You no doubt will all be aware by now that this year is the 70 year anniversary of our beloved contest .It’s come a long way from that day back in 1956 when Lys Assia sang her way to victory for Switzerland in the first ever song contest . We at Eurovision Ireland have decided in the days leading up to the Grand Final ,to mark the seventy years by looking back on our memories over the years that we have been involved in the contest be it be as a TV viewer during our younger years or during the media work that we do . Today , in this final part of our series, it’s the turn of me, Sarah, to share my own  memories with you of 70 years of Eurovision .

What’s your favourite ever Eurovision song and why ?

Ooh , this is a difficult choice! So many great songs have passed through the years. However, if you put me on the spot, I would say that my absolute favourite song is actually one that won the contest in 1963, before I was born ! It’s Dansevise by Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann. I just love the simplicity of the song and the beautiful Danish lyrics. Those were also the days where the contest was more about the singing rather than stage performance. I also like that this song has stood the test of time and remains as popular today as it was in 1963.

Eurovision has seen many changes in 70 years. If you could turn the clock back, which decade would you go back to and why?

I would definitely go back to the 1970s. I have such fond memories of those days , especially 1974 , as that was my first ever Eurovision at the age of 9 years old! In those days it was more about the songs than a big stage show and it was also the days where the UK seemed to take the contest more seriously than they do today.. I also in those days couldn’t have envisaged that I would be witnessing a huge part of ESC history when I saw Abba win in 1974. What a moment to be alive and witness !

Are there any songs you feel should have won but didn’t?

This was a hard one to call as there are a few songs, I feel should have won but came close but if I had to pick any, one would be “Never , ever let you go ” by Rollo and King , when the contest was in Copenhagen in 2001. It came very close to giving Denmark a back to back win and in my view should have done .

Another song that I think should have won was Sonia for the UK in 1993 with Better the Devil you know. It was a great pop song and Sonia was awesome on the night.Unfortunately the luck of the Irish was very prominent during the 1990’s and Sonia narrowly missed out on taking the trophy back to the UK .It was great to see her back in Liverpool in 2023 when Liverpool hosted the contest to reprieve her song .

What is your most memorable moment from all the years you have watched the contest?

Oooh there are many but my very best memorable moment has to be seeing the UK , with Katrina and the Waves win in 1997 . UK hadn’t won the contest since 1981 , so we were well overdue a win :-) . It was great to watch the stream of “douze points” and other high scores and I remember dancing around my lounge celebrating with my son , who was 10 at the time . Unfortunately that remains the last time the UK won , although Sam Ryder came close in 2022!

Who are your favourite Eurovision hosts and why?

I could pick the obvious ones like Petra Mede and Hannah Waddingham, who I love , but I think Kattis Ahlström and Anders Lundin in Stockholm 2000 deserve a mention . They complemented each other well on stage and I loved how they played the scenario of Anders being the joking fool against Kattis’s straight talking woman . They also didn’t have to do any performing in interval acts either to come across well , they just stuck to doing the presenting.

What is your favourite Irish entry from 70 years of Eurovision?

Ireland have brought us some treasures over the years but my favourite has to be Dana with “All Kinds of Everything ” in 1970.She gave them their first win. Such a simple song, probably a bit too sugar sweet for some people but it brings me fond memories of my childhood years growing up in the 70s.

What is your favourite interval act?

I haver enjoyed many interval acts and I have a couple of favourites . My number 1 is the interval act from the Grand Final in Liverpool 2023 when Duncan Laurence performed “You’ll never walk alone ” and was then joined on stage by the hosts and all the interval performers and a crowd led by Ruslana in Kyiv , Ukraine . It brought a lump to my throat, it was so emotional and showed an expression of unity between the UK and Ukraine and solidarity with them in their time of need.

My second choice is the interval act in Stockholm 2000 . I loved the musical film journey through Europe showing the cultures of different countries and people going about their daily lives , which then culminated with dancers on the stage in Stockholm.Made me feel proud to be a part of Europe .

So that concludes our series on our ESC 70 year memories. It’s been great and a bit nostalgic to take a trip back in time and remember all our fave bits of ESC over the years.

What are your favourite memories of Eurovision over the years?

Let us know what you think of Eurovision and the seventy year anniversary by leaving us a comment below and you can find us on our Facebook, X , Instagram and Bluesky feeds .

You can find Part Four of this series  HERE

Author : Sarah Rudman

Source : Eurovision Ireland ,You Tube, Eurovision.TV