ESC101 - A Eurovision History Podcast

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:...

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...

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 i...

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...

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 favour...

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...

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 particip...

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: Link Pan-ArcticVision: Website | 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: Link Appearance on the...

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 musi...

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 so...