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Eurostory was founded by Dutch poets and writers. We focus on stories and lyrics – at Eurovision!

Blanche: uncut diamond from Brussels

Paradiso, Amsterdam, November 27th 2018

She came fourth at the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest. Afterwards City lights made its way to many European music charts and Blanche even won the European Border Breakers Award. Then it got silent, for more than a year and a half. Until late November 2018, when she kicked off her tour… »

  • Concert Report
  • Jelmer Soes Jelmer Soes

Kristian Kostov: Shower Thoughts

The most beautiful lines of his 2018 EP

We’ve come to know Kristian Kostov from a groundbreaking runner-up position for Bulgaria in the 2017 Song Contest. The singer, who was seventeen at the time, performed his Beautiful Mess in an astonishingly convincing and surprisingly professional way. He was given an EBBA Award, handed out to young artists who… »

  • Album Review
  • Edward van de Vendel Edward van de Vendel

My love for tomorrow: Italy

On May 22nd, 2017, thousands of teenage dreams were ripped apart when, after a concert of Ariana Grande in Manchester, an explosive went off. What should have been the evening of their life, ended for many of them in a nightmare. The name of the youngest victim was Saffie: a… »

  • Lissabon 2018
  • Dave Boomkens Dave Boomkens

Israel: the compact Netta-encyclopaedia

She is without doubt the most colourful winner Eurovision ever saw: Netta Barzilai (1993) from Israel. With her song Toy she has managed to make many, many viewers dance. So we’ve created a concise encyclopaedia. Choose the headwords you find interesting, and take a step inside Nettaland. A-ba-ni-bi Netta’s favourite… »

  • Article
  • Lissabon 2018
  • Edward van de Vendel Edward van de Vendel

Ireland: A Tale of Two Boys

Two boys are leaving the pub. It’s cold outside, so one of them waits in the door opening to put on his scarf. They walk. It had been raining until a few minutes ago, the streets are glistening in the light of the lanterns, pubs and shop windows. It’s quite… »

  • Article
  • Lissabon 2018
  • Jelmer Soes Jelmer Soes

Who won Eurostory’s Best Lyrics Award?

To highlight the art of writing songlyrics, www.eurostory.nl hands out the Eurostory Best Lyrics Award – an award for the best line of all the song lyrics from this year’s Eurovision-songs. This prize wants to point out the best metaphor, the strongest written line or the most poetic image. All… »

  • Article
  • Lissabon 2018
  • Edward van de Vendel Edward van de Vendel

Waylon and his proud country

If it were possible to have any doubt about the musical capabilities of Waylon, then he took those away completely last Monday, during a small, intimate concert in a bar underneath a bridge. Waylon enters the stage, accompanied by two of his band members. ‘These songs are real, honest, and they’re… »

  • Lissabon 2018
  • Zeno Kapitein Zeno Kapitein

Our love in Semi-Final 2: Georgia

Something happened during Eurovision last year. Amidst all the fireworks, light shows, dancers and apotheoses, a little song from Portugal won. It gave us a message: bring back music. Georgia took that advice, and sent ethno-jazz formation Iriao with a plain task: go to Lisbon, and bring music. Salvador’s call… »

  • Lissabon 2018
  • Jelmer Soes Jelmer Soes

My love for tonight: Hungary

Singer Örs from Hungary embodied his late father and tried to reproduce his father’s last thoughts. The thoughts of a father whose son is standing at the end of his deathbed. The result is Viszlát nyár, which translates as ‘Goodbye summer’. Progressive Hungarian metal in which the summer is a symbol… »

  • Lissabon 2018
  • Dave Boomkens Dave Boomkens

My love for tonight: Lithuania

Initially singer Ieva didn’t want to participate at all, but when she heard When we’re old for the first time, she was sold. She immediately thought of Valdas Adamkus, the man who had been president of Lithuania for about ten years. She thought of how Adamkus once was present at one of… »

  • Lissabon 2018
  • Dave Boomkens Dave Boomkens

Cyprus: the queen of being underestimated

Every year it happens once or twice: everyone focuses on the highest ranked Eurovison entries in the bookmakers lists, almost blind-staring at just those favourites. Meanwhile, unnoticed and anonymous, one country slowly climbs up, step by step. First just a doubt, then just a song somewhere in the middle, then… »

  • Lissabon 2018
  • Jelmer Soes Jelmer Soes

Czech Republic: Mikolas Josef talks to us about writing and reading

Can we talk about the lyrics of your song? Cool, I like that. Let’s get to it! Well, first question: what line do you like most? I was in the studio recording this and the moment I did: ‘I know you bop-whop-a-lu-bop on his wood bamboo’ and the sound engineer… »

  • Interview
  • Lissabon 2018
  • Edward van de Vendel Edward van de Vendel

Bulgaria: the resurrection of a woman

Tomorrow night, when the Bulgarian flag appears on the screen of many European citizens, five people will enter the stage. Four male, one female. Their song is dark and gloomy and pulls you into the pitch black of our universe. The song Bones will reach the finals on saturday and… »

  • Lissabon 2018
  • Jelmer Soes Jelmer Soes

Will Alexander Rybak win the Eurovision Comeback Contest as well?

Alexander Rybak is back. The glorious winner of 2009 (Fairytale) is once again singing for Norway. A courageous step! Because absolutely everybody has asked him the same question over the past few months: why-why-why? And: you’ve already won-won-won once? And: do you think you’ll win-win-win again? Which means that Rybak… »

  • Article
  • Lissabon 2018
  • Edward van de Vendel Edward van de Vendel

Ode to Mercy

  Ode to Mercy, written by Emilie Satt & Jean-Karl Lukas, who are also the performers: Madame Monsieur. France, Eurovision 2018

  • Comic
  • Ode
  • Saskia Halfmouw Saskia Halfmouw

Eurostory Award: the voting begins now!

Eurostory is once again going through all the lyrics of this year’s Songcontest entries to find the best Eurovision line – the one with the prettiest poetry, the most meaningful metaphor, the most interesting imagery. The winning line – and its author(s) – will receive the Eurostory Award 2018. Two… »

  • Article
  • Edward van de Vendel Edward van de Vendel

Ode to Cláudia Pascoal

  • Comic
  • Ode
  • Seppe Van den Berghe Seppe Van den Berghe

JOWST: YOU HAVE TO GO OFF-ROAD

JOWST (stage name of Joakim With Steen, Norway, 1989) was a sound engineer in a well-known studio in Oslo, until he decided to quit his job to become the producer, composer and artist that he is now. He participated in the Eurovision Song Contest of 2017 with one of his… »

  • Interview
  • Edward van de Vendel Edward van de Vendel

Running for your life – to join Eurovision

The extraordinary story of Fazla from Sarajevo

What would you give to participate in the Eurovision Song contest? ‘Everything’, an artist would say, but what does that really mean, ‘everything’? Muhamed Fazlagic (Fazla) and his band must have had an idea, when they ran for their lives across an airplane strip near Sarajevo, that night in 1993…. »

  • Article
  • Interview
  • Jelmer Soes Jelmer Soes

Tribute to Carl Espen

In 2014 stond er naast dat Nederlandse duo (The Common Linnets met Calm after the storm) nog een artiest op het Eurovisiepodium die over een storm zong. Ilse van der Velden, studente Creative Writing aan ArtEZ Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Arnhem, schreef over de Noorse zanger Carl Espen. Voor een… »

  • Ode
  • Ilse van der Velden Ilse van der Velden

Loreen: Ride

The best lines of the new album

‘I am an activist,’ Loreen said at the end of 2017 during one of her performances. It was ever so casual. The four words were pronounced by the Swedish-Moroccan singer in front of the guests of the Pontus Schulz foundation. This is a Swedish organisation dedicated to a more humane… »

  • Album Review
  • Dave Boomkens Dave Boomkens

Ode to Dervish

THE WORLD OF IRISH CHEERFULNESS On the evening of the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 I didn’t watch television. My parents did. It so happened that when I came downstairs to grab some crisps and a glass of coke from the kitchen, the most beautiful song of the evening was about… »

  • Ode
  • Pim Lammers Pim Lammers

With nowaday’s ears: Amar pelos dois

Portugal’s winning song, analysed by three experts – plus the most beautiful cover versions

Here was a man, singing a very distinct song. One that you may love with a passion or hate equally. A fragile, somewhat jazzy song about a lost love. Salvador Sobral’s Amar pelos dois was remarkable for its soberness between all the other, often excessively orchestrated walls of sound. Luísa,… »

  • With Nowaday's Ears
  • Jaap Friso Jaap Friso

Waylon’s Outlaw in ’em: a closer look

It was a national final, and yet it wasn’t. In a sweeping five-day run on daily primetime tv-show De wereld draait door Waylon introduced the Dutch viewers to the songs he would have liked to bring to Lisbon. In the meantime, he had already opted for the most radical song… »

  • Article
  • Edward van de Vendel Edward van de Vendel

JAMALA: What does it mean to be number one?

With her unique and different song 1944 Jamala brought the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest to Ukraine. The singer is known for her music, obviously, but also for expressing her opinion on matters that are important to her. We sent her seven difficult questions and Jamala was so kind as to… »

  • Interview
  • Edward van de Vendel Edward van de Vendel

THE VOTING PROCEDURE

  • Photo Comic
  • Ype Driessen Ype Driessen

Is this scorecard for m…?

  • Photo Comic
  • Ype Driessen Ype Driessen

Ding-a-dong

  • Photo Comic
  • Ype Driessen Ype Driessen

EUPHORIA

  • Photo Comic
  • Ype Driessen Ype Driessen

Ode to Dana International

Embrace In 1998 I was five years old, an age when you don’t think about what’s happening outside the walls of your own home. My world consisted of my toys; giving names to my stuffed animals and building Duplo castles consumed all of my attention. I was old enough to… »

  • Ode
  • Pim Lammers Pim Lammers

Ann Sophie: Letting go of the past (2)

In the first part of this interview, Ann Sophie talked about having to start over after her record label dumped her. And about the courage that it requires. PART TWO: ABOUT EUROVISION AND STAYING GOLD How much did Eurovision help you with all this? Well, it’s funny. When I was… »

  • Interview
  • Edward van de Vendel Edward van de Vendel

Ann Sophie: Letting go of the past (1)

Ann Sophie’s path to Eurovision has been rockier than most. In early 2015 a German broadcaster organised a club concert. Ten undiscovered talents battled for a wild card that would get them into the German national Eurovision final. Ann Sophie won. Things also went really well during the televised Our… »

  • Interview
  • Edward van de Vendel Edward van de Vendel

Måns Zelmerlöw: Chameleon

The best lines of the new album

When he was 12 years old, Måns Zelmerlöw grew tomatoes and wore track bottoms. He wasn’t very popular, but eventually he was noticed and saved by a new friend. This story was the foundation for the visual presentation of Heroes, the song with which Måns won the European Song Contest… »

  • Album Review
  • Edward van de Vendel Edward van de Vendel

DONNY

  • Photo Comic
  • Ype Driessen Ype Driessen

So, will Kosovo be a part of Eurovision?

Politics aren’t supposed to be a factor in the Eurovision Song Contest. But from time to time they are. For instance when a state wants to join – but isn’t recognized by some of the other European countries. Especially for Eurostory, Norwegian journalist Steinar Even Østmoe went to Pristina, to… »

  • Article
  • Steinar Even Østmoe Steinar Even Østmoe

OUR EUROSTORY EUROVISION SONG: WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?

We asked the awesome Koonian to write  a song for us. And… we dared him to fit ALL THIS YEAR’S EUROVISION SONG TITLES in the lyrics. So here it is – with this one we celebrate Eurovision 2018!

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Contest Info per year

Learn everything you need to know about the past of every edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, complete with contestants, points, videos, and much more!