u/GianMach

North Macedonia is set to return to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2027 in Bulgaria. With Belgium likely joining the boycott of Eurovision, the EBU has now already found their replacement. This news does not make it any more likely that 2027 can become another peaceful and fun contest again. I am glad that the tides are turning for Eastern Europe in the contest, but it does also come at a cost regarding the likelihood of changes to be made due to a decreasing number of participating countries.

For today's nostalgia, we go back to 1999, when Doris Dragović represented Croatia with the song "Marija Magdalena". She had previously already represented Yugoslavia in 1986. This entry would end up to give Croatia their best result so far, and that record would hold up until 2024, when Baby Lasagna broke her record by finishing in second place. Now, at 65 years old, Doris is still active in music, as she released her latest album just last year.

For today's daily nostalgia we head back to 1974. This year, Gigliola Cinquetti almost did what Johnny Logan would do about a decade later: become the first Eurovision two time winner. With her entry "Si", she became the runner up to ABBA with Waterloo, after previously having won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1964 with "Non ho l'età", a song she performed again in 2022 as an interval at the contest in Turin.

For today's nostalgia we go back to the 2022 entry of Greece. Greece submitted a Norwegian singer with Greek heritage that year with a surprisingly Nordic sounding entry, making use of a vocoder effect and little else for the first part of the song.

Even though Tenfjord did reach the final, I chose to use her semi final performance for this throwback, as she did a significantly stronger performance then than in the grand final. Who knows whether she might have scored just a few extra points if both performances were equally strong.

The dust is starting to settle after the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest concluded. Once again, Israel almost won the contest, with very large consequences had they made it this year. If nothing changes, it is just a matter of time until there will be a year when there won't be a JJ or a Dara to save the day.

In 6 weeks time there will be a General Assembly in which the EBU members will discuss the Eurovision Song Contest of 2026 and look ahead to the contest of 2027. It would be a massive relief to the contest if the issue of the Israeli participation would finally be settled there.

The EBU has set out a survey for viewers that can be filled out right now. If you want to, state your concerns there for the EBU and the member broadcasters to assess: https://survey.alchemer.eu/s3/91094056/Eurofan-Voice-2026

If you have any way to connect to your public broadcaster, now is the time to call on them to help keep Eurovision alive. If nothing happens, this contest will slowly just bleed out until nostalgia is really all there is left to enjoy about it.

For today's nostalgia, we think back to an entry of the second country that managed to beat the Israeli spamvoting crowd at Eurovision 2026: Romania. This year's entry is not the first Romanian entry to feature operatic vocals. Back in 2013, Cezar represented Romania with a theatrical operatic piece, claiming a spot in the Grand Final with it. Despite not finishing in the top 10, it remains one of the most memorable acts of its era, both musically and visually.

For today's nostalgia we go back to 2007, when Bulgaria made their first great impression at Eurovision on their third attempt at the contest. Today, we can celebrate that Eurovision got another chance to do better and go back to its prime form next year, after Bulgaria managed to be the only country to beat Israel in 2026's Grand Final.

For today's nostalgia, we go back to 2007, when Lithuania declared themselves the winners of Eurovision before a single vote was even cast. On the day of the 2026 Grand Final, which many of us won't be watching, we can only hope that any non-cheating country can bring home the win and secure a possibility of survival for the contest for at least next year.

For today's nostalgia we go back to 1968, when Luxembourg was represented by a duo of Luxembourgish singer Chris Baldo and French singer Sophie Garel. Yesterday the news was made public that the latter has passed away at age 84. We send our condolances to her loved once as we commemorate her Eurovision participation once more.

For today's nostalgia we go to 1982 when Nicole won for Germany with a song about just a little bit of peace. The song has become a timeless classic and feels ever so relevant today.

For today's Daily Nostalgia we go to an entry from the United Kingdom, the (joint) host of the last united and peaceful Eurovision Song Contest in 2023. They took on hosting duties as the runner up of 2022, and boy, they have come second a lot of times in the history of the contest.

The first time the UK finished in second place was in 1959. Husband and wife Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson performed a sweet little duet, even bringing some form of staging to the table that was rare to see at Eurovision back in the day, as a tiny bird puppet joined the two on stage, tweeting along to the song.

For today's Daily Nostalgia we keep it recent with Ukraine's 2022 winning entry. Ukraine is a powerhouse at Eurovision, having won three times already while only debuting in the contest in 2003. Their third victory was aided by organically formed voter support across Eurovision fans after the invasion of their lands by Russia only a few months prior. Nevertheless, the song also musically holds its ground in the long list of Eurovision Song Contest winners.

For our daily nostalgia we go back to 2007, when Alenka Gotar became the first Slovenian artist to sing in a Eurovision Grand Final since the introduction of the semi finals. Serving operatic vocals over a pop beat, she was clearly ahead of her time.

Slovenia is one of the five countries to take a stance against Eurovision's direction. As a country that regularly manages to punch above its weight at Eurovision, hopefully the tide turns soon so that they can return and bring their wonderful language to the biggest stage in Europe.