Last Eurovision pre-party before Liverpool

“We don’t want this to end,” Teja and Sarena from Austria told me.

Like last night’s final pre-party in London, the artists performed on stage for the last time before the competition began.

In recent weeks, gigs have taken place across Europe in Spain, Poland, Israel, Holland and the UK.

“Every time we do an interview, we feel like we’re ranting about how cool Eurovision is. Whenever people ask us who’s our favorite, we say 15 fingers.” This year has been very strong and I am so grateful to be surrounded by such people, so many great artists.”

Their song Who The Hell Is Edgar? is a satirical look at the music industry, but if their enthusiasm for singing contests doesn’t matter, they’ve come full circle.

“I love this community,” explains Loreen, whose song Tattoo is one of this year’s favorites.

“I hope people can feel how much I love them and how much I care,” adds the Swedish star.

The Eurovision stage will bring together representatives from 37 countries as the UK hosts one of the world’s biggest shows for the first time in 25 years.

The contest has changed a lot since 1998 and is in some ways indistinguishable from what it was 11 years ago.

“There were no pre-parties back then,” laughs Loreen. “It’s really exciting to travel and meet people now. They all already know the song. It’s crazy.”

A song that rocks the crowd at the pre-party doesn’t necessarily fare well in the competition where 160 million viewers will vote at home.

But what they do offer is an idea of ​​who can sing live, who needs dance lessons, and who can command the stage.

Slovenian Joker Out are undoubtedly professional and among the many bands that entered this year’s competition, they have continued to grow their fan base since we last met in Barcelona three weeks ago. increase.

“It’s a crazy experience. In Slovenia we would have played concerts in arenas and would have struggled to fill the pubs here,” the band said with a laugh.

They’re understated, but they easily got one of the biggest cheers, both outside the meeting with the fans at the venue and on stage.

“We really need rest,” they say, and they’re right. Eurovision stars like Italy’s Måneskin, who were vying for a Grammy for Best New Artist earlier this year, have proven that the contest can take a band global.

Intense rehearsals for each act will begin in each country before everyone travels to Liverpool’s M&S Arena in the coming weeks.

“He’s billing us by the hour, so we really need to get to Liverpool soon,” joked Australia’s Voyager.

They’re talking about vocalist Daniel Estrin, a lawyer by day and a rock star by night.

Like Loreen, over the past four years, I’ve seen the pre-party season grow and become unrecognizable in some ways.

They are now full-fledged productions run entirely independently by volunteers. They are worn by people who love contests and want to make as many of them accessible to fans across the continent as possible.

By the time Eurovision week rolls around, artists are exhausted from rehearsals and feeling the pressure to do well.

The pre-party season is not only an opportunity for artists to enjoy, but also an opportunity to enjoy the music of their competitors.

For those of you who don’t know, Eurovision isn’t just for Saturday nights in May. For many he is a year-long event and no invitation is needed.

Anyone is welcome. The next party will be in Liverpool.

All the builds, insights and analysis are explored weekly on a BBC podcast called Eurovisioncast.