovan singer and songwriter. She is best known for representing Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song 'Fight'. She will again represent the country in 2024 with the song 'In the Middle'.

Austria has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 56 times since its debut in 1957. The country has won twice, in 1966 and 2014, and such it holds the record for the longest gap between consecutive wins — 48 years. The contest is broadcast in Austria by ORF. Vienna was the host city on both of the occasions that the contest was held in Austria, in 1967 and 2015.

Having finished sixth at the 1964 contest and fourth in 1965, Udo Jürgens won at his third attempt in 1966 with the song “Merci, Chérie”. This was Austria’s only top three result of the 20th century. Austria won again in 2014, with Conchita Wurst and “Rise Like a Phoenix”. Austria has finished last in the contest final seven times (1957, 1961, 1962, 1979, 1984, 1988 and 1991) and finished last in the semi-final in 2012. Cesár Sampson achieved Austria’s eighth top five result and second-best result of the 21st century at the 2018 contest, finishing third with the song “Nobody but You”.

Teodora Špirić, known professionally as Teya and formerly as Thea Devy, and Selina-Maria Edbauer, known professionally as Salena, are Austrian singer songwriters. Teodora Špirić was born in Vienna to Serbian parents and spent part of her childhood in Kladovo, Serbia, but later returned to Vienna with her family.

The two singers met during their participation in the Austrian talent show Starmania, following which it was announced that the pair would represent Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. Their entry, named “Who the Hell Is Edgar?”, was written at a songwriting camp in the Czech Republic and was released on 8 March 2023. The song qualified from the second semi final on 11 May for the grand final, in which it placed 15th.

This week we step up a gear and task our Superfans with four of this years contest contenders to disassemble and analyse. We also have plenty of past entries for you too, including in our National Triple play where we head back through the years and pull out some past memories from the Estonian archives. Plus, the biggest stories from this weeks Eurovision News…

Teemu Keisteri is a Finnish visual artist and DJ who is known for his stage persona Windows95man. He is set to represent Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 with the song 'No Rules!', featuring Henri Piispanen.

Angelina Mango is an Italian singer-songwriter. She won the Sanremo Music Festival 2024 with her song 'La noia', and will represent Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024.

Estonia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 28 times since making its debut in 1994. Its first appearance would have taken place in 1993 but a qualification round was installed for seven former Eastern Bloc countries hoping to make their debut in the contest, with Estonia failing to qualify. Estonia has won the contest once, in 2001.

Estonia’s first participation in 1994 was unsuccessful, finishing 24th (out of 25). Estonia went on to finish in the top eight in six out of seven contests (1996–2002), with Maarja-Liis Ilus and Ivo Linna fifth (1996), Maarja-Liis Ilus returning to finish eighth (1997), Evelin Samuel and Camille sixth (1999) and Ines fourth (2000), before Tanel Padar, Dave Benton and 2XL gave Estonia its first victory in 2001. This made Estonia the first former Soviet country to win the contest and the second eastern European country to win, after Yugoslavia in 1989. Sahlene then finished third for the hosts in Tallinn in 2002.

Since the introduction of the semi-final round in 2004, Estonia has failed to reach the final on ten occasions and has reached the top ten five times, with Urban Symphony sixth (2009), Ott Lepland sixth (2012), Elina Born and Stig Rästa seventh (2015), Elina Nechayeva eighth (2018) and Alika eighth (2023). Estonia’s total of eleven top ten results is more than any other Baltic country.

Victor Fritz-Crone, also known as Victor Crone, is a Swedish singer, guitarist and songwriter. He was born and raised in Österåker, Sweden and started playing guitar and writing songs at the age of 15. When he was 18 he moved to Los Angeles and Nashville to write songs with acclaimed artists such as Diane Warren, Desmond Child and Eric Bazilian.

On 16 February 2019, Victor Crone won the Estonian national selection Eesti Laul with the song “Storm” and he received the right to represent Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019, held in Tel Aviv, Israel. On 15 May, he qualified to the final. In the final Victor Crone placed 20th.

The countdown to May continues and the entries for Malmö are coming thick and fast. Fortunately our panel of superfans are here to sift through them all, and another three songs are under scrutiny this week. We head to Romania for our triple play meanderings as we raid another back catalogue, and get ready for a fast thrill ride as your chosen fan favourite. Plus our round up of Eurovision News from the last few days…

Gåte is a band from Trøndelag, Norway playing Norwegian folk music bred with metal and electronica. The band won Melodi Grand Prix 2024 with the song 'Ulveham' and will represent Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024.

Rafał Brzozowski is a Polish singer and television presenter. He co-hosted the 2020 Junior Eurovision Song Contest and represented Poland in 2021 in Rotterdam with the song 'The Ride', but failed to qualify to the final, finishing 14th in second semi-final with 35 points.

Romania has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 23 times since its debut in 1994, and has placed in the top ten six times. Its best results were achieved by Luminița Anghel and Sistem in 2005, and by Paula Seling and Ovi in 2010, who both finished in third place. Selecția Națională, a song contest that has been taking place every year in Romania except for 2021, has been used to select the country’s entry for the Eurovision Song Contest.

In 1993, the year before its first appearance, Romania attempted to debut in the contest, but came last in the qualifying round. After successfully joining the following year, poor placements followed until 2002, resulting in several relegations. This changed with the introduction of semi-finals to the contest in 2004, after which Romania reached the final 14 times, failing to qualify from the semi-finals in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2023, the latter finishing with no points.

Andrei-Ionuț Ursu, previously known as Wrs, is a Romanian singer-songwriter and dancer. Ursu worked as a dancer for artists such as Inna, Antonia or Carla’s Dreams and was part of the Pro TV ballet crew on shows such as Vocea României and Românii au talent.

In 2015, he started his musical career in the boyband Shot. After two years, he left the project, moved to London and began composing music. In February 2022, he released the single “Llámame”, with which he was selected to represent Romania at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022.

Three more contest contenders receive the Superfan treatment as our panel ponders the second batch of Malmö hopefuls. We’re on home turf for our National Triple Play as we delve into the UK’s Eurovision archives, and one of you opts for a very beautiful song from Cyprus as this weeks Fan Favourite. Plus our regular catch up of whats been happening in the Eurovision News…

Bambie Ray Robinson, known by their stage name Bambie Thug, is an Irish singer-songwriter. They are known to mix numerous genres in their music, coining their own term, 'ouija-pop', out of disdain for being put into one genre. Robinson is set to represent Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 after winning the Irish national final Eurosong 2024 with 'Doomsday Blue'.

Christina Metaxa is a Cypriot singer. Her brother Nikolas Metaxas was 2nd in the X-factor. He wrote the song 'Firefly' for her sister, who sang it in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest. Christina did not have a singing career after Eurovision.

The United Kingdom has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 65 times. It first took part in the second contest in 1957 and has entered every year since 1959. Along with Sweden and the Netherlands, the UK is one of only three countries with Eurovision victories in four different decades. It is one of the “Big Five” countries, along with France, Germany, Italy and Spain, that are automatically prequalified for the final each year as they are the biggest financial contributors to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The British national broadcaster, the BBC, broadcasts the event and has, on multiple occasions, organised different national selection processes to choose the British entry. The United Kingdom has won the Eurovision Song Contest five times, and has finished as runner-up on a record sixteen occasions. The UK has hosted the contest a record nine times, four times in London (1960, 1963, 1968 and 1977) and once each in Edinburgh (1972), Brighton (1974), Harrogate (1982), Birmingham (1998), and Liverpool (2023).

The United Kingdom’s five winners are Sandie Shaw with the song “Puppet on a String” (1967), Lulu with “Boom Bang-a-Bang” (1969 in a four-way tie), Brotherhood of Man with “Save Your Kisses for Me” (1976), Bucks Fizz with “Making Your Mind Up” (1981) and Katrina and the Waves with “Love Shine a Light” (1997). The UK has also achieved a record sixteen second-place finishes, the first in 1959 and the most recent in 2022.

James Richard Newman is a British singer and songwriter, brother of John Newman – a well known singer, sognwriter, musician and record producer. During the 2014 Brit Awards, James won the Brit Award for British Single of the Year as a co-writer of “Waiting All Night”, a song by English band Rudimental

Newman was selected to represent the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song, “My Last Breath” before its cancellation. He instead represented the country in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song “Embers”, which came in last place with nul points.