Eurovision

Welshie Big Adventure in England

Courtesy of Wix

Eurovision Experience 2026

Driving around England last week, I heard a lot about Eurovision on the radio.  I'm familiar with American Idol, but thought that Eurovision was more like America’s Got Talent. We started hearing the contestants' songs played on the radio during the semi-finals stage and some of the tunes were quite catchy.

Saturday night, Sofie, Brian, and I settled in to watch the finals of Eurovision 2026.  What we experienced was both fascinating and even a little bit of a nail biter at the very end.

How it works

The process of selecting the winners is quite detailed. It involves a seven judge panel from each participating country selecting their top ten favorites from the 35 top contestants.  Each country that is part of the Eurovision song contest is allowed one entry.

If I understand it all correctly, the judges rank their top ten performances by awarding points. Only one musical act can receive the magic twelve points from each set of judges. Twelve may only be awarded to one performance.

Did I mention that viewers and judges are not allowed to vote for their own country?  This is how less populated countries are able to operate on an even playing field with the larger ones.

After the 35 participating country judges cast their votes for the top ten performances, the electronic votes from the viewers are tallied up and reported out.  Unlike with the country specific judging, all the votes are added together and then reported by the hosts of the show.

This is a very simplified explanation of Eurovision, and likely not entirely accurate either, but it gives you an idea of the amount of voting and tallying that takes place.  It is after all, a show seen and voted on by more than just people in one country.

Song Styles

The types of songs ranged from hard rock to operatic, and quirky.  What they all had in common was the hard work and dedication that each performer put into their individual acts. 

One singer painted his face and hands entirely silver. There was a guy wearing some sort of a furry costume, several scantily clad females, and at least one act that resembled an American heavy metal band.

When we realized that our adopted country was out of the running, we shifted our support to Bulgaria.  The Bulgarian singer’s name is Dara, and she looks like any pop singer that is currently climbing the charts today.  The song she sang is called Bangaranga and it is very peppy and memorable.

I found myself bouncing up and down on the couch, flailing my arms along with Dara and her dancers on TV.  Sofie looked at me as if I were crazed but this didn’t stop me from moving.

Announcing the Winner

Typical of any live contest, the show’s hosts announced the viewers' scores, starting with the country with the fewest judges' votes.  It was remarkable to see acts we thought were great receive no points at all, while acts we thought were terrible received more. 

On more than one occasion, a country would shoot up to the top ten, only to be displaced by another country’s success a moment later. Our living room and the world in general were on the edges of our seats.

As the night came to a climactic end, it was a toss up between singers from Israel and Bulgaria.  Only 140 points stood between Bulgaria and Israel for the top spot before Bulgaria's final viewer points were announced. Stalling, to build up the anticipation and suspense for the final result, the crowd went wild cheering for their favorite performers.

When the final score came in for Bulgaria our house and much of Europe erupted in cheers.  Bulgaria received over 500 votes from viewers to clinch the top spot for 2026.  Hooray Dara and Bangaranga!

It was past midnight when we all got to sleep last night, and it took a while for my heartbeat to lower after all the jumping and flailing I had done.  Taking part in the excitement of Eurovision while living in the UK is an experience I will not forget.  If you are curious to hear the song that got me dancing late at night you can find it here.

And what did Maisie and Winston do during all this human flailing and nail biting?

Maisie was unimpressed.