ESC101 - A Eurovision History Podcast

In this week’s episode, we are continuing our Eurovision 2026 coverage! Join us as we review the Studio versions of the auto-qualified entries!Show Notes: LinkEurovangelists Podcast T-Shirts: Link

In this bonus series, we’re reviewing past editions of the Eurovision Song Contest. This week, we’re reacting to the 1971 contest.Results: Link

In this week’s episode, we are continuing our Eurovision 2026 coverage! Join us as we review the Studio versions of the entries in Semi-Final 2!Show Notes: Link

In this bonus series, we’re reviewing past editions of the Eurovision Song Contest. This week, we’re reacting to the 1963 contest.Results: Link

In this week’s episode, we are kicking off our Eurovision 2026 coverage! Join us as we review the Studio versions of the entries in Semi-Final 1.Show Notes: Link

In this bonus episode, we’re sitting down with Matt from the Vienna Tourist Board to discuss their plans for the 70th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. Join us as we uncover some of the city’s exciting events designed to celebrate music and culture!The Vienna Tourist Board is the official marketing and management organization for Vienna, providing guests and tourism companies with services, tips, and information.Ivie App: Android | iOSVienna Tourism: Website | Instagram

In this bonus series, we’re reviewing past editions of the Eurovision Song Contest. This week, we’re starting off with the 1958 contest.ESC101 Voting Results: Link

As we prepare for the 2026 contest, we’re dedicating this episode to the venue that hosted the 2015 contest (as well as the upcoming 2026 contest), Wiener Stadthalle. Joining us this week is Sebastian (known as ‘Sebi’), one of the co-hosts of the Building Bridges Podcast. As Sebi’s home city of Vienna hosted both 2015 and the upcoming 2026 contest, we invited him onto the show to share his experience in 2015 as well as some tips and must-see locations to visit in 2026!Building Bridges is “A Eurovision Podcast for the Rest of us”. Hosted by Dave, Jan, and Sebi, Building Bridges is a podcast that lives out the slogan of the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest, “Building Bridges”. They conduct interviews with Eurovision artists and producers, reacting to entries and other elements of the Eurovision Song Contest.Show Notes: LinkBuilding Bridges: Website | Instagram

Welcome to a series exploring the languages and dialects featured at the Eurovision Song Contest. Join us in discovering the exotic sounds of Europe and beyond, learning about linguistic histories and enjoying some unique Eurovision entries. This episode covers 3 languages and 7 dialects: Georgian, German, Mühlviertlerisch, Styrian, Viennese, Vorarlbergisch, Greek, Ancient Greek, Cypriot Greek, and Pontic Greek.Show Notes: Link

This week's episode features the story of the interval act of the 1966 Eurovision Song Contest, Les Haricots Rouges. Join us as we learn about a French band specializing in Dixieland Jazz from New Orleans! Have a listen to their performance and see if you can spot a familiar tune!Show Notes: Link

In this week’s episode, we are returning to The Eurovision Travel Guide, our monthly series where we explore a country in the Eurovision Song Contest. Join us as we explore Bosnia and Herzegovina, learning about some of their entries, their national selection methods, and some fascinating historical and musical notes!Show Notes: Link

Welcome to a special edition of the Eurovision Yearbook, a series celebrating the lives of Eurovision artists. This week, we are joined by Dami Im, Australia’s representative at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016. Join us as we celebrate her 10 year anniversary at the contest and discover the story of Australia’s most successful artist at the contest!Show Notes: Link

This year, we are dedicating a series of bonus episodes reacting to the national selection shows for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026. Each bonus episode will feature the winning entry alongside a non-winning entry from each show. This episode features entries from the national finals hosted by the broadcasters representing Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, and Sweden.

Welcome to a series exploring the languages and dialects featured at the Eurovision Song Contest. Join us in discovering the exotic sounds of Europe and beyond, learning about linguistic histories and enjoying some unique Eurovision entries. This episode covers 6 languages and a dialect: Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, Karelian Finnish, and French.Show Notes: Link

This year, we are dedicating a series of bonus episodes reacting to the national selection shows for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026. Each bonus episode will feature the winning entry alongside a non-winning entry from each show. This episode features entries from the national finals hosted by the broadcasters representing Bulgaria. Finland, Germany, Italy, Norway, and Serbia.

This week’s episode shines a spotlight on the least noticed person on the Eurovision stage…the conductor! Join us as we explore the story of Arild Stav, the conductor of the Norwegian entry at the 1988 contest in Dublin, Ireland.Show Notes: Link

This year, we are dedicating a series of bonus episodes reacting to the national selection shows for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026. Each bonus episode will feature the winning entry alongside a non-winning entry from each show. This episode features entries from the national finals hosted by Austria, Croatia, Greece, and Lithuania.

In this week’s episode, we are returning to The Eurovision Travel Guide, our monthly series where we explore a country in the Eurovision Song Contest. Join us as we explore Albania, learning about some of their entries, their national selection methods, and some fascinating historical and musical notes! Discover the story of a secluded European culture emerging as a musical powerhouse!Show Notes: Link

Welcome to a series exploring the languages and dialects featured at the Eurovision Song Contest. Join us in discovering the exotic sounds of Europe and beyond, learning about linguistic histories and enjoying some unique Eurovision entries. This episode covers 8 languages: Belarusian, Breton, Bulgarian, Catalan, Constructed, Corsican, Crimean Tatar, and Czech.Show Notes: Link

This year, we are dedicating a series of bonus episodes reacting to the national selection shows for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026. Each bonus episode will feature the winning entry alongside a non-winning entry from each show. This episode features entries from the national finals hosted by Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, & Ukraine.

This week, we are featuring the story of Cinecittà, the venue of the 1991 Eurovision Song Contest. Join us as we explore the only film studio to host the contest, utilizing Studio 15 for the main hall and Studio 16 for the Green Room! Discover the eerie origins of this hub of Italian Cinema, home of the most chaotic contest!Show Notes: Link

This week, we are featuring the story of Doireann Ní Bhriain, the host of the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin, Ireland. Join us as we explore the life of an illustrious radio and television journalist who navigated the chaos of the voting sequence, and discover a familiar voice when riding public transit in Dublin!Show Notes: Link

Welcome to a new series exploring the languages and dialects featured at the Eurovision Song Contest. Join us in discovering the exotic sounds of Europe and beyond, learning about linguistic histories and enjoying some unique Eurovision entries. This episode covers 8 languages and dialects: Abkhaz, Albanian, Gheg Albanian, Amharic, Arabic, Aramaic, Armenian, and Azerbaijani.Show Notes: Link

This year, we are dedicating a series of bonus episodes reacting to the national selection shows for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026. Each bonus episode will feature the winning entry alongside three of our favourites from each show. This episode features entries from the national finals hosted by Luxembourg, Malta, and Moldova.

In this week’s episode, we are returning to The Eurovision Travel Guide, our monthly series where we explore a country in the Eurovision Song Contest. Join us as we explore the story of Belarus, home of Teo’s Cheesecake, Dmitry Working his Magic on stage, and Naviband sharing the Story of their Life!Show Notes: Link

This week, we’re featuring the story of Rudi Carrel, the Dutch artist who competed in the 1960 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. Join us as we explore the story of a television icon whose career included entertaining audiences and accidentally starting international incidents!Show Notes: Link

This year, we are dedicating a series of bonus episodes reacting to the national selection shows for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026. Each bonus episode will feature the winning entry alongside three of our favourites from each show. This episode features entries from Albania’s Festivali i Këngës and Montenegro’s Montesong.

This week’s episode shines a spotlight on the least noticed person on the Eurovision stage…the conductor! Join us as we explore the story of Benoît Kaufman, the musical director of the 1989 Eurovision Song Contest in Lausanne, Switzerland. Discover the story of a hard working musician working his way from night-club guitarist to musical director of the world’s largest international televised music competition!Show Notes: Link

The Eurovision Travel Guide explores the story of a participating broadcaster at the Eurovision Song Contest. As we enter into 2026, we’re continuing our celebration of Australia’s 10th anniversary at the contest. This week, we are joined by Jack Eaton, podcaster extraordinaire and Eurovision Fan at Large! Join us as we review all of Australia’s entries at the contest and find out which country is best friends with Australia!Jack Eaton: Mates in Space | Douze Points | Camp EurovisionShow Notes: Link

The Eurovision Travel Guide explores the story of a participating broadcaster at the Eurovision Song Contest. As we come to the end of 2025, we’re dedicating the next two episodes to celebrate Australia’s 10th anniversary at the contest. This week, we’re exploring the history of Australia and its associate member broadcaster SBS. We are joined by OGAE Australia President Lachlan Woods, sharing his insight into the Eurovision community in Australia after 10 years of participating in the contest.OGAE Australia: Website | Social MediaLachlan Woods: Social MediaShow Notes: Link

This week, we’re reacting to the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2025. JESC is a spin-off show inspired by the Eurovision Song Contest. It’s designed to feature singers between the ages of 9 and 14, with most of the ESC’s traditions adopted and adapted for a younger audience. Join us as we reveal our thoughts on the live performances and the show as a whole, and discover which songs were our favourites!Show Notes: Link

Pan-ArcticVision is a Eurovision for the Arctic, a music show featuring artists from across the arctic, building connections to communities across state borders. This year’s edition was hosted in Iqaluit, Nunavut. This week, we are reacting to the live show alongside Dave and Jan, two of the three hosts from the Building Bridges Podcast. Join us in reacting to the 2025 edition of Pan-ArcticVision and find out which songs were our favourites! Building Bridges is “A Eurovision Podcast for the Rest of us”. Hosted by Dave, Jan, and Sebi, Building Bridges is a podcast that lives out the slogan of the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest, “Building Bridges”. They conduct interviews with Eurovision artists and producers, reacting to entries and other elements of the Eurovision Song Contest.Building Bridges: Show Link | Social MediaPan-ArcticVision 2025: YouTube LinkShow Notes: Link

This week, we are reacting to the songs competing in the 23rd edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, the show dedicated to artists aged 9-14. Join us as we react to the 18 entries competing in this year’s competition! This episode focuses on the studio tracks. Find out our thoughts on the entries and discover our favourites!Show Notes: Link

In this week’s episode, we are returning to The Eurovision Travel Guide, our monthly series where we explore a country at the Eurovision Song Contest. Join us as we celebrate Ireland’s 60th anniversary at the contest, learning about some of their entries, their national selection methods, and some fascinating historical and musical notes! Discover the story of Eurovision’s most successful participant, holding the record for the most wins (alongside Sweden), as well as being the home of so many iconic moments from soothing Celtic dreams to outrageously wacky characters!Show Notes: Link

Pan-ArcticVision is a music project designed to unite the North in Song. This arctic program features voices from across multiple arctic communities made by the arctic, for the arctic. This week, we are joined by the Artistic Director of Pan-ArcticVision, Amund Sveen, who’s giving us a behind-the-scenes look at the Eurovision of the North.Show Notes: LinkPan-ArcticVision: Website | Social MediaNordting: Website | Social MediaAmund Sveen: Social Media

Welcome to the final installment of Life on the DQ List, a series that looks at the songs that never made it onto the Eurovision stage. From songs withdrawing due to artists changing their minds to scandalous disqualifications, we’re remembering the long lost songs destined for the dustbins of history! This week, we’re looking at cancelled entries from 2015-2022.Show Notes: LinkAppearance on the Building Bridges Podcast: LinkCanadian Podcast Awards Nomination: Link

This week, we are featuring the story of Marlene Charell, the host of the 1983 Eurovision Song Contest in Munich. Discover the story of how a talented cabaret entertainer hosted the world’s largest international music competition!Show Notes: Link

This week, we are returning to the Eurovision Yearbook, a series that features an artist that competed at the Eurovision Song Contest. This week, we are featuring the story of Matt Monro, the UK’s representative at the 1964 contest. Join us as we explore the story of a tank driving instructor and bus driver whose musical career started in Hong Kong, gaining the attention of big players in the music industry which led to a legendary music career!Show Notes: LinkMatt Monro Podcast: LinkMatt Monro Website: Link

In this week’s episode, we are exploring the story of the Brighton Dome, the venue that hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 1974. Join us as we learn about the 222 year old history of a building that went from being part of a royal residence to the concert hall that launched ABBA’s international career! Show Notes: Link

In this week’s episode, we are returning to The Eurovision Travel Guide, our monthly series where we explore a country in the Eurovision Song Contest. Join us as we explore Slovakia, learning about some of their entries, their national selection methods, and some fascinating historical and musical notes! Discover the story of a country fighting for a spot in the Grand Final, bringing us diverse sounds that speak to the hearts of Eurovision fans everywhere!Show Notes: Link

This week’s episode shines a spotlight on the least noticed person on the Eurovision stage…the conductor! Join us as we explore the story of Willy Fantel, the conductor of the Austrian entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1958. Discover the illustrious career of a seasoned musician who helped start the career of a future Eurovision winner, and find out how Willy accidentally ended up at the contest!Show Notes: Link

This week, we are dedicating an episode to explaining and reacting to the Intervision 2025 International Music Contest held in Moscow, Russia. As the Intervision Song Contest is part of Eurovision history and as this event attempts to tie itself with that history, it’s important to understand what it is. Join us as we reveal the mystery behind Intervision and hear the raw reactions to all 23 competing songs.Show Notes: Link

Welcome to Life on the DQ List, where we look back at the songs that never made it onto the Eurovision stage. From songs withdrawing due to artists changing their minds to scandalous disqualifications, we’re remembering the long lost songs destined for the dustbins of history! This week, we’re looking at cancelled entries from the first half of the 2010s!Show Notes: Link

In this week’s episode, we are returning to The Eurovision Travel Guide, our monthly series where we explore the history of a current or previously participating broadcaster at the Eurovision Song Contest. Join us as we feature the broadcaster from Türkiye, then known as Turkey, learning about some of their entries, their national selection methods, and some fascinating historical and musical notes! 50 years after their debut, Turkey’s legacy at the contest is unprecedented. From bops in the 80s to culturally powerful sounds in the 00s, Turkey’s time at the contest is diverse and iconic. While the Turkish Broadcaster no longer participates in the contest, we dedicate this episode to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their debut.Show Notes: Link

This week, we are featuring the story of the only Spanish host of the Eurovision Song Contest, Laurita Valenzuela! Join us as we explore the story of a host tasked with representing a controversial contest and discover how her career went for a few dramatic turns along the way!Show Notes: Link

This week's episode features the story of the interval act of the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest, the Hothouse Flowers. Join us as we discover how a busking duo transformed into a legendary Irish band, celebrating European unity!Show Notes: Link

In this week’s episode, we are celebrating two years of ESC101! Join us as we look back at the past year. Discover our favourite moments, delve into some listener questions, and join the party!

This week, we are featuring the Grand Dame of the Eurovision Song Contest Lys Assia, the first person to win the contest. Join us as we explore the life story of one of the few people to compete in three contests in a row! From old carousels to spicy Italian waiters, Lys brought the diverse sounds of Switzerland to the Eurovision stage, becoming an eternal icon of the contest.Show Notes: Link

To celebrate our 100th episode, we’ve put together a three-part mini series exploring the origins of the Eurovision Song Contest. This week, we are concluding with Part III, covering the origins of the contest itself. If you have no idea what the Eurovision Song Contest is or if you’re curious about how it started, then you’ve come to the right place! Join us as we delve into the story of the world’s largest international music competition, the show that launched the careers of ABBA and Celine Dion, debuting Riverdance to the world, and managing to set a Grammy Award record that still hasn’t been broken to this day!Show Notes: Link

To celebrate our 100th episode, we’ve put together a three-part mini series exploring the origins of the Eurovision Song Contest. This week, we are continuing with Part II, covering the show which inspired the contest, the Festival della Canzone Italiana, also known as the Sanremo Music Festival. We are joined by fellow Eurovision historian Andreas Grassl who has kindly shared his archival research skills with us, bringing fascinating insights into the story of Italy’s most popular music festival!Show Notes: Link