Building Bridges - A Eurovision Podcast For The Rest Of Us

In this unscripted episode, Jan and Dave react to the historic vote taken at the 95ᵗʰ EBU General Assembly on Thursday. Included in the vote to approve new rules for Eurovision 2026 was an understanding that there would be no further vote on any country's participation. Its approval means that Israel's broadcaster Kan is free to participate at the 70ᵗʰ Eurovision Song Contest, something that immed...

In this episode, guest Karin from Sweden's 12p podcast is back to spill the tea on all 30 artists competing in Melodifestivalen 2026! We'll find out what artist recently appeared on Drag Race, why SVT made one artist change their name, and we'll take the pink balaclava off of Fröken Snusk! All that and more on this week's episode! 06:00 - Heat 1 25:55 - Heat 2 43:25 - Heat 3 55:10 - Heat 4 1:05:25...

In this episode, we celebrate the fantastic news that three old friends are back in the Eurovision family, and will perform at the 70ᵗʰ Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna — Bulgaria, Moldova, and Romania! We take a look back at their previous efforts in the Contest and pick our favourites from each country in this special episode! 04:35 - 🇲🇩 Moldova 10:57 - 🇷🇴 Romania 16:46 - 🇧🇬 Bulgaria For more i...

In this episode, we're finally back after a brief hiatus, and discussing something we never thought possible — is Canada getting ready to join the Eurovision family? Last week, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney released his budget, and included were $150 million CAD (€92.45 million) for national broadcaster CBC to explore joining the Contest. Even more eyebrows were raised when Eurovision's Dire...

Not the season opener we expected! In this episode, the Building Bridges podcast welcomes a special guest from Ireland. The Eurovision TikTok and Instagram creator Adam McCallig reacts to the recent news of Ireland's potential Eurovision boycott and shares his opinion on RTÉ's statement. For more information about this episode, check out our website at buildingbridgespod.com as well as our social...

In this episode, Sebi, Jan and Dave record in the early morning hours, to react to the big host city announcement of the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Austria. The build-up is particularly thrilling for Sebi, who lives in Vienna but grew up close to Innsbruck. Find out to which city we will build a bridge to next May, live in our episode. For more information about this episode, check out our we...

In this episode, Sebi, Jan and Dave catch up on the most recent events in the Eurovision world in July. They discuss the rumored hosts for next year's contest, which of the two remaining cities would be their preferred choice and talk about their wishes for 2026. Furthermore, two major Eurovision parties will take place in Vienna and Milano this year. For more information about this episode, check...

In this episode, Sebi and Dave explore Austria’s evolving Eurovision 2026 host city race and share updates on recent withdrawals and likely frontrunners, using Sebi's local expertise and insight as an Austrian! They also dive into speculation about who might host the live shows, discussing the qualities and challenges of various Austrian media personalities. Plus, they reflect on past Eurovision h...

In this episode, Sebi and Dave kick off a new series that will deep-dive into aspects of Austria as our next host country. For now, we look at the Austrian cities who have put their names forward to potentially host the 70ᵗʰ Eurovision Song Contest in 2026. While some bids look better than others on paper, as a local, Sebi adds some insight to the conversation that the foreign media might have mis...

In this episode, Sebi and Jan hit the Media Centre right after Semi Final 2 ended to get the mood in the room after the final 10 qualifiers to the Grand Final were announced on Thursday evening. Find out the thoughts of: 🇸🇮 Petra Skrivarnik ( @hitradiocenter ) 🇱🇺 Vanessa Strauch ( @ lessentiel.lu ) Julia (Accredited Media) 🇪🇸 Aitor Bermejo ( @esc_plus ) 🇮🇪 Chris Makin ( @chrismackin4 ) 🇳🇴 Chris (...

In this, our 150ᵗʰ episode, Sebi spills the tea about what to expect from Semi Final 2 on Thursday night. He watched the rehearsals from the arena, and on television from the Media Centre, and shares his thoughts on what we should keep our eyes on and who the new shock qualifiers and non-qualifiers might be. You can find his detailed comments on each performance from the rehearsal on our website,...

In this episode, Sebi and Jan hit the Media Centre immediately at the end of Semi Final 1 to gague the temperature in the room after the 10 qualifiers were announced on Tuesday evening. Find out the thoughts of: 🇬🇧 Dean Tullochh ( @escscot ) 🇮🇪 Adam Mc Callig ( @allthingsadam.ie ) 🇫🇮 Anni ( @escfactful ) 🇪🇸 Aitor Bermejo ( @esc_plus ) For more information about this episode, check out our website...

In this episode, Sebi has just landed in Basel and had a date with Tautumeitas from Latvia! He got them to sing the chorus of their Eurovision entry " Bur man laimi " in German, plus he got a few more surprises out of Asnate, Aurēlija, Annemarija. Laura, Gabriēla, and Kate! Plus, Sebi gives us a few hints about what to expect from Semi Final 1 when it airs Tuesday at 21:00 CET. For more informatio...

Building Bridges Calling! In this very special episode, we bring together 30 other podcasts to join us in voting for our favourite songs of Eurovision 2025! We brought this project back after a successful 2024 Vote where the pod community accurately picked Nemo as the winner of Eurovision last year, so the pressure is high for 2025! Each podcast featured in this episode participated as a jury and...

In this episode, Sebi and Dave tackle the theme "What will make Eurovision 2025 an extraordinary special Contest?". In our quest to find an answer, we look at the betting odds, the pre-parties, some history, and the confirmed interval acts for Basel. You can also let us know on our social media what you think of our comments and reviews of the songs, and leave us a review on Spotify or Apple Podca...

In this episode, we complete our look at all 37 competing songs in Eurovision 2025 in our review and prediction series. With just 26 days to go until the Grand Final, we focus on the six countries who are already have their spots booked! This week, we're thrilled to have everybody's favourite Eurovision TikToker Adam Mc Callig on the podcast to help us with our reviews! In this episode, we focused...

In this episode, Sebi, Jan and Dave analyze the line-up of the 69ᵗʰ Eurovision Song Contest in Basel. Putting their personal preferences aside, they are trying to make a realistic prediction of which songs will advance and which will be eliminated in both semi-finals. They continue with predicting the winner of the Grand Final, as well as the potential dark horses of the competition. Let us know o...

In this episode, we complete our look at Semi Final 2 in our review and prediction series, with now less than 40 days until that Semi will be live on TV! This week, we're thrilled to have Anni from ESC Factful back on the podcast to help us with the reviews! In this episode, we focused our efforts on the entries from: 03:26 🇲🇹 Malta: Miriana Conte — "Serving" 07:20 🇬🇪 Georgia: Mariam Shengelia — "...

In this episode, we chat with the United Kingdom’s Eurovision entrant, REMEMBER MONDAY . The trio, who have been best friends since they were 16, discuss their excitement and nerves as Eurovision approaches. They share how the experience has strengthened their bond and allowed them to pursue their dreams full-time. Remember Monday also talks about their song, "What the Hell Just Happened," and the...

In this episode, we dive into the vibrant world of SHKODRA ELEKTRONIKE , a project blending traditional Albanian music with modern electronic sounds. Our guests Kolë and Beatriçe joined us from their homes in Italy to discuss the inspiration behind the project, the challenges of preserving cultural identity while experimenting with modern production, and the role of nostalgia in their music. We al...

In this episode, we move on to Semi Final 2 in our review and prediction series, with just 45 days until that Semi will be live on TV! This week, we're overjoyed to finally have friend of the podcast Kyriakos on to help us with the reviews. He is a former full-time member of Aussievision , and he still helps out the team from time to time as a contributor. In this episode, we focused our efforts o...

In this episode, we lighten the mood a bit after some heavy, emotional episodes, as Melanie Wehbe is back on the pod to tell us all about things we might have missed behind the scenes at Melodifestialen this year—PLUS—we talk about her second year in a row as part of the Danish delegation to Eurovision, as she was a writer on this year's DMGP winning song "Hallucination"—AND—Melanie hints at her n...

In this episode, we react to Thursday's sudden announcement of the running order of Eurovision 2025's two Semi Finals. Who got the best spots, who got the worst spots, and who might qualify based on the averages since the producers began picking the running order in 2013! For more information about this episode, check out our website at buildingbridgespod.com as well as our social media profiles o...

In this episode, we sit down with brothers Danyil and Valentyn of ZIFERBLAT (Циферблат), Ukraine’s representatives for Eurovision 2025, to discuss their journey to the contest and the significance of their song, Bird of Pray . They open up about their deep connection to music, the pressure of representing their country during a time of war, and their hopes for the future. Join us for an emotional...

In this episode, we continue our weekly series featuring our reviews and predictions for the 37 songs competing to win the 69ᵗʰ Eurovision Song Contest. To help us out, our surprise special guest this week is none other than Dimitry Pompée, co-host of the Eurovangelists Podcast. He joined us for this episode for what ended up being our longest episode EVER, but it's a damn good one, as we examined...