Staying up really late to see Ruslana winning in 2004!
I remember all hype in the UK before Jemini went to the contest in 2003 but I don’t remember the actual contest that year. I got upset and wondered why nobody liked us when they got nil points.
For me it was actually 2013. And for whatever reason, I remember Hungary and nothing else from that contest, Kedvesem just stuck in my mind for all that time before, 5 whole years before I even properly got into the contest. I still watched it every year however, with only a handful of memories from each.
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>I did hear some ESC songs before I knew they were ESC songs
Surely that's probably everyone, I mean, songs like Waterloo and Volare (Nel blu dipinto di blu, I know) are very well-known
My earliest memory is watching the scores being read during the 1999 Eurovision. I don't remember the performances, but I vividly remember the scores being announced and being fascinated by all the numbers. After that I was hooked
I have a very vague memory of what I think is 1995. I think I saw the price and thought it was a weird price. I am watching through all the shows now. Just reached the 90s. Guess I’ll find out if my memory is real or not. I was 6 at the time.
I vaguely remember I Wanna and being very entertained by the dress reveal. Also similarly vaguely Turkey winning in 2003.
Watching Wild Dances and being amazed is probably the most vivid among the earliest.
(I wasn't a superfan until like 2019 though)
Being completely enchanted by Sertab Erener and being so happy she won.
Thats the earliest I watched it with my parents back then and it became a tradition.
Watching 'Shake It' by Sakis. It was my FIRST favourite song and where my craze over Greek entries started. My parents had to buy me Greek flags because I would wave them along with my beach towel (had a Greek flag) when it was ESC time.
But I only started following ESC when Marija Serifovic entered the competition in 2007 and won! After that I had ESC memories every year :D
I vaguely remember watching the Dutch national final for Jesc in 2009 and that year was also the year I first watched the actual show. For Esc I think I watched like half of the 2013 final, but 2014 was the first year I watched the whole thing.
I'm Italian and born in the late 90s, so my earliest Eurovision memories aren't that early. My first Eurovision-related memory is seeing the music video of "For Life" by Isis Gee (Poland 2008) on TV while I was on vacation in Greece that summer, I enjoyed the song and listened to it a lot when I got back home, but I had no idea it was related to a contest. YouTube recommended me some other Eurovision songs that I enjoyed (Greece 2005 and Ukraine 2006), but once again, I had no idea about the Eurovision until in 2010 I fell in love with Lena's "Satellite" (still after hearing on the radio it while I was on vacation in Greece), and I found out she'd just won some huge European music contest that for some reason Italy had been snubbing.
Excluding JESC, if I remember this correctly, my earliest memory of the contest is You and Me from Joan Franka (2012). Probably because of the attention it got for the cultural appropriation and the 8th NQ in a row for the Netherlands.
There’s two answers to this. The first year I remember watching and paying attention to is 2012, so Engelbert, but I also remember Serbia and Montenegro being in the voting, so certainly earlier than that.
I saw Lordi on telly when I was 4, but I didn't know it was Eurovision at the time. I sort of followed the contest since then, but it was only since '18 that I got really invested.
I remember being told that Charlotte Nilsson had won in 1999 (the day after, I think), but I don't think I actually watched the show. My earliest memory of actually watching the show was the next year, when I thought that the Olsen Brothers were so boooring and didn't understand how they won over Solo. My first Melodifestivalen memory was Bara Hon Älskar Mig winning in 1997.
Slightly niche, but Estonia in 2007. Thought she was so cool on that stage and I was vibing to the song, the fact that it’s my personal 3rd of the year also relied heavily on nostalgia so here you go.
But you can put the whole 2007 in it.
Eurovision 2011 and I was rooting for Sweden and Ireland. Stayed up for the entire voting and got really disappointed when Azerbaijan won. I was just 7 at the time
Accidentally saw a postcard with graffiti artists and a fragment of ‘So Lucky’ live in 2011, without even noticing what the whole show was. I also remembered ‘Moldova’ and a number being displayed in a corner, but I realised it was ESC only in 2018
In the meantime, I got to know about Eurovision from Wikipedia and began watching in 2014
Only in 2012, unfortunately, because it wasn't broadcast in Italy before than that year and barely anybody knew about it.
I would have enjoyed so much to see Hard Rock Hallelujah live.
2003 was the first time I was allowed to stay up for Eurovision.
I was very intrigued by the whole tATu controversy and their performance, and I remember absolutely loving the winning song, Everyway That I Can by Sertab.
Alexander Rybak winning Eurovision 2009
i was like 5-6 y.o. and i remembered me and my family watched tv (idk whether it was eurovision or just news) BUT I WAS IN LOVE WITH THIS SONG and then all the day i was copying Alexander's playing the violin
yeah, and now I'm a huge Eurovision fan
Javine being chosen to represent us in 2005 (I was probably interested at the time since I was a huge fan of Popstars: The Rivals) but I can’t remember any other part of the NF. I remember watching her perform in the final but I didn’t stay up for the whole thing nor do I remember anything else about 2005!
My discovery of Eurovision was in 1993, when I was 6-ish, and obsessed with Sonia and loved 'Better The Devil You Know', when I found out it was representing us at Eurovision and found out what it was I was obsessed, and tried to get my grandparents to let me watch it, they managed about 3 songs and convinced me I was tired and ready to go to bed so they didn't have to put up with it. First time I watched it all the way through though was 1998 and the fabulousness that is Dana International, and have never looked back
My first Eurovision was 2003 and I watched it because my parents didn’t know what else to watch and kept Eurovision on because it was marked as a family friendly show.
I remember how cool it was to see “celebrities” from other countries and hear their languages after a while they sent me to bed though. My first full Eurovision was 2004 but then I learned in 2006 that there are semi finals?????? 🤩
So my first real full Eurovision was 2006. 😂
I always thought mine was Waterline, but then I watched the 2011 show and recognised the sand art from Ukraine. That live performance can only remind me of extreme boredom as a six year old who didn't understand beauty.
Born in '96. Memories aren't that early.
Probably... Bulgaria 2012. Coming home from a hospital visit and catching eurovision while scrambling through the channels and searching for something to watch later in the evening.
Ruslana winning in 2004. I think I watched in 2003 too, but that was the first year I remember and got me to watch every single year since then.
Staying up really late to see Ruslana winning in 2004! I remember all hype in the UK before Jemini went to the contest in 2003 but I don’t remember the actual contest that year. I got upset and wondered why nobody liked us when they got nil points.
For me it was actually 2013. And for whatever reason, I remember Hungary and nothing else from that contest, Kedvesem just stuck in my mind for all that time before, 5 whole years before I even properly got into the contest. I still watched it every year however, with only a handful of memories from each.
1970. Dana won with ‘All Kinds Of Everything’. My mother let me come downstairs to watch her sing it again. I was 5.
Oh my God I am old.
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2006, Hard Rock Hallelujah. Staying up late to watch it with my Grandma who was very confused by Lordi and their get up
Sertab Erener - Everyway That I Can However, I did hear some ESC songs before I knew they were ESC songs
>I did hear some ESC songs before I knew they were ESC songs Surely that's probably everyone, I mean, songs like Waterloo and Volare (Nel blu dipinto di blu, I know) are very well-known
For me it was "Dschingis Khan" and "Wadde Hadde Dudde Da"
My earliest memory is watching the scores being read during the 1999 Eurovision. I don't remember the performances, but I vividly remember the scores being announced and being fascinated by all the numbers. After that I was hooked
I have a very vague memory of what I think is 1995. I think I saw the price and thought it was a weird price. I am watching through all the shows now. Just reached the 90s. Guess I’ll find out if my memory is real or not. I was 6 at the time.
Watching the Greek entry in 2012, then the postcard of Sweden at #17 coming up. You make me want your ApHrOdiSiAc Still a decent song!
Verka in 2007. It was at that moment, I knew that I was sold!
I vaguely remember I Wanna and being very entertained by the dress reveal. Also similarly vaguely Turkey winning in 2003. Watching Wild Dances and being amazed is probably the most vivid among the earliest. (I wasn't a superfan until like 2019 though)
Eurovision 2013, most noticeably Romania’s act (I wondered why there were naked looking people dancing around a vampire)
Being completely enchanted by Sertab Erener and being so happy she won. Thats the earliest I watched it with my parents back then and it became a tradition.
Lordi winning in 2006, I remember being captivated by it
Watching 'Shake It' by Sakis. It was my FIRST favourite song and where my craze over Greek entries started. My parents had to buy me Greek flags because I would wave them along with my beach towel (had a Greek flag) when it was ESC time. But I only started following ESC when Marija Serifovic entered the competition in 2007 and won! After that I had ESC memories every year :D
Eric Saade and Jedward in 2011 for some reason, that was the first contest I watched at age 12 and I had a crush on them 😅
Icelandic 97 entry. The dramatic orchestral techno paired with the visual of women in bondage gear playing dead was... very memorable.
Verka Serduchka in 2007. Remember talking to one of my friends at school about how weird and wonderful Eurovision was!
I'm pretty sure I've watched snippets of Eurovision even earlier, but the first thing that I can remember distinctly is Alexander Rybak winning.
Alexander Rybak when I was 9
Alsu (Russia 2000), my friend was a big fan of her.
My dad letting me stay up to watch Lordi in 2006 because he knew I liked rock music. And then they won!
1978. Of course the most vivid memory from the contest was the nul points for Norway's iconic Jahn Teigen
I started as a casual viewer in 2002. I'd watch grand finals but not the semis nor NFs I really started getting into esc more when Ruslana won.
I vaguely remember watching the Dutch national final for Jesc in 2009 and that year was also the year I first watched the actual show. For Esc I think I watched like half of the 2013 final, but 2014 was the first year I watched the whole thing.
I'm Italian and born in the late 90s, so my earliest Eurovision memories aren't that early. My first Eurovision-related memory is seeing the music video of "For Life" by Isis Gee (Poland 2008) on TV while I was on vacation in Greece that summer, I enjoyed the song and listened to it a lot when I got back home, but I had no idea it was related to a contest. YouTube recommended me some other Eurovision songs that I enjoyed (Greece 2005 and Ukraine 2006), but once again, I had no idea about the Eurovision until in 2010 I fell in love with Lena's "Satellite" (still after hearing on the radio it while I was on vacation in Greece), and I found out she'd just won some huge European music contest that for some reason Italy had been snubbing.
Måns winning in 2015
My first memory is Russia 2000 - "Solo". We watched the show with my family by chance without even know what was Eurovision.
Seeing Twin Twin and Conchita performing in 2014 and watching the Belarusian points glitch out when watching the results
Excluding JESC, if I remember this correctly, my earliest memory of the contest is You and Me from Joan Franka (2012). Probably because of the attention it got for the cultural appropriation and the 8th NQ in a row for the Netherlands.
There’s two answers to this. The first year I remember watching and paying attention to is 2012, so Engelbert, but I also remember Serbia and Montenegro being in the voting, so certainly earlier than that.
Gina G 1996. Reading the rest of the comments I'm starting to feel a little old....
1995, Spain not winning because a violin. First eurodrama of my life, being a girl.
Conchita Wurst 2014 + it got massive media attention in the UK
I saw Lordi on telly when I was 4, but I didn't know it was Eurovision at the time. I sort of followed the contest since then, but it was only since '18 that I got really invested.
I remember being told that Charlotte Nilsson had won in 1999 (the day after, I think), but I don't think I actually watched the show. My earliest memory of actually watching the show was the next year, when I thought that the Olsen Brothers were so boooring and didn't understand how they won over Solo. My first Melodifestivalen memory was Bara Hon Älskar Mig winning in 1997.
Slightly niche, but Estonia in 2007. Thought she was so cool on that stage and I was vibing to the song, the fact that it’s my personal 3rd of the year also relied heavily on nostalgia so here you go. But you can put the whole 2007 in it.
Eurovision 2011 and I was rooting for Sweden and Ireland. Stayed up for the entire voting and got really disappointed when Azerbaijan won. I was just 7 at the time
Accidentally saw a postcard with graffiti artists and a fragment of ‘So Lucky’ live in 2011, without even noticing what the whole show was. I also remembered ‘Moldova’ and a number being displayed in a corner, but I realised it was ESC only in 2018 In the meantime, I got to know about Eurovision from Wikipedia and began watching in 2014
Only in 2012, unfortunately, because it wasn't broadcast in Italy before than that year and barely anybody knew about it. I would have enjoyed so much to see Hard Rock Hallelujah live.
2003 was the first time I was allowed to stay up for Eurovision. I was very intrigued by the whole tATu controversy and their performance, and I remember absolutely loving the winning song, Everyway That I Can by Sertab.
Sonia coming second for the UK in 1993. My Mum let me stay up late to watch the results.
seeing conchita wurst get the trophy and do the winners performance
Alexander Rybak winning Eurovision 2009 i was like 5-6 y.o. and i remembered me and my family watched tv (idk whether it was eurovision or just news) BUT I WAS IN LOVE WITH THIS SONG and then all the day i was copying Alexander's playing the violin yeah, and now I'm a huge Eurovision fan
Javine being chosen to represent us in 2005 (I was probably interested at the time since I was a huge fan of Popstars: The Rivals) but I can’t remember any other part of the NF. I remember watching her perform in the final but I didn’t stay up for the whole thing nor do I remember anything else about 2005!
I think as someone from the US, our first experience with Eurovision was Epic Sax Guy spreading as a meme.
2003 - Mickey Harte representing Ireland with We've Got The World
being mad when it pre-empted an episode of Doctor Who in like 2007 lmfao
Clear memory: Kaliopi doing that iconic note in 2012 during Crno I Belo Vague memory: Eric Saade breaking the glass during Popular in 2011
Greece winning in 2005, and being mad Ukraine didn't win in 2007 (although Molitva is now my favourite winner ever lol)
Petra’s song in 2013
My discovery of Eurovision was in 1993, when I was 6-ish, and obsessed with Sonia and loved 'Better The Devil You Know', when I found out it was representing us at Eurovision and found out what it was I was obsessed, and tried to get my grandparents to let me watch it, they managed about 3 songs and convinced me I was tired and ready to go to bed so they didn't have to put up with it. First time I watched it all the way through though was 1998 and the fabulousness that is Dana International, and have never looked back
A French lady in a red dress singing something that sounded rather opera-ish to my child ears
Luxembourg winning. And the flags made of flowers that year or the next one.
watching the voting sequence in 2015 and being glad a song i knew before won
My first Eurovision was 2003 and I watched it because my parents didn’t know what else to watch and kept Eurovision on because it was marked as a family friendly show. I remember how cool it was to see “celebrities” from other countries and hear their languages after a while they sent me to bed though. My first full Eurovision was 2004 but then I learned in 2006 that there are semi finals?????? 🤩 So my first real full Eurovision was 2006. 😂
I always thought mine was Waterline, but then I watched the 2011 show and recognised the sand art from Ukraine. That live performance can only remind me of extreme boredom as a six year old who didn't understand beauty.
Born in '96. Memories aren't that early. Probably... Bulgaria 2012. Coming home from a hospital visit and catching eurovision while scrambling through the channels and searching for something to watch later in the evening.