You never forget your first time (Or so they say) No, I’m talking about Eurovision! I think all of us who know and love the Eurovision Song Contest have a special place in our hearts for the first one we ever encountered. In this little series we’re making you, the Eurovision fans, the stars of the show and asking you to tell us about your first contest, what you loved about it, what made you come back and some of your special memories of Eurovision – last week I told you my Eurovision story, this week I’ve been talking to Heinz & Holger from Frankfurt, Germany and asking them to remember back to their first Eurovision experiences…

EUROVISION IRELAND: Which year was your first ever year watching ESC on TV?

HEINZ: Maybe I watched the previous years. But my first memory is from 1982 in Harrogate. I was 6 and I had to go to bed before the voting ended. But I remember the tension in our living room. The next morning my Mom said: Germany won. And during breakfast we heard the song in the radio. And I remember that my Mom said: I think the song will be played quite often in the radio from now on.

HOLGER: The first ESC I remember is the winning of Brotherhood of Men (1976). At that time I always saw Mom and Dad on TV as I thought.

EI: What is your strongest memory from that year?

HEINZ: I felt as a child, that something big is going on. I always saw Eurovision as an event where families come together for watching.
HOLGER: As the lead singer of Brotherhood of Man was very similar looking to my Dad, I thought he won the Eurovision Song Contest, the song was played many times in our living room!

EI: Were you alone or watching with friends/family?

HEINZ: With my family. But I only remember my Mum and Dad were with me.
HOLGER: Always watching with family and Grandparents.

EI: What did you like most about ESC from that time?

HEINZ: To hear songs in different languages than German and English.
HOLGER: I liked the atmosphere and the simplicity of the winning songs at that time.

EI: When did you get hooked and become a real fan of ESC?

HEINZ: It was in 2005 when Greece won. We have had greek friends watching with us. They cheered a lot. And our promise was: If Helena wins, we will go to ESC in Athens next year. It was more a funny phrase at that time. But we kept our promise.
HOLGER: Yes the same as Heinz, when we saw Greece win and then went to Athens.

EI: When was the first time you saw the contest live?

HEINZ: In 2006 in Athens. And it was overwehleming. When I hear the “opening theme” from the 2006 edition I always get goosebumps.
HOLGER: Also 2006 in Athens with Heinz.

EI: How many times have you been to ESC?

HEINZ: 5 times. Athens, Oslo, Duesseldorf, Malmo and Copenhagen.
HOLGER: 5 times like Heinz. While living in Copenhagen I visited both Semi-Finals live in Malmo.

EI: Finally, tell us something else interesting about your ESC history…

BOTH: In 2015 us and 2 friends celebrated the 60th edition of ESC by watching another historical edition of the ESC, every month from January to September 2015. We watched everyone’s year of birth edition and one additional historical-event-wish was granted. We celebrated in May the 2015 Edition with a buffet from 27 countries!

Thanks so much to Heinz & Holger for talking to us and sharing their Eurovision memories with us, we look forward to seeing you both in Stockholm very soon. Would you like to feature in this series? Yes? Leave us a message in the comments section and maybe we’ll choose you to share your Eurovision history.

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Author: Lisa-Jayne Lewis
Source: Eurovision Ireland