Rainbow Flag & Vienna Flags at Rathaus
If you’re not from Europe, you might be unfamiliar with the continent-wide phenomenon Eurovision, a singing competition in which a bunch of European (and pseudo-European) countries submit a singer(s) with an original song, and then award points to each other, until a winner is crowned. The winning country gets the honour of hosting the event the following year, as well as bragging rights for winning the competition.
This past weekend, Austria’s beautiful (very European) capital, Vienna, hosted the 60th Anniversary of Eurovision. With a bit of luck on our side, my boyfriend Eamonn and I got to go to the Eurovision final show as VIP guests of the Vienna Tourism Board! Not only did we get two tickets to go see the final, but also return airfare from London with flag carrier Austrian Airlines, three nights accommodation at the 25 Hours Hotel, and a city pass which included free transit and discounts at museums within the city.
VIENNA AS A HOST
The week-long event catered not only to those visitors who went to the live Eurovision shows, but to anyone who was in Vienna through its duration.
The large plaza in front of the Rathaus hosted public parties from which visitors (and locals) who did not have tickets to see Eurovision live could watch the performances on large outdoor screens. The weather unfortunately did not cooperate during one of the semi-finals, bringing a downpour which killed the party, but dry skies allowed the final to be a success.
Eamonn and I had tickets to the live final show, but headed down to the Rathaus afterwards to grab some food from one of the many stalls, and although the crowds had mostly dispersed by then, it was clear the place had been a huge party!
Eamonn ‘Building Bridges’ with the Parks Board Eurovision Carboard Cutouts
Vienna’s version of Eurovision had ‘Building Bridges’ as its general theme, which centred about connecting with each other, despite nationality or any other differences (which interestingly enough was Eurovision’s main goal when it was first invented a few years after WWII). As part of the ‘Building Bridges’ theme, Vienna wanted to portray itself to the rest of Europe as a gay-friendly and welcoming city, with the additional tagline adopted by the city’s tourism board for 2015: ‘Vienna, Now or Never.‘
To welcome the competition’s largely-gay spectatorship, Vienna added a number of welcoming features to its streets. A large rainbow flag hung down from the Rathaus (city hall), and small rainbow flags topped most of the city’s trams. In a more permanent addition, the city changed many of its pedestrian crossing lights to include gay and lesbian couples (as well as straight couples), instead of the traditional single figure.
BUILDING BRIDGES
Now, my moment of truth, which is likely to enrage Eurovision fans all over the world: I had seen very little Eurovision in my lifetime before this weekend.
Eurovision is truly a European phenomenon, which means it’s not as popular (or even known about) in countries outside of the continent – except for Australia, which for some reason has been a long-time fan of the competition. What I can honestly say now, after this weekend, is that I am a convert, and can now call myself a fan!
I had binge-listened to most of the entrants to the competition in the week before flying out to Vienna, but nothing compared to seeing the final show live. There were many songs I had listened to before and wasn’t crazy about, which I loved seeing live; in many cases, these under-appreciated songs surpassed some of my previously-favourite songs!
The evening, held on Saturday the 23rd of March 2015, was amazing. We had to be at the stadium at 7pm in order to get a good spot on the floor (which in case you’re wondering, is the best place to be!) and the show went on until nearly 1am, including voting and a final performance by the winner. Yet, the evening was fun from beginning to end. We ran into some friends and had a great time chatting before the show started, discussing the sets, and dancing during the intermission. The venue in the Wiener Stadthalle also had bars, so a couple of beers throughout the evening helped loosen us up to get a bit of dancing.
The Stunning Stage at Eurovision 2015
Aside from the music itself, what really blew my mind was the atmosphere on the floor. Not only was everyone enjoying themselves, it was also touching seeing thousands of flags from many different countries – as well as a bunch of rainbow flags – waving above the crowd. The artists also got a warm reception from the entire stadium after their sets; even non-fans like me got really into it: my hands and throat are still a little sore now from all the clapping and screaming!
The only downside of the evening was when Russia’s singer received clearly audible booing from many in the stadium at the start of the voting. This is obviously due to Russia’s blatant discrimination of LGBT rights, since the artist herself is very talented, and her song was definitely one of the best songs in the contest. Fans did not want a homophobic country hosting a usually gay-friendly event next year, but took the wrong approach, punishing an artist who has stood up for LGBT rights against her country’s laws. Thankfully, a little nudge from the hostesses reminding the crowd about ‘Building Bridges,’ and a heart to heart from Conchita Wurst (the beloved Austrian bearded drag queen, winner of last year’s Eurovision), turned the boos into a more accepting applause.
Eamonn & Me, Ready for the Eurovision 2015 final!
At the end of the night, once all 27 finalists had performed and the votes were counted, Sweden took top prize with the song ‘Heroes’ (we’ve been rooting for this song since the entry got announced, as it is a pretty nifty song!), while Russia came in second with ‘A Million Voices,’ and Italy third with ‘Grande Amore.’ Belgium’s catchy ‘Rhythm Inside’ ended up in fourth place, while Australia, a country invited as a one-time-only guest due to their long-standing support of Eurovision, ended up in fifth place with Guy Sebastian’s ‘Tonight Again.’
Biggest surprises of the night were Lithuania with the duet ‘This Time,’ which quickly became one of my favourite songs even though it didn’t do great in the competition, and Spain’s ‘Amanecer,’ which despite having a great song and performance, got only a few points. The live performance of France got roaring applause in the stadium, but the grandeur didn’t seem to translate into the TV, leaving the country in third-to-last place with only four points awarded. Austria and Germany surprisingly ended up in last place, without a single point awarded.
As I try to adopt the United Kingdom as my new home, I proudly waved my Union Jack flag, despite our entry ‘Still in Love With You’ only earning 5 points and ending in 24th place overall. Another guilty confession is: I actually really enjoy the song! It is a silly and playful jazzy melody, which would get me moving on the dance floor any day (after a few beers, especially).
The intermission proved to be another great treat. While the 40 voting countries around Europe gathered their votes, we were presented with an incredible half-way show filled with music, both upbeat drum & base and a classical chorus segment. Biggest highlight of the night was definitely when my group of friends and I ended up being recorded during the intermission, appearing dancing for about four seconds in front of an estimated 200 million viewers world-wide!
My Four Seconds of Fame on this Still from the BBC Broadcast of Eurovision 2015!
***
I am not sure if I’ll ever make it to another live Eurovision contest as visiting the show does require some serious commitment in the financial sense… however, this has been one of the coolest experiences I’ve had in Europe, and I am so happy I got the opportunity to go!
Have you ever been to Eurovision? What did you think?!
Filed under: •Vienna, Events, Gay & Lesbian, Theatre
