This week is a bonanza for fans of Europe's two favourite competitions: the Champions League football tournament and the Eurovision Song Contest. Both are held up as events that bring Europeans together, but which one does the job better? This week we aim to settle the debate once and for all with a face-off between sports commentator Barbara Barend and Eurovision historian Dean Vuletic. We're also talking about a €300-million EU pension black hole and France's first rap awards.

Do you live in Europe, and do you enjoy this podcast? If so, you can celebrate democracy and fund our show at the same time, by signing up to join the Capital of European Democracy jury. It only takes a few clicks and it's a huge help to us! Sign up here before May 15: https://join.capitalofdemocracy.eu/europeanspod

FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT HERE: https://europeanspodcast.com/episodes/eurovision-vs-the-champions-league

The Eurovision vs. Champions League debate was part of a special event for Europe Day hosted by the European Cultural Foundation. You can find out more about this year's celebrations at europeday.eu.

This week's Isolation Inspiration: 'King Charles III's Secret Kingdom' and 'If Found'. You can find the article Katy mentioned on the Flamme awards here in the Guardian, and the ECF's Radio Europe Day playlist here on Spotify. 

00:22 Beyoncé in the Brussels bubble

03:49 Bad Week: A €300m pensions black hole

13:25 Good Week: France's first rap awards

18:39 Help us out by joining the European Capital of Democracy Jury!

20:23 The ultimate debate: Eurovision vs The Champions League

37:46 Isolation Inspiration: 'King Charles III's Secret Kingdom' and 'If Found'

40:54 Happy Ending: Aurimas Valujavičius's epic journey

Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast and would like to help us keep making it, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few bucks a month at ⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast⁠ (many currencies are available). You can also help new listeners find the show by ⁠leaving us a review⁠ or giving us five stars on Spotify. 

Producer: Katy Lee

Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak

Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina

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