We’re here! After a dash to our hotel to dump our bags (where the Greek entrants are putting on the diva!) we head straight to Eurovision Village to get our merchandise! Copenhagen’s main pedestrian shopping strip, Strøget has been transformed into ‘Eurovision Fan Mile’ with purple banners representing previous winners and their songs, apparently at random. The #JoinUs newsletter advises that these banners represent 10 Eurovision classics to pay tribute to. Yes, they include Waterloo. The newsletter also cheerily informs us that Eurovision Village is located on the former site for public executions.
Purchasing merchandise is much more streamlined this year as we have already agonised over the gear on line. So we really just have to remember what we wanted and pick it up. It’s always best to secure the goods early, before the queues and, most importantly, before they start running out of stock! This year we get a nice, PVC bag free with our purchases. We can now breathe a sigh of relief. We managed to get everything we wanted.
We pick up our Village timetable and Eurovision map of Copenhagen and now we’re all set. After checking out the Village which, apart from the merchandise van contains food vans, an activity centre for children and the stage for day time performances and for the public outdoor broadcasts of the televised shows, we head down to the Town Hall square to see the clock counting down to the grand final.
Walking via the back streets, we discover loads of gorgeous, old buildings, many dating from the 1700’s, and find a quiet square with a cute cafe for coffee and cake.
Then it’s back to the Village. The free entertainment is excellent this year, with appearances by many of the finalists. Conchita Wurst from Austria fills the square with her routine of three songs, including her Eurovision entry. She has such an amazing voice and is truly moved by the positive audience reaction. Romania cancels, but their fans stay around to enjoy Slovenia’s acapella version of “Round and Round”. Happily, no acts have died in the square tonight.
