This article forms part of the OnEurope archive and was originally published on oneurope.co.uk. It has been permanently migrated to oneurope.net, the official home of OnEurope.
It’s been a glorious day in Stockholm, the sun finally broke through and we’ve had the warmest temperatures this year. This city is stunning in the sunlight. It’s made for a lovely day’s strolling through the town. First stop: Globen for accreditation and a bijou trollette around the arena. It’s quiet at the moment, but branding is in full view and we were treated to this year’s songs being piped out of the speakers as you cross the Globensbron bridge from the station to the hall. We had Denmark on the outward journey, Slovenia on the way back; neither drew a crowd.
After that, we went up to Gamla Stan. We had the good fortune to catch what I think was the changing of the guard at the Royal Palace. They like a bit of pomp here. We had a marching band in full regalia doing an intricate routine to ABBA’s Dancing Queen on a brass section (playing to all the tourist stereotypes there then). From there, Andrew from Eurovision Ireland took me up to Kungsträdgården for a spot of luncheon (a veggie burger, burger count 2 so far) overlooking the pretty cherry blossoms that line the location of the Eurovision Village when it opens later this week.
We’ve had our first look at the EuroClub too, a special preview for the press who are here early. It’s a huge tent erected on Skeppsbron directly opposite the Royal Palace. We got a view of all parts of it: one side will operate as Euro Fan Café, open to the public during the day and to just accredited visitors at night. A small stage will double as a DJ booth, making the evening venue a smaller space for the first four nights. On Friday, the other half will open as EuroClub proper, with a much larger dance floor and delegates-only balcony. We got into there today, pre-delegations, and it’s a great space for them with a whole heap of sofas and comfy cushions. I note that seating in the rest of the venue is rather at a premium, and quite utilitarian, but for a single-use, temporary structure that’s to be expected. At my age, though, you long for a sofa for a little while at least come 3am when you’ve just given your best Linda Bengtzing. A nifty extra this year is Lillebaren, a smaller bar upstairs that will host karaoke at night but carry the rehearsals from the venue for those accredited through OGAE.
I’m pleased, dear reader, to report that there will be food in the Club for us this year too. Swedish laws mean that to get an alcohol licence, food must be offered. We’ll have a selection during the day in the Fan Café and then late-night pizza, and I may have heard a rumour of chips. That might keep my burger count down. All in all, it’s an impressive space for a new-build, although the key will be the atmosphere they create, and we’ll get a better idea of this as we go through the week.
I’ve finished the afternoon recording a podcast for ESC Insight which will be up tomorrow. Now I’m chilling for the evening, and planning to be fresh for those first rehearsals tomorrow. Well, I am at the moment at least…
Monty x
