Song 15: NORWAY
(13th in semi final 2 : 63 points)
Artist: Agnete
Song: Icebreaker
Music and Lyric: Agnete Johnsen, Gabriel Alares, Ian Curnow
All posts by Roy van der Merwe
LONELY PLANET COMPETITION – ENTRY NUMBER ELEVEN
Stockholm 2016 by Ronny Addamo – Australia
I didn’t think anything could top my Eurovision experience of 2015 in Vienna. It was my first year as a part of the OGAE ROW family, and wow, what an experience it was. So many friendly new people to enjoy my euro passion with.
My 2016 trip didn’t have the best start. Our flight was delayed landing in Doha, Qatar. With only a tiny 40 minute window of time to run from one end of the expansive airport to the other, disorganised security area, and drowsy from the 14 hour flight, things looked grim. However we managed to just make the flight. This stroke of luck carried on with us from that moment on,
Upon reaching Stockholm we quickly dumped our bags, ran into people we knew, and started enjoying some live performances in euro village. Then euro fan cafe. That remained pretty much what we did the entire week, when not at Eurovision itself. We organised a fan meet within the club at a lovely cafe, meeting some 23 members of our fan club. We also visited the Hard Rock Cafe for wiwijams concert, visited the abba museum with the club and had many boozy nights with our fellow members. Theres nothing I love more than meeting new people and I can’t count the number of new friends I made through that week. I can’t mention enough just how lucky I feel for being part of such a friendly and inclusive club.
Inclusive is the word I use when describing my experience at Eurovision this year. Stockholm, amalgamating the euro club and cafe was a stroke of genius. Everyone was welcome and the artists themselves wandered around the crowd with us, it was magic! I hope future years follow this lead.
Vienna was hard to beat, but Stockholm, you were a star!!
LONELY PLANET COMPETITION – ENTRY NUMBER TEN
How We Nearly Missed Eurovision
by Stuart McNaughton
My heart sank as I read the email from SAS. With just three weeks to go before Eurovision week in Stockholm, my flight from Malta to Stockholm (via Rome) had been changed, so that instead of a 6 hour flight, we would end up with a 13 hour flight via Copenhagen.
Given that we had booked the flights already seven months earlier, I lost my cool because this 13 hour connection meant that we would miss the first Jury show as our flight wouldn’t arrive until after 10pm. I forwarded the email to Niall, my friend in Australia, assuming he had the same issue because we were meeting up in Malta and then travelling Stockholm together.
It emerged he had the same issue, and that’s when I started to worry: would we get there? Would we have to buy more flights? How much would they cost with just three weeks to go? After some whatsapp chat, we agreed that it was best that I called SAS from London so I’m patiently waiting to be put through to an SAS Agent.
Sven finally comes on the line, speaking perfect English. There’s me on the line, blubbering, hollering, begging Sven to check the connections, to see if there’s an alternative to the 13 hour total journey time. No, explained Sven. The problem is due to an aircraft being taken out of service from Malta to Rome, therefore missing your connection to Stockholm. I understood this, I told him, but then I started to explain that I had booked these flights so long ago and to get this information so late in the day was so bad.
In the meantime, Niall was looking at alternative flights with other airlines: the cost was too high, the connection was too bad, or even worse than what SAS were coming back with. It was only at this time I realised how isolated Malta clearly was.
Sven provided an alternative route, which was only 15 minutes shorter than the 13 hour route. This is when I lost my temper. “Sven,” I said. “I didn’t want to have to tell you this, but the reason why I must get to Stockholm earlier is because I am part of the Maltese delegation for this year’s Eurovision.”
I heard tapping in the background, and Sven finally spoke: “Can I call you back? I may be able to do something, Mr. Stuart.” Hmph, I thought. My name isn’t Mr. Stuart, but let’s focus on the issue here: getting to Eurovision. I gave him my mobile number and, about an hour later, I get a call from a Danish number. I answer the call and it’s good and bad news: we still won’t get there in time for the jury show, but our flight time has been reduce to six hours with a flight via Frankfurt.
I was relieved, and thanked Sven. While the show had to go on, we would be arriving fashionably late, as members of the so-called Maltese delegation.
EUROVISION 2016 SONG REVIEWS – DENMARK
Song 14: DENMARK
(17th in semi final 2 : 34 points)
Artist: Lighthouse X
Song: Soldiers of Love
Music and Lyric: Sebastian F. Ovens, Daniel Lund Jørgensen, Katrine Klith Andersen, Lighthouse X
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.
LONELY PLANET COMPETITION – ENTRY NUMBER EIGHT
In the Land of Fire – By Edward Till
I’ve watched Eurovision since I was very young and it was always an annual highpoint, but over the years there have been a few times when something truly extraordinary came out of the contest. One of the most notable was going to Baku in 2012.
My partner and I had already been to Athens and Düsseldorf, but nothing could compare us for what was going to happen in a crazy week spent on the shores of the distant Caspian Sea. My memory is filled with so many colourful images that it’s hard to pinpoint a single event, but I can only describe the whole experience as magical. The city came alive with Eurovision and international fans were made to feel so welcome as we wandered around in the hot sunshine.
We were part of the UK contingent, one of the largest groups of fans there but small enough that we continued to bump into each other throughout the week. It was actually like being back at University and we have built enduring friendships from the week. When we came together, particularly in our fancy dress, we became celebrities. Everyone wanted a photo with us and we obliged our public!
We did more than that though. We engaged with locals in a way that I have never done before or since. Many people there had rarely met foreigners before, let alone a bunch of crazy Eurovision fans. I am convinced we did some good, and in return we gained a perspective on a very distant corner of the world including some of the controversies of that region.
If ever there was an example of Eurovision bringing people together, it was that amazing week in the Caucuses. Since then, the contest has headed back to the more familiar climbs of Western Europe. While this has been great fun, I hope that Ukraine next year once again can bring something different and unexpected to our favourite week of the year.
LONELY PLANET COMPETITION – ENTRY NUMBER SEVEN
My first Eurovision experience by Beth Hackley currently living in Hong KongAfter being fans for years, the stars finally aligned this year which meant that my husband Stuart and I were able to go to our first Eurovision!I had never been to Scandinavia before, and Stockholm was the perfect host city for my first Eurovision experience, not least, because Sweden is the home of ABBA (and who doesn’t love ABBA)!Of course, being in Stockholm, a visit to the ABBA museum was high on our list of tourist activities. We decided to catch the ferry to the museum so we could delight in the beautiful weather and the stunning sights of Stockholm on the way.The ABBA museum was absolutely wonderful – so well curated and such an extensive collection of ABBA memorabilia from around the world. Speaking of which, we were delighted to run into Roy at the “Ring Ring” exhibit, fresh from delivering his cache of ABBA collectables from South Africa – where we snapped this amazing photo!When people ask me what my first Eurovision experience was like, I tell them that it was like the Olympics – the same great vibe, friendly people and electric atmosphere in the air.I can’t wait for Ukraine in 2017!
LONELY PLANET COMPETITION – ENTRY SIX
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.
LONELY PLANET COMPETITION – ENTRY NUMBER FIVE
The Journey to Eurovision
by Niall Drennan
June comes around, time to start
Earn your points, play your part
Vote, write, comment, create
Watch the deadlines, don’t be late
July or August, the host city unveiled
Time to start planning, everything detailed
Choose a hotel, book your flight
All is organised, just need to sit tight
November is here, the kids turn on stage
It’s Junior Eurovision, singers of a young age
A few weeks later, your code is sent
Buy the fan package, money well spent
January to March, national finals begin
Review all the entries, predict who will win
Rank each country, decide who is best
Who are the favourites and who is a mess
May is here, time to get going
Travel to the host city, excitement is showing
Check out the Village, attend the red carpet
Meet and greet and take selfies with artists
Dance at Euroclub, every night without fail
La La Love, Opa, She’s a Fairytale
Bed at dawn, a few hours sleep
Up early for sightseeing, Repeat, Repeat
Attend the semi’s, predict who goes through
Oh San Marino, you still have no clue
Good Evening Europe, it’s Grand Final time
Flags everywhere, the show is sublime
Europe start voting, the results come in
26 countries, which one will win
Votes are announced, the winner’s reprise
Was it predicted or perhaps a surprise
Depart the next day, pack up all your gear
Farewell to friends, see you next year
P.E.D. kicks in, back to the mundane
But not long to wait until we start over again
LONELY PLANET COMPETITION – ENTRY NUMBER FOUR
My trip to Eurovision 2008 in Belgrade, Serbia – Roy van der Merwe
2008 has been my only ever visit to a country inside the old Yugoslavia and I really had been looking forward to visit such a country. It was also the Eurovision with one of the biggest highlights and also some of the worst nightmares possible.
As normal Morten booked the hotel for us and it was one of the most interesting hotels – located very central but across a MacDonalds who had weeks before our arrival been burned down during their war. I however did not feel scared for one moment, I was especially impressed by the Serbian youth, they were really nice, friendly, helpful and eager to meet international visitors.
One of the two horrors about my trip revolved around foreign currency. Most people know South Africa has foreign currency control and you are allowed to get foreign currency only a month prior to your departure. I went to my bank and asked what currency I should take for Serbia. Obviously they did not have their money and I had to pick between UK ponds, US dollars or Euro. The bank said the safest would be TRAVELLER’S CHEQUES in AMERICAN DOLLARS. So that is what I picked. Imagine my shock when it turned out that SERBIA does not exchange AMERICAN EXPRESS traveller’s queues and I was stuck the entire Eurovision without money. Luckily Morten helped me – he loves shoes and I bought some expensive shoes for him on my credit card in exchange for money to use day to day.
The second horror involved our hotel. One afternoon it looked like rain so I told Morten I think I would go back to the hotel before the rain. I arrived in our room literally seconds before a water pipe burst in the bathroom and it started to flood our room. I spent 30 minutes trying to get all our luggage (and especially our precious promo singles) out of the room and into the passage. Once I had everything out of the room, I ran 4-5 floors down the stairs to call for help at reception. They finally managed to stop the water but by that time, our room was more than a meter in water. They took me and all the luggage to another room and once I got there, I just fell on the bed, totally exhausted. Meanwhile Morten came home, got his key to our room from reception and came up to our room. As he opened the door (by that time they had cleaned all the water) all he found was a totally empty room. He thought we had a robbery in our room. He ran down to reception and then was told about what happened and they took him to the new room where he found me sleeping on one bed with all the luggage on the floor.
But besides those two incidents, Eurovision was great, I loved especially Latvia’s entry and was really impressed with the way Serbia organized it and their disciplined volunteers.
I will go back any day to Belgrade for Eurovision despite everything.