EuroVision 2023: It’s That Time, Again!!

Holy Smokes, friends! It’s that time again. The craziest. The tackiest. The most bizarre spectacle of the year! The circus is quite literally coming to living rooms around the world in the form of The EuroVision Song Contest! And it’s awesome.

For most Americans, this isn’t really a thing. But for everyone else in the world it’s the best thing since sliced bread. 37 counties enter their best acts to compete for the top prize. And it starts tomorrow night 9 May and concludes with the glorious finale on Saturday night! It is required viewing.

We knew it was coming up. Jeff remembers it because it’s the anniversary of his run in with the javalies (wild boars) in our yard on a stormy May night when restocking the ice cream from the freezer in the barn that is mandatory for EuroVision viewing. And we are giddy with excitement! This afternoon Jeff met me at the front door when I returned from a lovely lunch with Deanne, a Camino friend of the blog.

‘I just got the notice! EuroVision starts tomorrow night!!’

We both squealed with joy. Five nights of looking at each other confused after one performance or another (for sure a Scandinavian or Eastern European country), and saying in unison ‘What the hell was that?’ Laughing hysterically. Shouting at the tv. Booing when a terrible performance makes it through to the finals! And championing our favorites, but with a shot through the heart if they don’t advance. It’s like we’re the Roman Emperor and Empress bestowing our 👍 or 👎 in the Coliseum. Sealing their fates. Well…except not at all. Because we don’t even vote. We are very clear that we will over index on the emotional investment in a contest we barely knew existed six years ago! But who cares? It’s so much delicious FUN!!!

The whole enchilada was won by Ukraine last year. Not the best performance or song, but a sympathetic vote. Spain should have won. But we understood. The UK is hosting it this year since they came in second in 2022 and the war in Ukraine sadly rages on. Fellow expats new to Spain, and North Americans friends – check your local listings, stock up on ice cream, and join in. Five nights of pure nonsensical joy! Absolutely NOTHING beats EuroVision.