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 Willy Fantel, the conductor of the Austrian entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1958. Discover the illustrious career of a seasoned musician who helped start the career of a future Eurovision winner, and find out how Willy accidentally ended up at the contes...

This week, we are dedicating an episode to explaining and reacting to the Intervision 2025 International Music Contest held in Moscow, Russia. As the Intervision Song Contest is part of Eurovision history and as this event attempts to tie itself with that history, it’s important to understand what it is. Join us as we reveal the mystery behind Intervision and hear the raw reactions to all 23 compe...

Welcome to Life on the DQ List, where we look back 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 the first half of the 2010s! Show Notes: Link

In this week’s episode, we are returning to The Eurovision Travel Guide, our monthly series where we explore the history of a current or previously participating broadcaster at the Eurovision Song Contest. Join us as we feature the broadcaster from Türkiye, then known as Turkey, learning about some of their entries, their national selection methods, and some fascinating historical and musical note...

This week, we are featuring the story of the only Spanish host of the Eurovision Song Contest, Laurita Valenzuela! Join us as we explore the story of a host tasked with representing a controversial contest and discover how her career went for a few dramatic turns along the way! Show Notes: Link

This week's episode features the story of the interval act of the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest, the Hothouse Flowers. Join us as we discover how a busking duo transformed into a legendary Irish band, celebrating European unity! Show Notes: Link

In this week’s episode, we are celebrating two years of ESC101! Join us as we look back at the past year. Discover our favourite moments, delve into some listener questions, and join the party!

This week, we are featuring the Grand Dame of the Eurovision Song Contest Lys Assia, the first person to win the contest. Join us as we explore the life story of one of the few people to compete in three contests in a row! From old carousels to spicy Italian waiters, Lys brought the diverse sounds of Switzerland to the Eurovision stage, becoming an eternal icon of the contest. Show Notes: Link

To celebrate our 100th episode, we’ve put together a three-part mini series exploring the origins of the Eurovision Song Contest. This week, we are concluding with Part III, covering the origins of the contest itself. If you have no idea what the Eurovision Song Contest is or if you’re curious about how it started, then you’ve come to the right place! Join us as we delve into the story of the worl...

To celebrate our 100th episode, we’ve put together a three-part mini series exploring the origins of the Eurovision Song Contest. This week, we are continuing with Part II, covering the show which inspired the contest, the Festival della Canzone Italiana, also known as the Sanremo Music Festival. We are joined by fellow Eurovision historian Andreas Grassl who has kindly shared his archival researc...

To celebrate our 100th episode, we’ve put together a three-part mini series exploring the origins of the Eurovision Song Contest. This week, we are starting with the story of the institution responsible for the contest, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Join us as we reveal the mystery behind this mighty organization. Who belongs to the EBU, how did it start, and what does it do apart from or...

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 Mimis Plessas, the conductor of the Greek entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1983. Discover the harrowing adventures of a man determined to share Greek culture with the rest of Europe, fighting unexpected obstacles along the way, and find out whether Mimis...

This week, we are featuring one of the hosts of the only Eurovision Song Contest hosted in a country which no longer exists! Join us as we travel to Zagreb, home of the 1990 contest hosted by two incredible people, one of whom is our featured host Helga Vlahović. Discover the story of a talented and professional host who almost walked away from the role of a lifetime, and learn how Helga earned th...

This week, we are exploring the life of Karel Gott, a Czech artist who ended up representing Austria at the Eurovision Song Contest. Discover the story of a man whose career managed to outweigh the world’s largest international televised music competition, rising to massive heights of fame across both Eastern and Western Europe. Prepare yourself as we take on the enormous record of a music star wh...

In this week’s episode, we are hosting a special edition of the Eurovision Travel Guide. This is usually a monthly series where we explore a country that has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest. However, this week in honour of the Fourth of July, we decided to celebrate Eurovision artists and songs with connections to the United States of America. To help celebrate, we are joined by Dimitr...

This week’s episode shines a spotlight on the least noticed person on the Eurovision stage…the conductor! Join us as we learn about Szymon Kuran, a Polish composer who served as the conductor of Iceland’s 1997 entry. Discover the story of a father’s dream of music coming to life through his son, rising through the ranks to lead multiple orchestras, and find out how a Polish musician ended up in Ic...

This week, we are treating ourselves to a night at the ballet as we take in the very first visually recorded physical interval act debuting at the 1961 Eurovision Song Contest! Get your bow-ties and ball gowns ready as we settle in for a performance by France’s top ballet dancer and a mysterious woman! Rencontres à Cannes is a story interpreted by Max Bozzoni, a star of the l’Opera de Paris and Te...

Welcome to Life on the DQ List, where we look back 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 the 2000s!

In this week’s episode, we are celebrating Pride Month by exploring the life of Eurovision’s first LGBTQ+ artist Dany Dauberson. As the contest continues to grow and develop into a space of inclusion and diversity, we’re featuring the very first step of many taken over the years as the Eurovision family grows, opening itself to everyone sharing in the spirit of love and celebration, united by musi...

In this week’s episode, we are concluding our Eurovision 2025 coverage! Join us as we review the 26 acts that performed in the Grand Final and find out which acts were our favourites!

In this week’s episode, we are continuing our Eurovision 2025 coverage with part 4 of 5! Join us as we review the acts which did not make the Grand Final and find out which acts we thought should have gone through along with our thoughts on the interval acts featured in the semi-finals!

In this third bonus episode, we're concluding our three part series on giving our raw reactions to the rehearsal photos featuring the countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025. This episode features the entries that are auto qualifying to the grand final. Join us as we give some updates from the semi-final photos as well as revealing our thoughts on the fashion, stage designs, and other clues...

In this second bonus episode, we're continuing our three part series on giving our raw reactions to the rehearsal photos featuring the countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025. This episode features the entries from Semi-Final 2. Join us as we spill the tea, revealing our thoughts on the fashion, stage designs, and other clues hidden in these official photos! This episode may be a bit spi...

In this week’s episode, we are continuing our Eurovision 2025 coverage! Join us as we review the Studio versions of the Auto-Qualifying acts and find out which ones we love and which ones flop!

In this impromptu bonus episode, we've decided to give our raw reactions to the rehearsal photos featuring the countries in the first semi final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2025. Join us as we spill the tea, revealing our thoughts on the fashion, stage designs, and other clues hidden in these official photos! This episode may be a bit spicy towards some of the outfits and staging choices, but r...