Linda Björg Guðmundsdóttir

It has hardly gone unnoticed that Eurovision is very surrounded by politics this year. I'm going to completely skate past it though. It's not at all due to lack of saddle, but I want to emphasize the competition in general and what it should stand for.

The Eurovision Song Contest began as a technical experiment for live broadcasting on an international level. The first time the competition was held, in 1956, it was mainly broadcast, but some cameras were on site.[1] In 1958, it was broadcast in a film from the television studio Hilversum in the Netherlands, but it was also the first time that the previous year's winner held the competition in his home country, as is customary today.[2] Another interesting fact is that the BBC was the first to broadcast the competition in colour from Albert Hall in 1968.[3] But it is safe to say that the history of the competition has been intertwined with the technological progress of its time since the beginning.

Don't stop reading here because I'm not going to get stuck in listing years and facts, but I want to do what suits me better and write from the heart and my experience.

My first Eurovision memory is of course at home in the living room:

The year is 1999 and Selma Björnsdóttir sings on stage with one of the too-peppy dance-jacket guys The glimmer on her chest shines right in the eyes of 8-year-old Linda who is equally fascinated by the cute hairstyle and unexpected clothes combo (which is a dress with pants).The first sadness, Iceland robbed the victory but nevertheless reaps its best result in the competition until now, 2nd place Sweden inexplicably wins with what seems to be a stolen ABBA song. Little ears now hear a lot of things, look But Swedenmaid Charlotte Nilsson was better off with the song, Take Me To Your Heaven.

I'm still of the opinion today that we should have won, end , All Out Of Luck“ a timeless classic. I was so passionate that I learned the dance (which the peppy guys danced) and one of the first songs I wrote was called , Follow Your Heart, but that line is taken from Selma's song, which she wrote herself with Sveinbirn I. Baldvinsson and Þorvald Bjarna Þorvaldsson.[4] This phrase in the song that sounds like this: , You'll always be alright just as long as you follow your heart‘ has clearly lived well and long with me but I was 13 years old when I wrote my song But since then there has been no turning back My admiration for the competition grew with each passing yearI learned more, matured and became more technologically minded right and like Eurovision.

Figure 1: Signed, 8-9 years old, in absalute her favorite dress (actually blue and not white like Selma).

Over the years, the competition has evolved and become some of the world's biggest technical events, at least in terms of recording, broadcasting and stage technology But as the competition has grown, technology has followed closely and the pressure has become increasingly intense to make the competition more impressive Here we are talking about lights, flamethrowers, LED floors and moving sculptures For example in 2022 in Torino, a waterfall was part of the stage.

It's not just music and singing, it's costumes, lighting settings and aesthetics, engineering and design, staging and directing. This kind of show that requires knowledge of all art forms of course attracts a lot of attention, and for example, there were 162 million people who watched in 2023. Of course Icelanders with the highest viewing rate or about 98.7% this same year.[5]

This competition goes well beyond Europe, but the Australians have been watching since 1983.[6] Asians[7] and Americans are also watching on their streaming services.[8]

It should therefore not go unnoticed that it is a huge springboard for the contestants. Here, there is an opportunity to not only represent the country and the nation, but also to promote your own music and yourself. This is more than just a three-minute song. With the advent of social media such as TikTok and Instagram, the framework around one song has grown significantly.

I think there was in certain groups (and possibly still is) some kind of ,, stigma of “ or shame that comes with sending a song to a competition like this This is just for amateurs and not those who want to make „real music“, that europop is just some formula. Is it really possible to get everything you want to express in three minutes? Maybe not, but isn't this a good challenge?

I'm going to allow myself to answer only what is related to a formula for europop but the other questions are more for consideration. But in short; yes, it is of course possible to follow what one thinks is a recipe for success in Eurovision. ABABCB, elevation, something similar. But that is not to say that it is necessarily the most promising for winning. There are countless things that play a role in that.

Now I don't know if the best example for this is, for example, when the Portuguese Salvador Sobral worked with the song “Amar pelos Dois' or Ást for two, but at least that's an example.

Maybe the main point here is that this can be anything Of course there are quite a few examples where a song is sent to the contest which is not a „typical“ Eurovision song and is going quite well.

I have a strong feeling that if you submit a song that can be connected in some way, and you believe in the message yourself and follow it forward, you can do magic. It has to be more than just a song, there needs to be a good overall view of the work that could best be played on all the strings of art.

Those who manage to read between the lines clearly see that I am a , hopeless romantic, optimistic type and see Eurovision as a union, love and joy Eurovision is not just a competition in song, Eurovision is Christmas. Harvest, party, tech wonder, comedy, drama, show, all mixed up.

Did I possibly convince any readers to participate in the next competition?

If so, my goal is achieved.

[1] EurovisionWorld. (ed). Eurovision 1956 Results: Voting & Point. https://eurovisionworld.com/eurovision/1956

[2] Eurovision. (ed). Hilversum 1958. https://eurovision.tv/event/hilversum-1958

[3] BBC. (ed). Eurovision first broadcast. https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/anniversaries/may/eurovision-first-broadcast/

[4] EurovisionWorld. (ed). Eurovision 1999 Iceland: Selma Björnsdóttir - „All Out Of Luck“. https://eurovisionworld.com/eurovision/1999/iceland

[5] Eurovision Song Contest. (2023, 25 May). Eurovision 2023 reaches 162 million views with record breaking online engagement and musical impact. https://eurovision.tv/story/eurovision-2023-reaches-162-million

[6] Eurovision. (ed). Countries: Australia. https://eurovision.tv/country/australia

[7] Eurovoix News. (2021, February 12). Chian's Relationship with the Eurovision Song Contest. https://eurovoix.com/2021/02/12/%F0%9F%87%A8%F0%9F%87%B3-chinas-relationship-with-the-eurovision-song-contest/

[8] The Hollywood Reporter. (2023 May 9). How to Stream Eurovision 2023 Online in the US. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/lifestyle-news/watch-stream-eurovision-in-usa-1235480815/