The road to Rotterdam: French titles for the trophy
Hosting Eurovision in Covid times
The lead-up to the 2021 contest was a very special time for fans. First, many delegations had already confirmed that they would either keep their 2020 artists for 2021, or at least give them a spot in their national final (like Sweden, Finland or Lithuania, where The Roop was guaranteed a spot in the final). But there were also doubts about how the contest could go on: four scenarios were drafted by the EBU, from a “business as usual” scenario A to a “full lockdown” scenario D, where all the artists would perform from their home country.
In early March, as Sanremo started without an audience, AVROTROS and the EBU confirmed that their intention was to aim for scenario B: limited audience, smaller delegations, less press, social distancing, and regular testing. Moreover, to face any issues regarding travel restrictions or potential Covid clusters in the contest, each act was required to record a “Live-on-tape” video to be used as a backup.
In early April, the presence of an audience was confirmed, and the contest was finally on the right tracks to come back, stronger than ever. But the question remained: who would win it?
A collection of contenders
Like in previous articles, we have reported the bookmakers’ top 5 contenders for the win, but at three different moments in the season instead of four. We’ve elected not to use a “mid-promotion season” date, as there was hardly any promotion season in 2021, with pre-parties being impossible to organize. The odds were taken:
- On March 7, a day after Sanremo
- On March 16, a day after the last 2021 song was revealed
- On May 7, a day before the beginning of rehearsals
| Position | March 7 | March 16 | May 7 |
| 1st | 🇮🇸 Iceland | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | 🇲🇹 Malta |
| 2nd | 🇫🇷 France | 🇲🇹 Malta | 🇫🇷 France |
| 3rd | 🇷🇺 Russia | 🇧🇬 Bulgaria | 🇨🇭 Switzerland |
| 4th | 🇮🇹 Italy | 🇫🇷 France | 🇮🇹 Italy |
| 5th | 🇧🇬 Bulgaria | 🇮🇹 Italy | 🇮🇸 Iceland |
| 🇮🇹 Italy | 4th* | 5th | 4th |
*Italy peaked at 2nd a few days after Sanremo and was 4th on March 7 but shortening and rising to this second place ; this was, however, a week full of reveals of internally-selected songs, and odds were moving quickly to get Italy back to 4th place
What these rankings do not show, however, was how uncertain the competition was. Whether in terms of actual odds, or feelings around the fan community, neither Switzerland, France nor Malta were seen at any point as “the” favourite the same way Russia, Italy, Israel and The Netherlands had been in the previous four contests. They were all contenders, and for the first time in quite a few years, fans had to face an uncertain contest during the entire season. And the lack of preparties meant that there were no new elements to tip the balance in one direction or another.
Let us examine these contenders in more details:
🇲🇹 Destiny’s fate – a double victory?
The bookmakers’ favourite for most of the promotion season was Malta, represented by Destiny. Like many artists in Rotterdam, she had been selected to represent her country in 2020 (thanks to her victory in X-Factor Malta), and was chosen again for 2021.
Destiny Chukunyere was no stranger to Eurovision though: she had been a backing vocalist for Michaela in 2019. But more importantly, she was already a Eurovision champion: in 2015, she won Junior Eurovision with her song “Not My Soul”, in Sofia.
In 2020, her song “All Of My Love” was not seen as a favourite to win, but Malta was still 8th in the odds before the cancellation of the contest, and was seen as a contender for a strong jury position. It was a product of the Symphonix International team of Borislav Milanov, which had written entries such as “If Love Was a Crime”, “Beautiful Mess” and “Nobody But You”, all of which had reached their respective year’s top 5.
For 2021, Malta’s broadcaster PBS opened submissions for a new song, and the final selection was that of “Je Me Casse” (French for “I’m getting the fuck out of here”), by a team of Amanuel Dermont, Malin Christin, Nicklas Eklund and Pete Barringer. Only Barringer had written for Eurovision before (for Czechia and Poland in 2017), making it a fresher lineup for 2021.
Compared to “All Of My Love”, “Je Me Casse” was a more upbeat, flashy, and funny entry. It was a feminist anthem, very much echoing the #MeToo movement that had risen in the previous few years. The lyrics were full of situations praising women’s freedom and autonomy : “and if I show some skin, doesn’t mean I’m giving in!”, “Why are you putting that drink in my hand? Think if I’m drunk then I’ll give you a chance?”. The title itself, in French, was likely a reference to Virginie Despentes, a French actor who had signed a tribune in 2020 about the Césars (the French Academy Awards), after an award was given to Roman Polanski (accused of having committed sexual crimes). The tribune was entitled “Désormais, on se lève et on se casse” (“From now on, we get up and we get the fuck out”).
Malta had a catchy song, echoing social topics, and a strong performer. Destiny could become the first person to win both Eurovision song contests (the junior and the adult one). Being a contender was only natural.
🇨🇭 Switzerland’s universe
Switzerland had already been a contender in 2019, when Luca Hänni had finished in 4th place, the best result for the confederation since 1993. In 2020, they had internally selected a Swiss-Albanese singer, Gjon’s Tears, after a process that included the submission of more than 500 songs. The final selection was made by a 50/50 mix of a panel of Swiss residents, and a panel of Eurovision jurors, who had already served in their respective national juries for the contest. The chosen entry, “Répondez-moi”, was the first Swiss entry in French since 2010 and “Il Pleut de l’Or” by Michael von der Heide.
“Répondez-moi” was third in the 2020 odds before the cancellation, and was seen as a potential contender and dark horse by the fan community. An eerily atmospheric ballad, it showcased Gjon’s voice and vocal range and was already a good fit for the jury at the time.
Gjon’s Tears was confirmed as the 2021 entrant in March 2020, and SRG SSR had a full year to find a new song. They organised several songwriting camps, with Gjon actively taking part in the creative process. In the end, 20 songs were submitted to another panel of Swiss residents and Eurovision jurors, and the song “Tout l’univers” was chosen.
Originally known in English as “Ground Zero”, it was written by Gjon, Nina Sampermans (who had written Belgium’s song in 2012, and had worked with Hooverphonic in the past), and Wouter Hardy (who had worked for two years with Duncan Laurence to turn the demo of “Arcade” into the final, Eurovision-winning version). Wishing to sing it in English and French, Gjon worked with Xavier Michel (who had worked on “Répondez-moi”) to create French lyrics. The selection panel first chose “Ground Zero” with both versions, and then made clear that they preferred the French version.
As the videoclip suggests, the song was much more cinematic than “Répondez-moi” (a signature move from Wouter Hardy), while still showcasing Gjon’s voice. Questions remained about the staging, though, which could easily make or break Switzerland’s chances.
🇫🇷 Barbara’s chanson
In 2020, France had a new head of delegation. After a one-year-stint by Steven Clérima, the head of entertainement at France Télévisions, Alexandra Redde-Amiel, added the position to her job description, and after two years of “Destination Eurovision” (a public national selection), she opted to go internal.
The 2020 artist was Tom Leeb, son of famous humourist Michel Leeb. His entry “Mon Alliée (The Best in Me)” was famously revealed on the Eiffel Tower. But it was never a strong candidate for Rotterdam, and the addition of lyrics in English did not give it any favours in France itself, where it is usually a heretical move (although Amir got away with it in 2016). After the cancellation, Tom Leeb did not wish to go to Rotterdam in 2021, and France Télévisions had to find new plans.
In June 2020, they announced that they would return to a national selection format, with “Eurovision France, c’est vous qui décidez!” (Eurovision France, you decide!). 12 entries competed in a single final show, with a mix of public and jury voting (the jury including Marie Myriam, Duncan Laurence, Amir, but also Jean-Paul Gaultier…), but the winner had been obvious from the start: Barbara Pravi.
Pravi was no foreigner to the contest: she had written the French entries for Junior Eurovision in 2019 (“Bim Bam Toi”, which became a Tiktok trend) and 2020 (“J’Imagine”, which had won the contest, making Barbara a Junior Eurovision champion). She had cowritten her 2021 song with Igit (candidate in Destination Eurovision 2018) and Lili Poe.
“Voilà” was, as the Youtube comment stated plainly on her Eurovision performance, “the Frenchest French that France has ever Frenched”. It was an hommage to the chanson française, a modern version of Edith Piaf. Even the staging in the national selection was extremely simple, with limited effects. Simplicity, authenticity, Frenchness, were the keywords of the act.
With a live performance already proving the efficiency of the vocals and of the staging, France was a clear package and solidly remained in the top 5 for the entire season.
🇧🇬🇮🇸 Bulgaria and Iceland
Other songs came and went in and out of the top 5, including Bulgaria and Iceland. Both were represented by their respective 2020 artist, with new songs.
Bulgaria was the bookmaker’s favourite in 2020 before the cancellation, although not the fan favourite. For 2021, after a semi-internal selection (in which the shortlisted songs were public, but the choice of song took place behind closed doors), “Growing up is getting old” was selected and revealed on March 7, a day after Sanremo. She was the bookmaker’s runner-up for a few days, then her position slowly but steadily declined, with her odds drifting throughout the season, leaving the Top 5 at the beginning of May, although remaining close to it until the live performances.
Iceland, in 2020, was 5th in the odds when the contest was cancelled, but they were a top contender for the fans, a favourite along Lithuania. Unlike other nordic broadcasters, RÚV cancelled its 2021 national selection and gave Daði & Gagnamagnið the ticket to Rotterdam. After a song about Daði’s daughter, the 2021 entry “10 years” was dedicated to his wife (also part of the band). It suffered from the comparison to “Think About Things”, which was usually considered the better entry. Both songs were close in style and heavily used (but did not rely on) the visual element of the band on stage, with their costumes. Still, as the contest arrived, their odds shortened. And they would become an iconic act in Rotterdam, for very unique reasons.
The finish line: a transalpine battle for victory
Rehearsals and the new top 3
Rehearsals began on Saturday, May 8, with the first half of the first semi-finalists. After the second day, things started to move a bit.
Malta, the favourite, had rehearsed at the end of the second day, and although the rehearsal was not bad, “Je Me Casse” became a victim of its hype and started drifting in the odds (which had also happened to “Arcade” in 2019), falling in second place behind “Voilà”. The winner of this first semi-final was clearly Ukraine: “Shum” had won the ESCXTRA press poll and was starting to shorten: the Chernobyl-themed staging lifted the song and it was on its way to top positions when it was hardly seen as a contender only a week before.
On Tuesday, the second half of the second semi-final rehearsed for the first time, which included Switzerland. Stage director Sacha Jean-Baptiste surprised everyone by going against the expectations that most fans had: that “Tout l’Univers” would copy “Arcade”, and/or that it would use LED backdrops of stars and galaxies. Instead, Gjon’s Tears had a very choregraphed staging to deliver, with steps, upper-body movements and marks to hits. He was standing on a giant prop of white, separable beams, which were moved during the performance. The whole thing was “raising the bar for staging a ballad“, as we wrote in our review at the time.
Then came Thursday, May 13. It was the biggest day of rehearsals, with 16 countries taking to the stage, including the second rehearsal of Malta, and the first rehearsals of the Big Five and hosts.
Måneskin were the first automatic qualifiers to rehearse, and had gone for the rocker look: dark makeup, limited cover of skin, lights, pyros and sparks, with the longest pyro curtain of the year. Suddenly, the band that had remained around the edge of the bookmakers’ top 5 shortened and threatened to overtake the new favourite, Barbara Pravi.
Two hours later though, France rehearsed too, and Barbara did not disappoint. The staging was very similar to the one used in the national final: close shots, dark atmosphere, focused on Barbara and her emotions. But it worked, and France won the press poll of the day. After that, a new top 3 had emerged: France, Italy and Switzerland (which had drifted but remained in 3rd position).
The momentum kept going after the second rehearsals of that top 3, with Italy overtaking France and Switzerland dramatically drifting out of the top 5 as the first week ended. Italy’s draw to perform in the second half of the final pushed it over France, while the rehearsal clip of “Tout l’univers” made the Swiss staging look too complex, with too many movements from Gjon, and it did not work well on fans and bookmakers alike. But the full performances of the actual Eurovision week would still get us to a Transalpine battle between France, Italy and Switzerland.
Contenders closing the first semi-final
The first semi-final took place on May 18, and finally the contest was truly back. It was only fitting that the opening song in the competition would be Lithuania’s “Discoteque”, its lyrics (“Let’s Discoteque right at my home / It is okay to dance alone”) echoing the previous 14 months.
Covid was never too far from the show: Australia’s Montaigne could not travel to Europe, and the live-on-tape performance of “Technicolour” was shown instead. Later, in slot #15, Go_A from Ukraine managed to perform normally after a small fright during rehearsals weeks, when singer Kateryna Pavlenko showed symptoms of infection, and had to be replaced by a stand-in for the second rehearsal to take place. With a negative test, she rejoined the band for the show, and did give a legendary performance
Right after Ukraine came Malta. The fallen favourite still had an opportunity to get back into contention for the win, and her performance did the trick. Wearing a shiny white outfit (after rehearsing with a bright pink one, similar to her dancers’), she had the vocals, the stage presence, and was efficiently completed by a set of four dancers. The staging used a lot of fixed front shots, using LED screens and lights to good effect.
Both songs obviously qualified, with Malta winning the semi-final and the jury, and Ukraine the televote. After the show, the full performances of three automatic qualifiers (Italy, Germany and the Netherlands) were also released, and Måneskin confirmed their lead over the rest of the pack. As for Ukraine and Malta, they both shortened to reach the top 5, with Malta gently threatening to claim the top spot once again.
The Swiss and French comeback
As the second semi-final approached, Malta had overcome France in the odds, and Switzerland was getting back in the top 5, in fourth position. More people had seen the whole performance in the dress rehearsals, and with the bigger picture, the staging was not as messy as the short clip of the second rehearsal had suggested.
Gjon’s Tears almost closed the semi-final, but he was not the bigger talk in town at the time. Iceland was, as one of their band member had tested positive to Covid-19. Their rehearsal performance was used for the show, as it would be used in the Grand final two days later. With this version, they not only qualified, but came three points short of winning the semi-final.
The actual winner was Switzerland. The whole performance was indeed cleaner than expected: alternating between very close shots of Gjon’s face, and slightly larger shots showing the upper part of the props, it did something new with the ballad genre. And it helped that both the moves and the vocals were clean and professional.
Just as Italy had a performance released after the first show, France had its own released after the second semi-final. The staging was no surprise, but it was still a strong showing, contending for victory.
The 2021 Grand Final
With the full running order out though, Italy remained the one to beat. Malta and Switzerland were placed in the first half, in slots #6 and #11 respectively. “Je Me Casse” was probably too early in the running order to really aim for the win, but “Tout l’univers” was in a great position for a ballad, only one spot away from Duncan Laurence’s 12th position in the previous contest. France was placed right after Ukraine, at #20 (which was possibly hindering its chances), and Italy was put in #24, a perfect spot for an uptempo rock song with an engaging staging.
The show started, and songs followed each other in a natural rythm. Opening with Cyprus, the evening quickly came to two feminist anthem with two different voices and perspective, “Russian Woman” and “Je Me Casse”, and a few songs later, into the large stagings of Jame Newman from the UK, Stefania from Greece, and Gjon’s Tears, before switching to Daði & Gagnamagnið , still isolated.
Then came the second half, with fun entries (Moldova then Germany) and harder-hitting ones (Finland) followed by the calm tones of Victoria’s voice from Bulgaria. And two songs later, two visually mesmerising acts: Ukraine, then France.
At the time, analysing the running order meant wondering whether these two strong acts would perhaps fare better with a buffer between them. Their contrast was deemed to be enough, but perhaps it was not. In any case, right after Ukraine’s angelic ending, the French postcard started, and the performance followed.
There was almost no sense of audience in that performance: the public could be heard, but not seen. It looked like it could have been filmed anywhere, with Barbara engulfed in darkness. The only light came from projectors behind or around her, and from the LED floor (which included a beautiful effect on her shadow turning into birds). Only towards the end, during a 50-second-long single take, could we see some elements of an audience, when the camera turned around Barbara and small lights could be distinguished in the distance, facing her.
That single take was a change in camerawork, and echoed the change in the song. After 2 minutes of relative calm, with corresponding shots with slow movements, from cameras on cranes and rails, the song accelerated, Barbara’s moves became much more energic and determined, and the long shot was taken by a camera operator filming the whole thing shakily on purpose. Barbara shouted the first of the last “Voilà!” (at the 2:45 mark) with a joyful enthusiasm she had not shown in previous live performances, and after her last “Voilà!”, her performing persona faded live as she breathed normally again and took in the cheers from the public.
Three songs followed, Azerbaijan, Norway and then the Netherlands, the host entry. Three songs to separate the top two favourites, as Italy arrived just after, in slot #24.
The performance was there to grab your attention from the get go. Beginning behind the LED screens at the back of the stage, which opened on Damiano, a 27-second-long single take from a camera operator followed the Italian singer to the main area, where the rest of the band was standing on a small podium, with the drums on top. For the rest, the band’s outfits, the strobe lights, a great use of space on the main stage by Victoria and Thomas, interactions between Damiano and each band member separatefly, and enough pyros to put some PTSD into a fire station, did the trick. Måneskin remained the one to beat: would they be beaten?
The jury results: Switzerland ahead
After the interval acts, the jury results were ready. And for the first time in our series, the reveal was not authorized by Jon Ola Sand and his Thomas Bach vibes, but by the new Eurovision Song Contest Executive Supervisor, Martin Österdahl. The hosts could not take it away, but were good to go.
Switzerland took an early lead, with France not far behind, and “12 points” being spread to different countries. Malta, seen as a potential jury winner, was not far behind but it took nine juries for “Je me casse” to earn its first top marks.
Switzerland remained on top until the 19th jury, when France took over and stayed slightly ahead until the 25th jury, Finland, gave its 12 points to Gjon’s Tears. Both countries remained close until the jury count reached the mid-30s, when the Georgian and Danish juries gave no points to “Voilà”. Despite top marks from the last two spokespersons (from Switzerland and The Netherlands), France remained second, 19 points behind the jury winner.
“Voilà” had earned top marks from 7 countries, and no points from 5. “Tout l’univers”, top marks from 8 countries and no points from 4. Some 40 points behind, Malta and Italy had each received 4 “douze points” and were almost tied, with Iceland not far behind.
The jury results were very similar to those of 2018: Austria had 271 points at the time, with Sweden at 253, Israel at 212 and Germany at 204. With fewer points for the top three countries, 2021 was following the same pattern. But in 2018, Austria was a surprise jury winner and hardly seen as a contender. Switzerland was not, and four of the five songs had a legitimate way to win the contest. Switzerland and France were already on top, while Italy and Iceland could win the televote with a strong enough margin (with the possibility that Iceland’s Covid-affected performance had boosted its televote chances) to beat the juries’ top 3. Malta’s reception with the public, however, was expected to be less positive than with the juries, and its running order would have pushed this difference even further.
Televote results: between the 0s and 100s
For the second time, the televote was announced in the order of the jury rankings. But when the hosts started their announcements, the jury order was, for a bit, completely identical to the televote order.
That is of course the infamous quadruple “zero points” that will forever remain in the memories of those who attended or watched the 2021 final. The first four countries to be announced (the bottom four of the juries) had not earned a single point from the public.
Jan Smit : We will begin with the country that is now in last place, that is United Kingdom. And the United Kingdom gets… from the public… zero points.
The infamous quadruple nul-points of the 2021 televoting sequence
Chantal Janzen : Onto… Germany. [cheers of encouragement from the crowd] That’s a big round of applause for the United Kingdom, and we really understand that. Alright, we move on to Germany. And Germany has received from the public… zero points. I’m sorry.
Jan Smit : Well, well, moving on to Spain. And the public points going to Spain are… another zero points.
Chantal Janzen : We move on to The Netherlands. The Netherlands, you have received, from the public, zero points. [booing ensues] I’m sorry.
Jan Smit : It’s quite unusual, but we have to continue. So let’s move on now to Norway. Norway, the public has given you… sixty points!
The first to fall to the curse was the United Kingdom, already lacking points from the jury. They became the first ever country to earn no points from both votes, and the shock was seemingly enough to get the BBC to change its course of action (for a year at least, but that’s a story for another time). The audience cheered, not against the UK, but on them, and echoed the graceful reception by James Newman.
Germany and Spain were announced after, and the main reaction from the audience was that of shock. Until The Netherlands, the host country, also received the same treatment. Booing ensued from the local crowd, and had to be calmed down by Jan Smit. Some fans were considering that maybe there had been an issue with the scoreboard, but suddenly Norway got 60 points and we were back in normal territory.
A new shock came a few moments later, when San Marino, despite the massive cameo from Flo Rida and a #26 slot in the final, only managed to earn 13 points from the public, less than it had from the juries.
The first big differences in points came from Lithuania — which got 165 points from the public, compared to 55 from the jury ; and Finland — 218 compared to 83, with their new 301 points putting them in the lead, with ten songs still waiting for points under it. Among these was Ukraine: 267 points, compared to 97 points, putting it in the lead too, as a potential televote winner, but still too low on total points to be a serious contender.
Iceland later overtook Ukraine, receiving 180 points (less than they had from the juries), and we were then left with the top four, and Italy, “the one to beat”, as the next in line.
Italy, get ready to receive from the public… 318 points! That means Italy is now in first position.
Chantal Janzen
Italy is in the lead.
Italy had received more points than Ukraine, and was potentially the televote winner. Malta received a mere 47 points, and Destiny’s lukewarm reaction entered our meme databases that day. But we still had two countries left, both in a position to beat Italy: its neigbours France and Switzerland. There it was, the transalpine battle for victory.
France needed 277 points to get above Italy: their hopes were dashed when Chantal Janzen announced “only” 251 points. 24 points away from Måneskin. As some French fans say, half-jokingly, Azerbaijan cost France the victory, with Armenia’s absence depriving France of a double-“douze points” that was dearly needed.
Switzerland was left with the daunting task of gathering 259 points to win. The production team had chosen a very good “suspense” music theme for this very moment, with rising levels of energy, until Jan Smit uttered the one thing that sealed the deal : “One hundred and…”. It was not enough. It was only 165.
Italy had won the televote, and had a small lead over France. Two Big Five entries had reached the highest positions for the first time since the introduction of the concept. To balance the natural order of things, it was only fair that the four other automatic qualifiers would sit at the very bottom of the scoreboard, shunned by the public.
Undying Rock’n’Roll kids
As the band celebrated in the Green Room, let us not forget the legendary words of Jan Smit: “Next year we will be heading to the land of pizzas and sanbuca”… What could have been seen as very insensitive words were of course overshadowed by the whole “cocaine” affair, when allegations arose that Damiano David had consumed drugs in the Green Room during the show. The allegations were quickly proven false by the EBU but the story had made it into mainstream media and had already done some damage.
But during the show, none of it mattered, and none if it was part of the fans’ experience. Instead, fans saw Måneskin walk around the stage and emerge from the LED screens opening their performance, under cheers from the arena. They reached the B-stage to take their trophy from the hands of Chantal Janzen. Duncan Laurence was in isolation after having tested positive for Covid, so the traditional trophy handover from reigning champion to new champion had to be altered.
Asked for a few words, Måneskin let Damiano say something short, and clear:
We just want to say to the whole Europe, to the whole world…
dAMIANO dAVID’S VICTORY WORDS FOR mÅNESKIN
ROCK’N’ROLL NEVER DIES!
Behind the B-stage, the production staff was making sure everything was in place for the winners’ performance. And what a performance: Damiano reverted back to the original lyrics, devoid of any lexical cleanup, and happily sang his coglioni and his cazzo to the audience, making them sing the chorus. In the final part, as he walked up to Ethan on the podium, he grabbed the trophy and held it triumphantly in the air, before getting back on the main stage, in a sea of confettis and cheers.
And that was the road to victory for “Zitti e Buoni”: a late favourite, always a potential contender but never on top until the actual shows. A possible lesson for our 2025 predictions, with no clear favourite ahead either, and a pack of diverse contenders.
With their Eurovision victory, Måneskin reached a new level of popularity, especially in America, where they were received in talk shows to perform their songs. But Americans did not care much for “Zitti e buoni”: they wanted to hear “Beggin'” or the new singles that the band had in store, such as “I wanna be your slave”, and later on “Mammamia”, “Supermodel” or “The Loneliest”. Unlike the 2019 winner, for whom the song became more famous than the artist, the 2021 champions quickly outlived their entry. But Eurovision turned the once street performers into global superstars, at least for a few years.
The contest was thus headed to Turin: with vaccines coming and the pandemic slowly going away, it was time for the contest to go back to normal for 2022. But a very new brand of normalcy was waiting for us, with the contest ready to get more political than ever.
My memories of this victory
2021 was such a strange year for everybody, and I did not mean in terms of Eurovision. It was the year when things started to get back to normal: Covid was still there, but more and more things came back into our life. On May 19th, theatres reopened in France, and on May 20th, at 18:00, I was in my business school’s amphitheatre watching friends from my drama society play to open our season, with tears in my eyes, because we were back.
Three hours later, I was in front of my computer for the second semi-final, and Iceland did not perform, but they were back, and so was the contest.
The final was a special moment: for the first time, I did not watch it with my parents, but with a dear friend (a fellow Eurovision fan), and two of his friends (one slightly versed in Eurovision knowledge, the other much less so). We were watching on Youtube, and I was receiving comments from other friends on Messenger, having finally been identified as “the Eurovision specialist” in my circles. But the very special moment came as Barbara Pravi performed.
I was anxious to see her succeed. We had a shot at victory, and a flawless performance could get us the trophy. For months, I was unconvinced by the entry, which was too classic to my taste, but in the last weeks of the season I had started to change my mind. When she finished her performance, the four of us were in awe. The two more casual viewers had nothing but respect and admiration.
We did not win. But we finished second. And while I had been as angry as a Fuego fan when we failed to win Junior Eurovision in 2018 (finishing second, only 12 points behind the winner), I was immensely happy with our second place this time. And I was also happy with the Italian victory, because they had deserved it after all their efforts since their return. And I was happy with the entire Top 10, which was of the highest possible quality. So I was happy and, for the first time in my life as a French fan, truly proud. The contest was back. And so were we.
Did you follow the contest back in 2021? What are your memories of this experience, and of Måneskin’s path to Eurovision victory? Tell us more in the comments below or on social media, at @escxtra! And be sure to check us again next week, to read about the victory of “Stefania” in Turin, and how Ukraine’s victory was in doubt until the very last moment.
