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Final instalment. Last reports from an action-packed Oslo Eurovision trip.
Christer Björkman:
Anyone who knows me will know I like to go to Sweden every year for Melodifestivalen - the show where they pick their Eurovision song. It is a big, bombastic and glittery affair, and all organised by one man - SchlagerKung Christer Björkman. And in Oslo I met him - twice! The first time I told him I loved Melodifestivalen, and Anna Bergendahl, but also told him off for not picking my favourite, Linda Bengtzing to participate this year. He told me she should have sent a better song than "Victorious" (her duet with Velvet). Then after Sweden failed to make it out of the semi final, I saw him again. I passed on my condolences, and then pointed out that I did tell him he should have picked Linda Bengtzing and that she would have qualified. He got rather angry and shouted at me "It's only 24 hours later, I'm still in mourning... let's not talk about it." And walked off.
"Inget konstigt alls":
Continuing on the Melodifestivalen stars... this year's host Christine Meltzer was also in Oslo, as she was commentating for Sweden. On the Saturday night I saw her in EuroClub, and took my change to grab a photo. I also said to her "Inget konstigt alls", a catchphrase from a very funny sketch where she pretended to be Malena Ernman (Sweden 2009 singer). She found it hilarious and amazing that I knew this, and laughed her head off. She then pouted for the photo, which we reviewed and concluded that we're both hot.
Wednesday Latter:
Wednesday night was time for a schlagerbreak before the big finale. We went to Latter and saw celebrities such as Alexander Stenerud (he of the "SHADOWS!" song) and Bobbysocks, and some fat woman. And some fat woman called Hera Björk. Who sang Je ne sais quoi, her Eurovision song, but most superextrawonderfully she also sang Someday. The amazing schlager written by 4 of my friends. It was an honour to see it performed live and I was loving it!
Compliments:
Maybe it was just a weird coincidence (or perhaps I was looking particularly hot that day ;)) but on one evening lots of different people from the giant group of fabulous ESC friends I care about very deeply paid me a compliment or two. It may not have been much to them, but each one hit me like a suckerpunch of happiness and it just kept going. That moment, just a day before my first ever Eurovision final I truly felt 100 million percent blissful perfectness. It will always live with me. Sorry I'm soppy.
Chilling with Jonas:
Normally the day of Eurovision itself is a stressful affair for me, with me dashing around trying to make sure everything is prepared (always with a drink in my hand, mind). But this year, I sat there drinking with Jonas, who not only is a great guy, but also HAD A SONG in the final that very night! We then eventually made our way back to our respective bases to get ready, but chilling out with our very own superstar on the day of the contest was the perfect way to start the day.
My First Ever Live Eurovision Grand Final:
It took a long time coming... 23 years to get to Oslo, and still 9 days once I got to Oslo, but eventually the moment arrived. And it was fabulous. A couple of times the realisation that I was at ESC and the accompanying goosebumps were particularly strong, but it never actually overcame me, despite being close at times. I thought perhaps I would cry during Israel, but the stupid drunk Norwegian girl next to me getting carried out prevented that.
Glow:
Seated on the bleachers right at the back was a brilliant vantage point for the Interval Act. Madcon's performance of Glow together with flashmob footage from across Europe and in the stadium worked amazingly well, for me. I've yet to watch on TV, but from where we were it looked fantastic. As soon as we got seated, some bossy woman started teaching us the moves. Practising (over and over) with her, it was already clear this wasn't your typical toilet and beer-break interval act. The screens giving us the instructions were exciting, with countdowns and warnings like "Next is The Hand". I did try my best with it all, but the "Bow and arrow" move threw me off every time. Still, "The Hand" and the "Gloooooow" bits looked absolutely fabulous in the stadium. Loved it.
Denmark getting the first two 12 points:
The one song I absolutely despised got maximum points off the first two countries to vote. It is the worst song that has ever been entered into Eurovision, sang by one of the biggest most arrogant and ugly idiots to ever grace the stage. I was ready to jab my own eyes out with my German flag. But in hindsight, I'm glad it happened, cos it made the next highlight all the more special.
LENA WINNING!:
My favourite song has NEVER won Eurovision ever. Frequently they fail to clear the semis (Slovenia 2005, Andorra 2005), but this time my two favourites were the bookies favourites. And this year, my favourite was not only just a song, but it was a song representing my adopted homeland, Germany, sang by a sweet and really funny girl who I'd watched on TV (in a gaybar), and voted for every week for 2 months during Germany's national selection.I was certain she'd finish 8th. When she took over at the top of the scoreboard, we couldn't see how many points Germany - or anyone else - had. So every time a new set of points were announced there was our frantic eyes checking that the German flag we could just make out was still in 1st place. Even right to the last set of votes, we didn't believe it. There was screaming at every 12 points, "f***ING b****"es at the zeros, and various differing responses in between, of hope, of despair, of excitement, of nervousness. But in the end, we were reassured that Germany did indeed win. And so now we're hoping to welcome Eurovision into Berlin next year! It will be EPIC!
The AfterParty:
We got some tickets to the Official After Party from our friends in high places. It was nothing particularly special, especially once the free booze ran out, but I chatted to Paddy O'Connell, The from Malta and Marcin from Poland, and witnessed Last Place Josh from the UK sing his song happily in defeat, as well as posing for a photo with my Lena underpants and Safura in the same shot. I basically just watched Harel from Israel looking pretty though. Was fun.
Sunday night:
There were just a few drip drops of left on Sunday night, but we went to the gay bar "London Pub". They only had a few Eurovision songs, but they played them over and over again for us, and it was a nice end to the whole trip, as my liver clearly hadn't had enough.
Missing the airport bus:
On the final day, I ended up missing the bus to the airport, due to Oslo's well disguised bus terminal. Danny broke the bad news as I was approaching the terminal, informing me he had already waved off Costas and Felix on the bus, and the next one wasn't for 2 hours. But I Just Didn't Care. Danny was flapping about all Scottish "Oh nae what yae gonnae dae?" and I was just happy and shrugged "dunno". "But what if the next flight isnae til Thursday?" *shrug* "I'll sleep in the airport til then".
In the end, I got a train ticket and took a gorgeous relaxing ride along the Norwegian coast, with Lena's album playing on my iPod, and reflected on the absolutely epic perfect fandabidosy overwhelming non-stop-fun carnival of happiness and emotions that I'd just (barely) survived.
Thanks for reading, and thanks to everyone who contributed in every way.... it really was the best time of my life, and I am so hopeful I'll get to do it all again in Berlin next year. Til then, love, oh love xx
- comments
Elin Awwww! Lovely read - brings it all back :D xx