Happy New Year! As it’s almost the first day of 2017 and we’re all thinking about the coming year, we here at Eurovision Ireland decided to kick off 2017 with our wish list of things we’d love to see at this year’s contest – now just 5 months away!!

#1 – Verka in the Green Room

It just isn’t Eurovision or Ukraine without Verka Serduchka!! She and her dear mother stole the show during the voting in Stockholm and we just know she’d be the perfect host for the Green Room! Come on Ukraine, you know it makes sense!

#2 – Romania to make a BIG comeback

One of the biggest stories last year was Romania’s last minute exit from the contest. We’re not going to keep arguing whether that was fair or not (though you can probably guess where this writer sits! ) but we’d love to see Romania return and give us a great song and show that we missed in 2016! Ukraine came back after a year’s absence to win… can Romania do the same?

#3 – Different countries qualifying for the final

Eurovision can sometimes be a tad predictable with who qualifies for the final and who doesn’t. No disrespect to anyone taking part, but for 2017 it would be nice to see some countries make it to the final that haven’t for a few years now. Macedonia, Belarus, Ireland, Switzerland… 2017 is your time to shine!!

#4 – More singing hosts!

Love Love Peace Peace was a stroke of genius that us fans loved – some even calling it the best song of the night! Måns and Petra set the bar very high, but it would be nice to see such medleys become a Eurovision tradition!

#5 – More countries singing in languages other than English

Yes, alright, I can hear you hissing and booing me from behind your computer screens! I know a lot of people like an almost all-English Eurovision, but I’ve always said what makes the contest so special is the mix of languages and cultures. In recent years fewer and fewer countries have been singing in their native languages or languages other than English and I’d like to see that change. I mean, come on! A song partly in Crimean Tatar won, so it certainly doesn’t damage your chances of winning!

#6 – Another nail-biting voting round!

The results of Eurovision 2016 were possibly one of the most exciting we’ve EVER seen and our winner was kept secret to almost the very end. We need to have this again – I mean, who didn’t love Poland jumping all the way up the scoreboard!! You can’t write TV like that!!

#7 – A new country to win

Ok, so this is just a personal thing. But the champions of the last few Eurovisions have all been from countries that already have several victories to their names. The last “new” winner we had was way back in 2011! It would be great to see the 2017 trophy go to a country who have never won before. Dare I say it, it would be amazing for Portugal to win at long last!

What do you think of our wish list? What would you like to see at Eurovision 2017? Let us know in the comments!

Author: James Scanlan

Source: EurovisionIreland

Image Source: vecteezy.com