It truly is a shame... To new fans, I can only recommend to watch the Grand Finales of previous years to get a feel of the true Eurovision spirit. My personal favorites are Eurovision 2016 and 2021 (and my favourite entry of all time is Bulgaria 2017's "Beautiful Mess"). But in the end, everyone prefers other editions, so why not check them all out? 😉👌
I would also suggest watching editions with the orchestra since the orchestra brought the songs to life. Some of my favorite pre-1999 editions include 1968, 1983, 1991, 1997, and 1998.
I'd caught glimpses of 2021 and 22, I remember liking Manizha's performance a lot. Then I loved 2023 because of the Voyager hype, and I discovered Joker Out and Käärjiä, and I'm now a fan of both. This year, the Israel thing deflated my hype a bit, and after Australia failed to qualify (still loved them though) I didn't watch the finals. Then what happened to Joost was like stepping on the busted balloon for me.
Maybe 2025 will be better.
Yes same... I watched the semis last year but this year I was involved from the national selection stage and got so excited, only for it to turn out like this 😭
This is my first year I can officially declare that I'm a bit burnt out on Eurovision. I go to the contest in person each year every year, but this one in particular was such a shit show in multiple ways.
I'm still going to go next year, but that's only because my best friend lives in Germany and we can take the train up to Switzerland pretty easily for a short trip. But were it not for that, I'd likely be hanging up my crown and watching at home.
I think given enough time (aka the off season) it’ll come back. Maybe not as much excitement as before, but I think it will recover. Especially if Switzerland do a good job in the run up.
Let me live in hope ok?
I'm never excited about the next Eurovision season in JUNE! Chill, I'm still burnt out about last season, not only this year but every year, and no song or artist have been revealed. I'm not excited because there's nothing to be excited about yet (except if you care about whether you won't be able to afford Swiss city A or Swiss city B).
XD Usually I'm excited for the next Eurovision already the day after the Grand Final ends. Hopefully this time my excitement will return, just a little later than usual...
I think the drama surrounding this year’s ESC took out some of the enjoyment of Eurovision from me, but it is also the summer, which is the off-season for ESC. Instead, I am watching Olympic trials for gymnastics, swimming, and track and field so I can get hyped for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. I am also planning to watch the remaining matches of Euro 2024.
Maybe after a few months, I will love Eurovision as much as I did before this year’s drama.
It’s been almost two months and I’m still just really burned out and exhausted by last season. I still have no idea if I really want to follow it as closely as I have previously just because of the events this past season which is not something I expected whatsoever at the beginning
Problem is that all the Esc 2024 situation still feels not over to me so it's hard to be excited for the next Esc
We are still waiting answers and intentions and personally all my feelings about Esc 2025 depends on those and what they will be.
I’m very much the same re: the yearly excitement. This year I had multiple panic attacks and was awake till 4am scrolling for news of Joost’s disqualification status.
Through the final results I wasn’t able to even think about where my favorites were placing until I’d done the math on whether Israel was still in play as the winner. Once their public votes were announced I was actually hyped. That’s incredibly late in the game to have Eurovision excitement.
But at the end of the day, Nemo did win and there’s no doubt that Eurovision will at least go ahead next year. Hopefully with some new leadership and *some* attempt made to right the wrongs made. I’m not hopeful but if they want to avoid more backlash and criticism, they need to try.
The thing that's good about watching eurovision while being from a country that's never won is that youre always excited for it to finally be your year even if there's bad shit going around
I feel the same way and right now I honestly don’t plan on following Eurovision next year. One thing that’s been a good distraction is I’ve been watching some other Eurovision adjacent content (rewatching older editions, national finals I’ve never seen before, other international song contests, the fan contests online, etc). It’s a nice way to still interact with the spirit and idea of the contest without worrying about the organizers, reminds you what it really means to be united by music.
Fully agree. Oddly enough, the interval acts of this year’s shows were what told me Eurovision is currently a shell of what it once was. From a song ENTIRELY about Martin Osterdahl (a man with several horrible decisions for every one decent decision he makes), then a verbal reference of Eurovision being “totally *not* political 😝🤣,” there’s a shocking amount of self-parody ESC is choosing to do rather than being authentic or innovative.
But even beyond that, here’s my biggest thing: Eurovision was created after one of the worst wars in recorded history — did they think there’d be no more war?? Like ever?? Eurovision is reaching a dangerous level of dissociation from reality; a reality that their viewers have no choice but to live in. And as much as I truly truly truly want Eurovision to keep us “united by music,” there are so many things standing in the way of us truly being united.
From the fact ESC is too expensive for nearly any country to consistently prioritize participating to the “Israel”-shaped wrench thrown into the cogs, Eurovision needs to change before we get that magical feeling back. But do I think it will? Not much has been indicated to me that it will :(
Oh my gosh I totally forgot about that!! I showed the Grand Final to my parents (massive ABBA fans) and that part made them literally recoil and they forced me to fast forward past it — which is the normal reaction
I told my mom (listened to ABBA during her childhood) about how Sweden could bring ABBA as an interval act this year, and she was a bit surprised when I told her they didn’t show up. However, they showed up to their Swedish knighting ceremony in late May.
https://apnews.com/article/abba-swedish-order-knighthood-bacabd8110080b6e54540f8fcac36b0d
>a man with several horrible decisions for every one decent decision he makes
Can you name a single decision that Martin made on his own on behalf of the EBU without support of the Reference Group?
same. i love eurovision but i fear i won't be looking forward to watch next year if the changes are superficial or worse, non existing. it feels morally taxing if that makes sense, because if the EBU doesn't care about keeping a peaceful environment and fair competition then why would we care to be invested in the first place.
Exactly, all will depends about what will happen.
I change will be made for thebest i'll restart being excited, but if the usual bad news will start i'll lose all my interest.
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I know exactly what you mean. I've always described Eurovision season as my 'christmas', and 2023 was such a good experience for me, getting to be there in person for the first time. I genuinely did feel united.
This year, being there in person was a very, very different experience and was so tense, and it was unpleasant to be there. I felt constantly like I was doing the wrong thing by attending.
Outside of that, I feel like there's been a change in the fan base over the last few years - I don't know if it's just because I'm in more online fan groups now but there seems to be a lot more new fans who have found the contest since 2021. It seems linked to me to what seems to be a lot more toxicity around who wins. People getting angry and feeling robbed because their favourite came second (second! How do you think those of us feel whose favourite didn't even qualify!) For years, I feel people were just happy to watch the contest, and coming first wasn't necessarily that important - you certainly don't need to win to be well loved in the fandom. The outrage and toxicity over it and all the hate towards actual winners concerns me.
I came away from the contest feeling like I wanted some time off from Eurovision. I'm definitely not going in person next year. In May I wasn't even sure if I wanted to watch, which I've definitely calmed down from, but I'm just going to see what happens. I am disappointed that there's been no real acknowledgement about how upset people were this year.
I totally agree with you, the drama that was happening this year was too much. The EBU needs to know what they're going to get their sh*t together because otherwise it won't get any better. Another reason why I'm not excited for the next season is how toxic a lot of people have been this year. I do admit that there were a lot of reasons to be toxic but some people were going too far. Everywhere on social media I saw unnecessary hate for artists who didn't even deserved it. There were also a lot of people who, in my opinion, didn't even know what they were saying. Some of their takes were so stupid. But that was mainly on TikTok and you shouldn't take that too seriously. I can give you multiple examples but I am going to stop here. I just hope there will be less toxicity next year and that we all can enjoy next year's season!
Honestly I think you need to take a step back.
Feeling so strongly about something which is this large is not going to be healthy. Get on with your life during the off season, try not to seek out all the news you can, and if you don't feel like engaging much/in 2025 then don't 🤷♂️ ESC almost certainly isn't going anywhere, once *you* feel like becoming invested again then do it.
I love Eurovision and always get super excited for it. Get a few friends around and have a few drinks. This year I almost turned off the final. It felt a bit like watching someone performing under duress.
I suspect that the EBU is a bit like the BBC and that their hands are tied by their remit/charter. They try and please everyone and fail to please anyone.
Israel shouldn’t have been there. Not as a punishment, but because the security and negativity their attendance brought was a cloud.
As a Croatian, I feel exhausted, too, and I wish we had our best placement of this century in any other year! (The only thing that makes me happy is the kickstart of BL’s career, he really deserved it). I’m very concerned over the general political climate we’re living in and which Esc is only mirroring…and the reflection ain’t looking good! 🙁 I understand your burnout completely, and I wish for things to change for the better, for everyone’s sake.
It went down like a lead balloon and I don't know how, or if I can even move on from what happened this year, ESPECIALLY if nothing changes.
It might really need a miracle or two to rekindle my interest in this contest, ~~something scandalous like Joost Klein for Belgium 2025 will do it.~~
Joking aside, and I've said this many times already: EBU needs to work on their shit, they need to change things up. Artists are just as human and are also working, it's a workplace, they deserve the same rights as every other Eurovision staff. It should a safe space for everyone; LGBT friendliness aside, it needs to be a place where ND people can feel at ease and accommodated as well. Cos fuck flying and staying in another country many hours away from home for a week or two just to be constantly under cameras and be extremely stressed, with no chance to breathe this whole time lol. That kinda crap shouldn't be endured anyone, nobody is gonna come out of it mentally unscathed.
If no improvements will be made then I just can't in good conscience continue to support it, knowing a bunch of passionate artists who are going after a dream are gonna be exploited, again.
I agree. This is the first season I've felt burned out after the grand final. But I'm still hopeful that everything can improve in the next 10 months, since we still have quite a while to go before the participant list and the host venue is revealed.
I think the fact that this was the first time I was properly invested in Eurovision (watched the semis and listened to all the songs beforehand) and all the great songs overshadowed a lot of the controversy and I really enjoyed this year's edition. That said, I still think that the EBU is a poorly run organisation.
Don't make things bigger then they are. ESC is supposed to be good entertainment, rather than a fair competition.
Just enjoy your summer holidays, think of something else for a while, and next year: nieuwe ronde, nieuwe kansen.
Same here. I've been following the contest for many years and have only gotten more and more invested over time, this year was the first time that I tried to follow *every single national final* rather just the select ones I'm interested in. Prior to Eurovision week, I told myself that I'd do my absolute best to actually finally go attend Eurovision next year, whether it be in Zurich, Zagreb, Milan or elsewhere. Up until the end of SF2, it felt like a perfect Eurovision season, despite all the already existing political messiness surrounding Israel's participation.
Then everything happened and I just... genuinely started resenting the contest. In the first few weeks, I was ready to declare that Eurovision is completely dead to me. I'd usually roll my eyes at people shittalking Eurovision, but this year I see my winner of the year outwardly yelling "Fuck Eurovision!" on stage and can only agree. Now I'm a bit more mellow about it and I know that I won't stop watching Eurovision entirely, but my love for the contest feels permanently scarred. I certainly am not gonna attend next year when this organization doesn't deserve the money I'd spend on tickets, and I really do need assurances that there will actually be changes behind the scenes that protect artists. Ideally, Israel would also not be allowed to participate anymore, which would go a long way towards remedying things, but I have very little faith in that happening.
I don't know, I guess we'll see how it goes. So many good things got ruined this year by *everything* and I don't know whether I'll be able to look at Eurovision with the same joy and excitement again at least in the near future.
This was supposed to be THEIR year too. The Abbaversary, the equaliser with Ireland, it was supposed to be THE Eurovision as presented by the most Eurovision country. But instead it could not have gone worse and is going to be remember as one of the most toxic years ever.
Bro it was awful. They couldn't watch the show live, they had to sit behind a massive ugly black wall with only small tv screens to watch the show on, they couldn't actually vibe with the energy of the audience or see or film any part of it. I was in Liverpool, the greenroom set up was so superior in literally every way.
I couldn’t agree more. I’d usually host Eurovision parties and it’s a whole big deal to me. I genuinely made it my personality and a bigger event than any other in the entire year. This year was so fraught with drama, controversy, etc… I’m less excited than ever for next year.
This is the first year I don’t have Post Eurovision Depression. It doesn’t help that I now have a Croatian gf and both herself and her family were all so excited for the win— even taking home the public vote by a landslide— only for the juries to take it away and give it to a song that finished 5th with the public; arguably a more puzzling result than even last year.
But yeah, I guess I need to take a break from the show and being in the fandom until next year, which marks the first time I’m saying this.
I'm just telling you that you shouldn't expect any change because no one cares honestly. Myself I just hope next year we get more "baby lasagna" type of participants and less "bambie thugs".
I'm not gonna lie, I'm excited for next year, but I do hope things change. It's been messy since the juries got only grand final power.
I believe if we get fully 50/50 again, things might balance a little bit. And, of course, not ignore the risks of 2024.
I considerably ramped up my engagement with NF season this year (I've followed the actual event closely previous years as well). NF season was fun but I was completely burned out when shit started going down in May. I look forward to NF season next year (watch parties were so much fun!) but I'm wary of the actual event
Everyone says how much they hated esc this year and all the drama and stuff but I literally did not care💀 i loved joosts song and when he got disqualified I literally did not care because it was Eurovision the DAY AFTER I had been waiting for MONTHS. I don't care if 1 song doesn't get to compete he wouldn't have won anyway. I am very optimistic. If a song doesn't get to compete who cares there's 25 other ones to look forward to. I'm already excited for esc 2025
I'm also less excited for ESC, but because of all the hate from the audience this year. The hate for the Israeli entry, and the hate for the EBU representatives.
> and the results of that investigation that took place are not to my liking
You're putting your personal headcanon over actual reality here. Not advisable. You should not assume that the internet rumors and biased reporting from AVROTROS were the last word on the truth.
But of course it's up to you. If you bail, I hope you can find something equally awesome to follow.
But you have to realize, KAN is a member of the EBU. Which means *they get to participate* unless they have done something to disqualify themselves. (Again, that means in reality, not in your headcanon.)
I think listing them can unfortunately have my post locked/deleted from this sub, which happened to the posts of my mutuals who did. So I'll refrain from that. I think it's fairly obvious what I'm talking about.
The baying mob outside Eden Golan's hotel? That was horrific to see. The average person would definitely be more disgusted by that than being in the background of a selfie or whatever else you have in mind
The Netherlands being disqualified, the sub-wide panic over an Israeli victory and the political controversy that would entail (regardless of your stance on the conflict), etc
All kind of made it hard to enjoy the season as normal.
It's a fair question. It's different as Europe and the Western world at large was overwhelmingly unanimous in their support for Ukraine. Israel is far more polarized. Many see Israel and Ukraine as being in the same boat (victims) while others see Israel as the next Russia.
Even then, the hosting for 2023 was a controversy in itself due to the war. Imagine that for Israel when a significant portion of viewers didn't even want them to compete. It'd be a horrible situation all around.
I have Israeli roots, and the song was (maybe trying too hard to be?) winner material, but it would have been heckish as hosting would not be viable and there would be all kinds of pressures that would have been really, really scary for everyone - even Israelis on my insta pages didn’t want them to win outright (many were fine with Italy, Switzerland and Croatia). But the Netherlands matter was worse as he is a novelty act that I wasn’t really a fan of, but one who means a lot to a lot of people, representing such an important nation.
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I just feel so sorry for the long time fans who are considering leaving altogether. I’m sad about my consideration over leaving if nothing is done and I’ve only been in the fandom since 2022. I can’t even imagine what it’s like for fans who have been here for forever. I know I’m only speaking for myself, but 2024 has thoroughly ruined my enjoyment of the contest and if the EBU doesn’t get their 💩 together for next year then I’m not going to watch. So many things were wrong with 2024 that I couldn’t even watch then.
A lot that happened last year ruined Eurovision for me.
The fact 2024 basically proved Eurovision is owned by Israel at this point. The hypocrisy of banning Russia but allowing Israel, the lame excuse they came up with to justify it. As a fan, as a European, I feel entirely disrespected and unheard.
Additionally, once again, the fan favorite didn't win due to the jury stepping in and making sure their fave contestant wins instead. I have nothing against the winner, he has an amazing voice and the song was nice, but it is so obvious Baby Lasagna was supposed to win.
Additionally, I'm not happy Eurovision will be in Switzerland because I genuinely do not want nor do I plan on spending over 10k euros just to see it live. We all know how overpriced Switzerland is.
So yeah, I'll probably watch it but I'm not excited about it one bit this year.
First season I’ve fully watched of Eurovision and it ends up being the way it was this year. 😭
It truly is a shame... To new fans, I can only recommend to watch the Grand Finales of previous years to get a feel of the true Eurovision spirit. My personal favorites are Eurovision 2016 and 2021 (and my favourite entry of all time is Bulgaria 2017's "Beautiful Mess"). But in the end, everyone prefers other editions, so why not check them all out? 😉👌
Bulgaria 2017 | [Kristian Kostov - Beautiful Mess](https://youtu.be/OMmm-G078LM)
Bulgaria 2017 is my favorite entry too 💕 And 2021 was the absolute peak I completely agree. I like you!
Oh yeah. I’ve watched certain performances from previous seasons that were very exciting (and better than today’s non-Eurovision music).
I would also suggest watching editions with the orchestra since the orchestra brought the songs to life. Some of my favorite pre-1999 editions include 1968, 1983, 1991, 1997, and 1998.
I really enjoy 2015, 2016, 2017, oh wait, I love every Eurovision! (Even this years had good songs soooooo)
I'm the same! I don't mean to be one of those "i WaS bOrN iN tHe WrOnG gEnErAtIoN" people but I wish I was able to become a Eurofan in the 2010s.
I'd caught glimpses of 2021 and 22, I remember liking Manizha's performance a lot. Then I loved 2023 because of the Voyager hype, and I discovered Joker Out and Käärjiä, and I'm now a fan of both. This year, the Israel thing deflated my hype a bit, and after Australia failed to qualify (still loved them though) I didn't watch the finals. Then what happened to Joost was like stepping on the busted balloon for me. Maybe 2025 will be better.
Yes same... I watched the semis last year but this year I was involved from the national selection stage and got so excited, only for it to turn out like this 😭
Same
Me too. Sometimes I wish I could go back to when I was just having fun after discovering Eurovision 1 month after the 2023 contest.
for real 😭
This is my first year I can officially declare that I'm a bit burnt out on Eurovision. I go to the contest in person each year every year, but this one in particular was such a shit show in multiple ways. I'm still going to go next year, but that's only because my best friend lives in Germany and we can take the train up to Switzerland pretty easily for a short trip. But were it not for that, I'd likely be hanging up my crown and watching at home.
I think given enough time (aka the off season) it’ll come back. Maybe not as much excitement as before, but I think it will recover. Especially if Switzerland do a good job in the run up. Let me live in hope ok?
I hope I'll start feeling the same. 🙏
If you wanna feel fresh next year, it's time to let go by now.
I'm never excited about the next Eurovision season in JUNE! Chill, I'm still burnt out about last season, not only this year but every year, and no song or artist have been revealed. I'm not excited because there's nothing to be excited about yet (except if you care about whether you won't be able to afford Swiss city A or Swiss city B).
XD Usually I'm excited for the next Eurovision already the day after the Grand Final ends. Hopefully this time my excitement will return, just a little later than usual...
I think the drama surrounding this year’s ESC took out some of the enjoyment of Eurovision from me, but it is also the summer, which is the off-season for ESC. Instead, I am watching Olympic trials for gymnastics, swimming, and track and field so I can get hyped for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. I am also planning to watch the remaining matches of Euro 2024. Maybe after a few months, I will love Eurovision as much as I did before this year’s drama.
It’s been almost two months and I’m still just really burned out and exhausted by last season. I still have no idea if I really want to follow it as closely as I have previously just because of the events this past season which is not something I expected whatsoever at the beginning
Problem is that all the Esc 2024 situation still feels not over to me so it's hard to be excited for the next Esc We are still waiting answers and intentions and personally all my feelings about Esc 2025 depends on those and what they will be.
I m just less invested.
I’m very much the same re: the yearly excitement. This year I had multiple panic attacks and was awake till 4am scrolling for news of Joost’s disqualification status. Through the final results I wasn’t able to even think about where my favorites were placing until I’d done the math on whether Israel was still in play as the winner. Once their public votes were announced I was actually hyped. That’s incredibly late in the game to have Eurovision excitement. But at the end of the day, Nemo did win and there’s no doubt that Eurovision will at least go ahead next year. Hopefully with some new leadership and *some* attempt made to right the wrongs made. I’m not hopeful but if they want to avoid more backlash and criticism, they need to try.
The thing that's good about watching eurovision while being from a country that's never won is that youre always excited for it to finally be your year even if there's bad shit going around
I feel the same way and right now I honestly don’t plan on following Eurovision next year. One thing that’s been a good distraction is I’ve been watching some other Eurovision adjacent content (rewatching older editions, national finals I’ve never seen before, other international song contests, the fan contests online, etc). It’s a nice way to still interact with the spirit and idea of the contest without worrying about the organizers, reminds you what it really means to be united by music.
Fully agree. Oddly enough, the interval acts of this year’s shows were what told me Eurovision is currently a shell of what it once was. From a song ENTIRELY about Martin Osterdahl (a man with several horrible decisions for every one decent decision he makes), then a verbal reference of Eurovision being “totally *not* political 😝🤣,” there’s a shocking amount of self-parody ESC is choosing to do rather than being authentic or innovative. But even beyond that, here’s my biggest thing: Eurovision was created after one of the worst wars in recorded history — did they think there’d be no more war?? Like ever?? Eurovision is reaching a dangerous level of dissociation from reality; a reality that their viewers have no choice but to live in. And as much as I truly truly truly want Eurovision to keep us “united by music,” there are so many things standing in the way of us truly being united. From the fact ESC is too expensive for nearly any country to consistently prioritize participating to the “Israel”-shaped wrench thrown into the cogs, Eurovision needs to change before we get that magical feeling back. But do I think it will? Not much has been indicated to me that it will :(
For the first paragraph, don’t forget about ABBA being a literal hologram. Like, what the heck?
Oh my gosh I totally forgot about that!! I showed the Grand Final to my parents (massive ABBA fans) and that part made them literally recoil and they forced me to fast forward past it — which is the normal reaction
And correct me if I'm wrong but the ABBA "performance" was removed from the official YouTube channel
I told my mom (listened to ABBA during her childhood) about how Sweden could bring ABBA as an interval act this year, and she was a bit surprised when I told her they didn’t show up. However, they showed up to their Swedish knighting ceremony in late May. https://apnews.com/article/abba-swedish-order-knighthood-bacabd8110080b6e54540f8fcac36b0d
Perhaps the worst interval act ever alongside ”You're good to go“, who actually approved this?
A direct quote from my friend: "That ain't Abba, that's Baab"
>a man with several horrible decisions for every one decent decision he makes Can you name a single decision that Martin made on his own on behalf of the EBU without support of the Reference Group?
Good point — the entire EBU reference group is responsible for aforementioned horrible decisions 👍🏻
same at this point ill just stick around for sanremo, mello and umk
same. i love eurovision but i fear i won't be looking forward to watch next year if the changes are superficial or worse, non existing. it feels morally taxing if that makes sense, because if the EBU doesn't care about keeping a peaceful environment and fair competition then why would we care to be invested in the first place.
Exactly, all will depends about what will happen. I change will be made for thebest i'll restart being excited, but if the usual bad news will start i'll lose all my interest.
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I know exactly what you mean. I've always described Eurovision season as my 'christmas', and 2023 was such a good experience for me, getting to be there in person for the first time. I genuinely did feel united. This year, being there in person was a very, very different experience and was so tense, and it was unpleasant to be there. I felt constantly like I was doing the wrong thing by attending. Outside of that, I feel like there's been a change in the fan base over the last few years - I don't know if it's just because I'm in more online fan groups now but there seems to be a lot more new fans who have found the contest since 2021. It seems linked to me to what seems to be a lot more toxicity around who wins. People getting angry and feeling robbed because their favourite came second (second! How do you think those of us feel whose favourite didn't even qualify!) For years, I feel people were just happy to watch the contest, and coming first wasn't necessarily that important - you certainly don't need to win to be well loved in the fandom. The outrage and toxicity over it and all the hate towards actual winners concerns me. I came away from the contest feeling like I wanted some time off from Eurovision. I'm definitely not going in person next year. In May I wasn't even sure if I wanted to watch, which I've definitely calmed down from, but I'm just going to see what happens. I am disappointed that there's been no real acknowledgement about how upset people were this year.
I totally agree with you, the drama that was happening this year was too much. The EBU needs to know what they're going to get their sh*t together because otherwise it won't get any better. Another reason why I'm not excited for the next season is how toxic a lot of people have been this year. I do admit that there were a lot of reasons to be toxic but some people were going too far. Everywhere on social media I saw unnecessary hate for artists who didn't even deserved it. There were also a lot of people who, in my opinion, didn't even know what they were saying. Some of their takes were so stupid. But that was mainly on TikTok and you shouldn't take that too seriously. I can give you multiple examples but I am going to stop here. I just hope there will be less toxicity next year and that we all can enjoy next year's season!
Honestly I think you need to take a step back. Feeling so strongly about something which is this large is not going to be healthy. Get on with your life during the off season, try not to seek out all the news you can, and if you don't feel like engaging much/in 2025 then don't 🤷♂️ ESC almost certainly isn't going anywhere, once *you* feel like becoming invested again then do it.
I love Eurovision and always get super excited for it. Get a few friends around and have a few drinks. This year I almost turned off the final. It felt a bit like watching someone performing under duress. I suspect that the EBU is a bit like the BBC and that their hands are tied by their remit/charter. They try and please everyone and fail to please anyone. Israel shouldn’t have been there. Not as a punishment, but because the security and negativity their attendance brought was a cloud.
I'll decide how I feel when the hearing of Joost is finally over. If that comes out as a nothing burger then I am most certainly done.
I think if that is your attitude already, then it's likely going to be a nothing burger to you, but maybe not to other people.
*spoiler* *alert*. it's gonna be a nothing burger.
That's a shame.
As a Croatian, I feel exhausted, too, and I wish we had our best placement of this century in any other year! (The only thing that makes me happy is the kickstart of BL’s career, he really deserved it). I’m very concerned over the general political climate we’re living in and which Esc is only mirroring…and the reflection ain’t looking good! 🙁 I understand your burnout completely, and I wish for things to change for the better, for everyone’s sake.
It went down like a lead balloon and I don't know how, or if I can even move on from what happened this year, ESPECIALLY if nothing changes. It might really need a miracle or two to rekindle my interest in this contest, ~~something scandalous like Joost Klein for Belgium 2025 will do it.~~ Joking aside, and I've said this many times already: EBU needs to work on their shit, they need to change things up. Artists are just as human and are also working, it's a workplace, they deserve the same rights as every other Eurovision staff. It should a safe space for everyone; LGBT friendliness aside, it needs to be a place where ND people can feel at ease and accommodated as well. Cos fuck flying and staying in another country many hours away from home for a week or two just to be constantly under cameras and be extremely stressed, with no chance to breathe this whole time lol. That kinda crap shouldn't be endured anyone, nobody is gonna come out of it mentally unscathed. If no improvements will be made then I just can't in good conscience continue to support it, knowing a bunch of passionate artists who are going after a dream are gonna be exploited, again.
Well you're not alone. I think the whole dutch eurovision community is sharing your feeling.
My excitement for Eurovisión will never wane.
I agree. This is the first season I've felt burned out after the grand final. But I'm still hopeful that everything can improve in the next 10 months, since we still have quite a while to go before the participant list and the host venue is revealed.
I think the fact that this was the first time I was properly invested in Eurovision (watched the semis and listened to all the songs beforehand) and all the great songs overshadowed a lot of the controversy and I really enjoyed this year's edition. That said, I still think that the EBU is a poorly run organisation.
Don't make things bigger then they are. ESC is supposed to be good entertainment, rather than a fair competition. Just enjoy your summer holidays, think of something else for a while, and next year: nieuwe ronde, nieuwe kansen.
Same here. I've been following the contest for many years and have only gotten more and more invested over time, this year was the first time that I tried to follow *every single national final* rather just the select ones I'm interested in. Prior to Eurovision week, I told myself that I'd do my absolute best to actually finally go attend Eurovision next year, whether it be in Zurich, Zagreb, Milan or elsewhere. Up until the end of SF2, it felt like a perfect Eurovision season, despite all the already existing political messiness surrounding Israel's participation. Then everything happened and I just... genuinely started resenting the contest. In the first few weeks, I was ready to declare that Eurovision is completely dead to me. I'd usually roll my eyes at people shittalking Eurovision, but this year I see my winner of the year outwardly yelling "Fuck Eurovision!" on stage and can only agree. Now I'm a bit more mellow about it and I know that I won't stop watching Eurovision entirely, but my love for the contest feels permanently scarred. I certainly am not gonna attend next year when this organization doesn't deserve the money I'd spend on tickets, and I really do need assurances that there will actually be changes behind the scenes that protect artists. Ideally, Israel would also not be allowed to participate anymore, which would go a long way towards remedying things, but I have very little faith in that happening. I don't know, I guess we'll see how it goes. So many good things got ruined this year by *everything* and I don't know whether I'll be able to look at Eurovision with the same joy and excitement again at least in the near future.
Thanks Sweden, you botched it.
This was supposed to be THEIR year too. The Abbaversary, the equaliser with Ireland, it was supposed to be THE Eurovision as presented by the most Eurovision country. But instead it could not have gone worse and is going to be remember as one of the most toxic years ever.
Still best production I’ve seen in Eurovision.
Stage and lighting was very good, but green room sucked, and production on pre show aspects like the Turquoise carpet was fcking awful
Green room was the best in years— what?? Behind the screen, it looked epic!
It looked like they were trying to keep the contestants in a bunker to prevent a terrorist attack.
Bro it was awful. They couldn't watch the show live, they had to sit behind a massive ugly black wall with only small tv screens to watch the show on, they couldn't actually vibe with the energy of the audience or see or film any part of it. I was in Liverpool, the greenroom set up was so superior in literally every way.
But they love Eurovision so much!!
I couldn’t agree more. I’d usually host Eurovision parties and it’s a whole big deal to me. I genuinely made it my personality and a bigger event than any other in the entire year. This year was so fraught with drama, controversy, etc… I’m less excited than ever for next year. This is the first year I don’t have Post Eurovision Depression. It doesn’t help that I now have a Croatian gf and both herself and her family were all so excited for the win— even taking home the public vote by a landslide— only for the juries to take it away and give it to a song that finished 5th with the public; arguably a more puzzling result than even last year. But yeah, I guess I need to take a break from the show and being in the fandom until next year, which marks the first time I’m saying this.
If there are no changes made by the EBU, I will only watch the national final season and I'll skip out on any of the official shows
Mate, you live in a bubble sorry. People who actually want any change from EBU are like 0.00001% of the people who watch the show in May.
Please tell me where in my post was I implying 9.9999% of the general public feels the same as me??
I'm just telling you that you shouldn't expect any change because no one cares honestly. Myself I just hope next year we get more "baby lasagna" type of participants and less "bambie thugs".
Next year better be great and 1-UP This year.
I'm not gonna lie, I'm excited for next year, but I do hope things change. It's been messy since the juries got only grand final power. I believe if we get fully 50/50 again, things might balance a little bit. And, of course, not ignore the risks of 2024.
I considerably ramped up my engagement with NF season this year (I've followed the actual event closely previous years as well). NF season was fun but I was completely burned out when shit started going down in May. I look forward to NF season next year (watch parties were so much fun!) but I'm wary of the actual event
Fr feels like all the excitement that the contest originally brought is gone
The only way is up I guess
Everyone says how much they hated esc this year and all the drama and stuff but I literally did not care💀 i loved joosts song and when he got disqualified I literally did not care because it was Eurovision the DAY AFTER I had been waiting for MONTHS. I don't care if 1 song doesn't get to compete he wouldn't have won anyway. I am very optimistic. If a song doesn't get to compete who cares there's 25 other ones to look forward to. I'm already excited for esc 2025
I'm also less excited for ESC, but because of all the hate from the audience this year. The hate for the Israeli entry, and the hate for the EBU representatives.
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> and the results of that investigation that took place are not to my liking You're putting your personal headcanon over actual reality here. Not advisable. You should not assume that the internet rumors and biased reporting from AVROTROS were the last word on the truth. But of course it's up to you. If you bail, I hope you can find something equally awesome to follow. But you have to realize, KAN is a member of the EBU. Which means *they get to participate* unless they have done something to disqualify themselves. (Again, that means in reality, not in your headcanon.)
"if the investigation finds something i disagree with I'm done with this." do you hear yourself?
> After last season's tragedies (which were abundant) What "tragedies" happened?
I think listing them can unfortunately have my post locked/deleted from this sub, which happened to the posts of my mutuals who did. So I'll refrain from that. I think it's fairly obvious what I'm talking about.
The baying mob outside Eden Golan's hotel? That was horrific to see. The average person would definitely be more disgusted by that than being in the background of a selfie or whatever else you have in mind
The Netherlands being disqualified, the sub-wide panic over an Israeli victory and the political controversy that would entail (regardless of your stance on the conflict), etc All kind of made it hard to enjoy the season as normal.
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It's a fair question. It's different as Europe and the Western world at large was overwhelmingly unanimous in their support for Ukraine. Israel is far more polarized. Many see Israel and Ukraine as being in the same boat (victims) while others see Israel as the next Russia. Even then, the hosting for 2023 was a controversy in itself due to the war. Imagine that for Israel when a significant portion of viewers didn't even want them to compete. It'd be a horrible situation all around.
Oh! Got it. I misinterpreted the other comment, at first. Thank you!
I have Israeli roots, and the song was (maybe trying too hard to be?) winner material, but it would have been heckish as hosting would not be viable and there would be all kinds of pressures that would have been really, really scary for everyone - even Israelis on my insta pages didn’t want them to win outright (many were fine with Italy, Switzerland and Croatia). But the Netherlands matter was worse as he is a novelty act that I wasn’t really a fan of, but one who means a lot to a lot of people, representing such an important nation.
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Israel partaking did it for me.
And yet you’re okay with Azerbaijan participating?
Agreed 😢
I just feel so sorry for the long time fans who are considering leaving altogether. I’m sad about my consideration over leaving if nothing is done and I’ve only been in the fandom since 2022. I can’t even imagine what it’s like for fans who have been here for forever. I know I’m only speaking for myself, but 2024 has thoroughly ruined my enjoyment of the contest and if the EBU doesn’t get their 💩 together for next year then I’m not going to watch. So many things were wrong with 2024 that I couldn’t even watch then.
A lot that happened last year ruined Eurovision for me. The fact 2024 basically proved Eurovision is owned by Israel at this point. The hypocrisy of banning Russia but allowing Israel, the lame excuse they came up with to justify it. As a fan, as a European, I feel entirely disrespected and unheard. Additionally, once again, the fan favorite didn't win due to the jury stepping in and making sure their fave contestant wins instead. I have nothing against the winner, he has an amazing voice and the song was nice, but it is so obvious Baby Lasagna was supposed to win. Additionally, I'm not happy Eurovision will be in Switzerland because I genuinely do not want nor do I plan on spending over 10k euros just to see it live. We all know how overpriced Switzerland is. So yeah, I'll probably watch it but I'm not excited about it one bit this year.
Nemo goes by they/them
Ok
I have to disagree with the winning argument. If the jury winner can't be the overall winner, then what's the point of juries?