Things have not slowed down for us at all on our second day in town.
Heading out for a walk around Gamla Stan, the cobblestone paved old town, we noticed that the main road passing the palace was blocked off, but didn’t pay it much thought as we wandered around, browsing through the touristy shops. By the time we reached the palace, a crowd had gathered, and we noticed that the Chilean flag was flying along with the Swedish flag. Just as we joined the crowd, the royal mounted guard started to ride by. We then caught a glimpse of the Swedish King and Chilean president, in a horse drawn carriage.
We managed to get tickets for tonight’s exclusive SBS party at the Södra Teatern with another up close and personal performance by Dami, dressed in a gorgeous black sequinned jumpsuit. We managed to stand in a great spot, right at the front near the stage. Once again, she impressed us with her amazing voice and down to earth attitude. She is really having a great time with all the craziness around Eurovision. Her husband and mother were also proudly watching and taking photos on their smartphones.
It was also really exciting to see Julia Zemiro again! We haven’t seen Sam Pang or Julia since Malmö, and really didn’t expect to see either of them on a broadcast night. She hung around for a while for interviews with some of the international media present, so I couldn’t resist asking for a quick selfie, while her publicist was frantically trying to wrap things up, but she is pretty generous for the fans.
Once again the weather was amazing, and the theatre has a lovely outdoor patio with a view across the water to other Stockholm islands, so we lingered for a while, catching up with the guys I met last year in Vienna and meeting new people from Australia and beyond. My vintage map of Australia earrings – acquired back in the 80s, were a great talking point. As one of the guys mentioned, this is what Eurovision is really all about, connecting with people from around the world.
What an amazing day so far; and we still have to get to our first Eurovision event, Semi Final 1!