#Serbia vs Sweden

[imverits]

[royalchildreneurope]

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Prince Daniel of Sweden, Princess Estelle of Sweden and Prince Oscar of Sweden attend the match between Sweden and Serbia, at Friends Arena in Stockholm, Sweden -June 8th 2024.

[candela888]

Same-sex marriage in 2003 vs. 2013 vs. 2023

(20 years of change)

More info below:

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2003:

Marriage : Netherlands, Belgium, British Columbia (CA), Ontario (CA)

Civil unions : France (including overseas territories), Germany, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Greenland, Rio Negro (AR), Ciudad de Buenos Aires (AR), California (US), New York (US), Hawaii (US), Vermont (US), Canary Islands (ES), Aragon (ES), Catalonia (ES), Andalusia (ES), Extremadura (ES), Castilla-La Mancha (ES), Castilla-Leon (ES), Madrid (ES), Valencia (ES), Asturias (ES), Basque Country (ES), Navarre (ES), Balearics (ES), Quebec (CA), Alberta (CA), Manitoba (CA), Nova Scotia (CA), Geneva (CH), Zurich (CH), Portugal.

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2013:

Marriage : Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, South Africa, Spain, Portugal, France (including overseas territories), Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, New Zealand, Washington (US), California (US), New Mexico (US), Minnesota (US), Iowa (US), Maryland (US), DC (US), New Jersey (US), Delaware (US), New York (US), Connecticut (US), Rhode Island (US), Vermont (US), Massachusetts (US), New Hampshire (US), Maine (US), Hawaii (US), Mexico City (MX), Quintana Roo (MX).

Civil unions : Greenland, Colombia, Ecuador, Merida (VZ), United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Finland, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Australia

Recognizes marriages performed abroad : All 32 Mexican states and Israel

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2023:

Marriage : Netherlands (including overseas territories), Belgium, United States, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Colombia, US Virgin Islands, Ecuador, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Malvinas/Falklands, France (including overseas territories), Spain, Portugal, Andorra, Germany, Slovenia, Switzerland, Austria, Malta, Guernsey, Jersey, United Kingdom, Isle of Man, Ireland, Gibraltar, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Greenland, Luxembourg, Faroe Islands, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, St. Helena, Pitcairn Islands, Gibraltar.

Civil unions : Bolivia, Italy, Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Aruba, Curaçao, Czech Republic, Hungary, Croatia, Montenegro, Greece, Cyprus, Estonia, Liechtenstein 

Recognizes marriages performed abroad : Namibia, Israel, Nepal, American Samoa

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Future :

Same-sex marriage is under consideration by the legislature or the courts in Aruba, Curaçao, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, India, Japan, Liechtenstein, Namibia, the Navajo Nation, Nepal, Thailand, and Venezuela, and all countries bound by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR), which includes Barbados, Bolivia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Suriname.

Civil unions are being considered in a number of countries, including Lithuania, Peru, the Philippines, South Korea, Ukraine, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Latvia, Panama, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Thailand, and Venezuela.

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[flagwars]

Regional Flag Wars: Round 1

Welcome to the Regional Flag Wars! It will focus on the flags of regions/administrative divisions, with one flag being allowed per country. This tournament has been a long time coming, as I���ve been holding many preliminary rounds to decide the best regional flags of various countries over the past year, including the tournaments the Japanese Prefecture Flag Wars and the Russian Federal Subject Flag Wars. This tournament is one of my largest, with 82 flags and six rounds. The first round will begin this week. I hope everyone is excited to vote for the greatest regional flag in the world!

Round 1:

1. Baja Verapaz Department, Guatemala vs. Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina

2. Yucatán, Mexico vs. Alexandria Governate, Egypt

3. Nakuru County, Kenya vs. Panevėžys County, Lithuania vs. San José Department, Uruguay

4. South Ostrobothnia, Finland vs. Hirshabelle, Somalia

5. Northern Territory, Australia vs. Vysočina Region, Czechia vs. Bali, Indonesia

6. Azores, Portugal vs. Chuquisaca Department, Bolivia vs. Lower Austria, Austria

7. Brod-Posavina County, Croatia vs. Olancho Department, Honduras vs. Chuvashia, Russia

8. Brest Region, Belarus vs. Sicily, Italy vs. Batken Region, Kyrgyzstan

9. Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria vs. Amambay Department, Paraguay

10. Sarawak, Malaysia vs. Bukidnon, Philippines vs. Bratislava Region, Slovakia

11. Kosrae State, Micronesia vs. South Darfur, Sudan vs. Saare County, Estonia

12. Mpumalanga, South Africa vs. Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, Thailand

13. Gagauzia, Moldova vs. Chontales Department, Nicaragua

14. Adjara, Georgia vs. Grande Comore, Comoros vs. Wallonia, Belgium

15. Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates vs. Tuzla Canton, Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Magallanes Region, Chile

16. Töv Province, Mongolia vs. Balochistan, Pakistan vs. Tocantins, Brazil

17. Amhara Region, Ethiopia vs. Covasna County, Romania vs. Canton of Bern, Switzerland

18. New Brunswick, Canada vs. Angaur, Palau

19. San Jose Province, Costa Rica vs. Macedonia, Greece vs. Occitania, France

20. Saga Prefecture, Japan vs. Ebon Atoll, Marshall Islands

21. Greenland, Denmark vs. La Libertad Department, El Salvador

22. Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine vs. Central Equatoria, South Sudan

23. Valencia, Spain vs. Coclé Province, Panama

24. Mon State, Myanmar vs. Malampa Province, Vanuatu

25. Lublin Voivodeship, Poland vs. Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas Province, Ecuador

26. Uva Province, Sri Lanka vs. Zulia, Venezuela vs. Agder, Norway

27. Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan vs. Friesland, Netherlands vs. Enga Province, Papua New Guinea

28. Leicestershire, United Kingdom vs. Choiseul Province, Solomon Islands

29. Bavaria, Germany vs. Kukës County, Albania vs. Kalmar County, Sweden

30. Department of Cuzco, Peru vs. Vojvodina, Serbia vs. Heves County, Hungary

31. Alaska, United States vs. Haut-Ogooué Province, Gabon vs. Grand Gedeh County, Liberia

32. Otago, New Zealand vs. Boyacá Department, Colombia vs. Connacht, Ireland

[cookiepotofchaos]

More long ramblings about more England Women's Senior and U19s games under the cut.

I did say it would be interesting to see how the games turned out, for different reasons, and...that's one word for it, I suppose? Especially for the senior team who apparently chose chaos for the day.

U-19s England Vs Serbia, Final Score 1-1

Now this was more of a match to see how the team play under pressure and Serbia offered a lot of pressure. They were fast, physical, and pushed hard up the pitch. Captain, Matejić, who also scored Serbia's goal was a particular challenge for England, but far from the only one. Stokić caused all sorts of problems, keeping the wingers and midfield busy, and the back four were definitely not making it easy for England to get through.

While England put up a fight all game, they probably didn't deserve to get the equaliser in the 90th minute; it was a somewhat debatable hand-ball vs ball-to-hand in the penalty box that gave the opportunity for Enderby to equalise. Serbia probably feel, quite deservedly, a little hard done by.

In terms of seeing the potential of players under pressure, Arsenal's Vivienne Lia continued to be impressive, especially in her link ups along the wing with Araya Dennis (who signed for Tottenham Hotspur in February). Evie Rabjohn of Manchester United was also looking sharp defensively until she suffered what appeared to be a nasty knee injury in the 20-25th minute of the game. Commentators didn't bring up the possibility of ACL or MCL injury, but whenever it's a knee involved and the player is stretchered off, the question is there.

Final game against France for the U19s will be an even bigger challenge, I should imagine.

England vs Sweden, Final Score 0-0

Well... Interesting is certainly one way to describe this one. Weirdly oscillating back and forth between chaotic/panicky and underwhelming, especially in the second half, with many of the same issues as in the Ireland game. A change back to a more familiar line-up, with Hampton being the only real surprise, given Sweden's strengths in set pieces.

Based on interviews with Wiegman and the speculation of the media and fans, the battle for England's GK spot is definitely on and... I don't believe it was even close to being answered in this game, but I'll come back to that.

The late substitutions were an unwelcome return. It often feels like some fresh legs at half time would make a difference. Since Wiegman has this reluctance to disrupt flow, you always get this sense that she holds on too long and the players are far from their best by the final 25ish minutes.

The hesitancy and extra touches in front of goal were still an issue, with few efforts on goal. From interviews, the team are VERY aware of this, which makes you wonder what the root cause is. I do think one contributing factor is this is where they really miss Lauren James, who will often take a shot or a chance at a shot or a cross, and seemingly make something out of nothing.

England received a number of arguably soft free kicks and did little with them, though one of their few chances of the game came from a free kick that ended in Bronze heading the ball at Mu��ović. That said, while they didn't convincingly best the Swedish defense at all, they started strong by dominating possession and play for the first half, keeping Sweden shut out of their final third for all but the last few minutes. The second half, on the other hand, was often panicky, with England too easily being put on the back foot.

Honestly, England were fortunate Sweden were not in great form themselves. A team in better form would have punished them for those set piece errors. And while I am always delighted when a player shows integrity and stays on their feet in the box, and wasn't exactly enamored with commentary saying Kafaji should have gone down, it's true that England were fortunate she didn't. A lot of players would have gone over and pulled that penalty.

A lot of player discussions can be boiled down to "probably should have been subbed out earlier" and "got shaky under pressure". Outside of those two main discussions, Hemp and Carter also struggled to link up on their side of the pitch, with Carter not looking in her usual form. Carter also had a rough time trying to keep Rytting Kaneryd from causing mayhem when Sweden did eventually start to break. I wonder if subbing her out at half time, like with Ireland, would have been a better option. She looked shattered by the end.

Mead and Toone started out decently and then struggled in the second half. I've seen criticism of Toone starting as opposed to being a super sub, but I think she had a decent first half and was involved in driving forward a number of the chances England did have. There was one run forward I was sure she was going to take a crack at goal and then just...didn't at the last moment, with that same extra pass and hesitancy mentioned above. The problem is she disappeared in the second half - I think Toone often works better for one half or the other, and there are options to rotate that role available.

The midfield struggled at times to keep play moving forward, though Bronze's return did help with that on the wing, giving Walsh more options with Bronze's confidence in mixing overlapping runs and backtracking more substantial than Le Tissier's was against Ireland. She did seem a little stiff-legged at the beginning though. The commentators seemed of a mind that she was going down easily to get free kicks, but sometimes she looked to be less steady than usual. As the game went on, she seemed to settle into her usual play and made a vital clearance from inside the eighteen yard box as well.

The defense overall, though seemed determined to bring panic and mayhem to the second half, I fear.

Williamson and Bright were mostly good, especially first half, making blocks and clearances, keeping the Swedish players away from the England goal. There was also less back passing this game. However, for their strengths, they also had multiple moments of chaos when they either gave the ball away unnecessarily, made a slightly uncontrolled lunge in the penalty box (Williamson), or outright just clattered into Hampton during set pieces (Bright). Communication between Hampton and the backline did not look strong, and Hampton noticeably struggled to communicate at times.

Which leads to the return to the #1 Goal Keeper conversation.

There is a tendency for fans of different players/teams to just be overly biased towards their preferred player and against the perceived "competition". That can be very apparent with the England GK situation. Chelsea and Hampton fans have said that fans of Earps who were commenting on Hampton's performance would have given more grace to Earps had she performed like Hampton did. And it's absolutely true. Equally as true is that if Earps had been on and performed like Hampton did against Sweden, the same Chelsea and Hampton fans would be calling for Earps to be dropped to 2nd or even 3rd choice keeper.

Hampton did not have as bad of a game as some people on social media have made out, but she also had far from the quality game that other people have argued in response. She made a few good saves as well as some scrappy saves that chance was on her side for. Also, a clean sheet is a clean sheet whether you get there with grace or inelegance or utter chaos.

However, I said in the Ireland game write-up that, under pressure, you can see the same shakes and errors start to creep up for Hampton and they appeared again, but worse. This isn't just an international game thing either, you saw them at times at Aston Villa and there have been signs of them at Chelsea, too. They just seem to be worse on the international stage, likely due to nerves.

Hampton spilled the ball in front of the net multiple times, struggled in areas where she is often commended like gathering crosses and long ball distribution, and seemed to struggle to get communication with the back-line right. By the end of the game, she had a thousand-yard stare that made you think she was probably relieved that she wasn't going to have to play in England's goal for a fair few months.

The GK situation at England is certainly far from a done deal right now. Unlike other positions on the pitch, there is so much less rotation amongst keepers that you can't imagine a situation under Wiegman, with her style of game plan, where they would be rotated in and out, playing to their strengths each game.

There was a news article out today that said that Wiegman was making it clear by benching Earps that there were no guaranteed places in the team. But benching players as an indication they've failed or fallen short wouldn't be the first solution I would think should be tried here. Reworking the approach to how the game is played and how players are used, especially substitutions, would seem like a better initial approach to try.

But, you know, given the chaotic choices I sometimes like to make in FC24 just to see what happens, I'm not a manager of a football team for a multitude of very good reasons, (with career path and logistics at the top of that list), so all of this is just hypothetical rambling 😅

[six-paths-of-jeanmarco]

Eurovision 2023 vs 2024

Albania: Duje vs Titan Armenia: Future Lover vs Jako Australia: Promise vs One Milkali (One Blood) Austria: Who the Hell Is Edgar? vs We Will Rave Azerbaijan: Tell Me More vs Özünlə apar Belgium: Because of You vs Before the Party's Over Croatia: Mama ŠČ! vs Rim Tim Tagi Dim Cyprus: Break a Broken Heart vs Liar Czechia: My Sister's Crown vs Pedestal Denmark: Breaking My Heart vs Sand Estonia: Bridges vs (Nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (küll) midagi Finland: Cha Cha Cha vs No Rules France: Évidemment vs Mon amour Georgia: Echo vs Firefighter Germany: Blood & Glitter vs Always on the Run Greece: What They Say vs Zari Iceland: Power vs Scared of Heights Ireland: We Are One vs Doomsday Blues Israel: Unicorn vs Hurricane Italy: Due vite vs La noia Latvia: Aijā vs Hollow Lithuania: Stay vs Luktelk Luxembourg: Fighter Malta: Dance (Our Own Party) vs Loop Moldova: Soarele și luna vs In the Middle Netherlands: Burning Daylight vs Europapa Norway: Queen of Kings vs Ulveham Poland: Solo vs The Tower Portugal: Ai coração vs Grito Romania: D.G.T. (Off and On) San Marino: Like an Animal vs 11:11 Serbia: Samo mi se spava vs Ramonda Slovenia: Carpe Diem vs Veronika Spain: Eaea vs Zorra Sweden: Tattoo vs Unforgettable Switzerland: Watergun vs The Code Ukraine: Heart of Stone vs Teresa & Maria United Kingdom: I Wrote a Song vs Dizzy

2023: 15 vs 2024: 22

[aijamisespava]

THE EUROVISION 2024 RANKING!

The time has finally come for me to rank the Eurovision songs we have this year. But before I do, I do want to make a couple of points because there are, I feel, a couple important comments that need to be made.

For one, you'll notice that I ranked only 35 countries while the list has 37 songs. There are 2 countries that should not be competing this year, and I decided not to include them in my ranking or any other posts I make here on Aijamisespava, especially as a heavily opinion-based platform. Second, this was a REALLY hard year to rank. So if you see a song ranked super low, it's not that I hate it (I don't really hate any of these songs), it's just I liked some more than others. And finally, I won't be providing explanations for my rankings quite yet. I have a fun 2023 vs. 2024 post for next week planned where I will explain things.

Ready? Set? Here are the first Aijamisespava Eurovision Rankings!

35. Finland: "No Rules!" by Windows95Man 34. Latvia: "Hollow" by Dons 33. Albania: "Titan" by Besa 32. Cyprus: "Liar" by Silia Kapsis 31. Ireland: "Doomsday Blue" by Bambie Thug 30. Luxembourg: "Fighter" by Tali 29. Sweden: "Unforgettable" by Marcus & Martinus 28. Netherlands: "Europapa" by Joost Klein 27. Austria: "We Will Rave" by Kaleen 26. Australia: "One Milkali (One Blood)" by Electric Fields 25. Iceland: "Scared Of Heights" by Hera Björk 24. Germany: "Always On The Run" by Isaak 23. Malta: "Loop" by Sarah Bonnici 22. Czechia: "Pedestal" by Aiko 21. Moldova: "In The Middle" by Natalia Barbu 20. United Kingdom: "Dizzy" by Olly Alexander 19. Spain: "Zorra" by Nebulossa 18. Greece: "Zari" by Marina Satti 17. Portugal: "Grito" by Iolanda 16. Armenia: "Jako" by Ladaniva 15. Estonia: "(Nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (küll) midagi" by 5MIINUST & PUULUUP 14. Italy: "La Noia" by Angelina Mango 13. Ukraine: "Teresa & Maria" by alyona alyona/Jerry Heil 12. Denmark: "Sand" by Saba 11. Switzerland: "The Code" by Nemo 10. France: "Mon Amour" by Slimane 9. Poland: "The Tower" by Luna 8. Lithuania: "Luktelk" by Silvester Belt 7. Georgia: "Firefighter" by Nusta 6. Slovenia: "Veronika" by Raiven 5. San Marino: "11:11" by Megara 4. Norway: "Ulveham" by G��te 3. Croatia: "Rim Tim Tagi Dim" by Baby Lasagna 2. Serbia: "Ramonda" by Teya Dora 1. Belgium: "Before The Party's Over" by Mustii

Final Verdict: This year started off a tad underwhelming. Maybe this was my saltiness at my national final winners not winning. However, as I listened to some songs more and more, I started really liking a lot of the entries. And then the internally selected songs came out and I was utterly blown away by some of the songs we got. Was this a good year? Absolutely. I can't wait to see all these songs fight it all out in May! *oh yeah, may I note that my opinions may change? My winner has been flip flopping between Serbia and Belgium for a while and may continue to do so until the end of time*

Congrats to Belgium for winning my personal Eurovision so far, and scoring their 2nd victory in my rankings (having been my winner for 2015).

Okay, I'm gonna go now, bye!

[eurovision-song-bracket]

“Soarele si luna” (Moldova 2023) VS “Een Beetje” (Netherlands 1959)

“10 Years” (Iceland 2021) VS “Non ho l'età” (Italy 1964)

“I.M” (Israel 2022) VS “Take Me to Your Heaven” (Sweden 1999)

“OPA” (Greece 2010)  VS “Nous Les Amoureux” (Luxembourg 1961)

“Wolves of the Sea” (Latvia 2008) VS “Boom Bang-a-Bang” (UK 1969)

“SloMo” (Spain 2022) VS “I Wanna” (Latvia 2002)

“Yodel it! (Romania, 2017) VS “Rock Me” (Yugoslavia 1989)

“Tattoo” (Sweden 2023) VS “Puppet on a String” (UK 1967)

“Kuula” (Estonia 2012) VS “Ding a Dong” (Netherlands 1975)

“Évidemment” (France 2023) VS “La la la” (Spain 1968)

“Zero Gravity” (Australia 2019) VS “Euphoria” (Sweden 2012)

“Stay” (Lithuania 2023) VS “Tu te reconnaîtras” (Luxembourg 1973)

 “Together” (Ireland 2018) VS “Fly on the Wings of Love” (Denmark 2000)

“Like It” (Belarus 2019) VS “Molitva” (Serbia 2007)

“When We’re Old” (Lithuania 2018) VS “Making Your Minds Up” (UK 1981)

 “City Lights” (Belgium 2017) VS “My Number One” (Greece 2005)

[goat-esc-winner-showdown]

ROUND 1 WINNERS

Round 1 Poll 1: "What's Another Year" - Johnny Logan (Ireland, 1980) vs "Arcade" - Duncan Laurence (Netherlands, 2019)

Round 1 Poll 2: "Tu te reconnaîtras" - Anne-Marie David (Luxembourg, 1973) vs "Euphoria" - Loreen (Sweden, 2012)

Round 1 Poll 3: "J'aime la vie" - Sandra Kim (Belgium, 1986) vs "Ein bißchen Frieden" - Nicole (Germany, 1982)

Round 1 Poll 4: "Puppet on a String" - Sandie Shaw (United Kingdom, 1967) vs "The Voice" - Eimear Quinn (Ireland, 1996)

Round 1 Poll 5: "Boom Bang-a-Bang" - Lulu (United Kingdom, 1969) vs "Tom Pillibi" - Jacqueline Boyer (France, 1960)

Round 1 Poll 6: "Rise Like a Phoenix" - Conchita Wurst (Austria, 2014) vs "Toy" - Netta (Israel, 2018)

Round 1 Poll 7: "Refrain" - Lys Assia (Switzerland, 1956) vs "Everyway That I Can" - Sertab Erener (Turkey, 2003)

Round 1 Poll 8: "Diva" (דיווה) - Dana International (Israel, 1998) vs "Satellite" - Lena (Germany, 2010)

Round 1 Poll 9: "Si la vie est cadeau" - Corinne Hermès (Luxembourg, 1983) vs "La det swinge" - Bobbysocks! (Norway, 1985)

Round 1 Poll 10: "Nous les amoureux" - Jean-Claude Pascal (Luxembourg, 1961) vs "Un banc, un arbre, une rue" - Séverine (Monaco, 1971)

Round 1 Poll 11: "Dors, mon amour" - André Claveau (France, 1958) vs "Ne partez pas sans moi" - Céline Dion (Switzerland, 1988)

Round 1 Poll 12: "1944" - Jamala Jamala (Ukraine, 2016) vs "Save Your Kisses for Me" - Brotherhood of Man (United Kingdom, 1976)

Round 1 Poll 13: "Waterloo" - ABBA (Sweden, 1974) vs "Hold Me Now" - Johnny Logan (Ireland, 1987)

Round 1 Poll 14: "Take Me to Your Heaven" - Charlotte Nilsson (Sweden, 1999) vs "Zitti e buoni" - Måneskin (Italy, 2021)

Round 1 Poll 15: "Why Me?" - Linda Martin (Ireland, 1992) vs Ukraine "Wild Dances" - Ruslana (Ukraine, 2004)

Round 1 Poll 16: "Stefania" (Стефанія) - Kalush Orchestra (Ukraine, 2022) vs "De troubadour" - Lenny Kuhr (Netherlands, 1969)

Round 1 Poll 17: "Only Teardrops" - Emmelie de Forest (Denmark, 2013) vs "Nocturne" - Secret Garden (Norway, 1995)

Round 1 Poll 18: "Hallelujah" (הללויה) - Milk and Honey (Israel, 1979) vs "Molitva" (Молитва) - Marija Šerifović (Serbia, 2007)

Round 1 Poll 19: "Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley" - Herreys (Sweden, 1984) vs "I Wanna" - Marie N (Latvia, 2002)

Round 1 Poll 20: "Fairytale" - Alexander Rybak (Norway, 2009) vs "Merci, Chérie" - Udo Jürgens (Austria, 1966)

Round 1 Poll 21: "Fångad av en stormvind" - Carola (Sweden, 1991) vs "A-Ba-Ni-Bi" (א-ב-ני-בי) - Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta (Israel, 1978)

Round 1 Poll 22: "Après toi" - Vicky Leandros (Luxembourg, 1972) vs "Love Shine a Light" - Katrina and the Waves (United Kingdom, 1997)

Round 1 Poll 23: "Dansevise" - Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann (Denmark, 1963) vs "Fly on the Wings of Love" - Olsen Brothers (Denmark, 2000)

Round 1 Poll 24: "Making Your Mind Up" - Bucks Fizz (United Kingdom, 1981) vs "L'Oiseau et l'Enfant" - Marie Myriam (France, 1977)

Round 1 Poll 25: "Insieme: 1992" - Toto Cutugno (Italy, 1990) vs "Everybody" - Tanel Padar, Dave Benton and 2XL (Estonia, 2001)

Round 1 Poll 26: "All Kinds of Everything" - Dana (Ireland, 1970) vs "In Your Eyes" - Niamh Kavanagh (Ireland, 1993)

Round 1 Poll 27: "Hard Rock Hallelujah" - Lordi (Finland, 2006) vs "Net als toen" - Corry Brokken (Netherlands, 1957)

Round 1 Poll 28: "Een beetje" - Teddy Scholten (Netherlands, 1959) vs "Heroes" - Måns Zelmerlöw (Sweden, 2015)

Round 1 Poll 29: "Rock 'n' Roll Kids" - Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan (Ireland, 1994) vs "My Number One" - Helena Paparizou (Greece, 2005)

Round 1 Poll 30: "Running Scared" - Ell and Nikki (Azerbaijan, 2011) vs "Amar pelos dois" - Salvador Sobral (Portugal, 2017)

Round 1 Poll 31: "Poupée de cire, poupée de son" - France Gall (Luxembourg, 1965) vs "Believe" - Dima Bilan (Russia, 2008)

Round 1 Poll 32: "Vivo cantando" - Salomé (Spain, 1969) vs "Tattoo" - Loreen (Sweden, 2023)

[residentraccoon]

Eurovision 2006 vs 2007

Got some free time rn so why shouldn't I do this. Again, inspired by @six-paths-of-jeanmarco

Albania: Zjarr e ftohtë vs Hear My Plea

Andorra: Sense tu vs Salvem el món

Armenia: Without Your Love vs Anytime You Need

Austria: Get a Life – Get Alive

Belarus: Mum vs Work Your Magic

Belgium: Je t'adore vs LovePower

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Lejla vs Rijeka bez imena

Bulgaria: Let Me Cry vs Water

Croatia: Moja štikla vs Vjerujem u ljubav

Cyprus: Why Angels Cry vs Comme ci, comme ça

Czechia: Malá dáma

Denmark: Twist of Love vs Drama Queen

Estonia: Through My Window vs Partners in Crime

Finland: Hard Rock Hallelujah vs Leave Me Alone (but I really love Leave me alone as well)

France: Il était temps vs L'Amour à la française

Georgia: Visionary Dream

Germany: No No Never vs Frauen regier'n die Welt (WHY DO YOU MAKE ME CHOOSE I LOVE BOTH but okay I'll choose the one that I listened the most)

Greece: Everything vs Yassou Maria (listen Anna Vissi is great but I prefer her other 2 songs sorry :((( )

Hungary: Unsubstantial Blues

Iceland: Congratulations vs Valentine Lost (WHAT AN UNDERRATED SONG this should have qualified)

Ireland: Every Song Is a Cry for Love vs They Can't Stop the Spring

Israel: Together We Are One vs Push the Button (none lol)

Latvia: I Hear Your Heart vs Questa notte

Lithuania: We Are the Winners vs Love or Leave (but we are the winners is iconic too)

Malta: I Do vs Vertigo

Monaco: La Coco-Dance

Moldova: Loca vs Fight

Montenegro: Ajde, kroči

Netherlands: Amambanda vs On Top of the World

North Macedonia: Ninanajna vs Mojot svet

Norway: Alvedansen vs Ven a bailar conmigo

Poland: Follow My Heart vs Time to Party

Portugal: Coisas de nada vs Dança comigo

Romania: Tornerò vs Liubi, Liubi, I Love You (do I even have to explain)

Russia: Never Let You Go vs Song #1

Serbia: Molitva

Slovenia: Mr. Nobody vs Cvet z juga

Spain: Bloody Mary vs I Love You Mi Vida

Sweden: Invincible vs The Worrying Kind

Switzerland: If We All Give a Little vs Vampires Are Alive

Türkiye: Süper Star vs Shake It Up Şekerim

Ukraine: Show Me Your Love vs Dancing Lasha Tumbai (BRUH this is hard. Both?)

United Kingdom: Teenage Life vs Flying the Flag (For You) (both cringe sorry)

2006: 17

2007: 20

2007 wins!

[imverits]

[royalchildreneurope]

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Prince Daniel of Sweden, Princess Estelle of Sweden and Prince Oscar of Sweden attend the match between Sweden and Serbia, at Friends Arena in Stockholm, Sweden -June 8th 2024.

[mbistuff]

Eurovision 2023 morning-after recap

What a fucking year

Starting things out extremely strong this year with a flag parade marked by appearances from Ukrainian Eurovisions legends mixed spliced with legendary UK party songs. Go-A, Jamala and Tina Karol appeared, but unfortunately no Svetlana Loboda. Great party atmosphere all in all, finished with Verka Serduchka and her mother storming the stage.

Graham Norton was on host duty this year, to the great regret of Graham Norton.

Austria started things out strong with a song about being possessed by Edgar Allen Poe. ????????? I loved it.

Act five from Serbia took things into real bizarre territory (even for Eurovision) with the most anime performance the contest has ever done, the singer fighting against a giant mecha. 3rd last place.

France is keeping the Eurovision tradition of impossibly large dresses alive.

Spain brought a flamenco inspired chant. Lowest scoring act from the public vote but I respect it.

Oh fuck the queen of Sweden is back

Oh fuck she’s probably going to win isn’t she?

Italy had a ballad about the relationship of the conscious mind vs the unconscious mind. Meanwhile two men in silver pants played on a trampoline in thebackground. Very strong showing, 4th place.

Holy shit Finland what the fuck is this

Holy fuck Finland what the fuck was that

Please watch and/or listen to Cha Cha Cha by Käärijä, instant Eurovision classic, deserved every single point it got and more

Australia (hold on you’re still not European) rocked it and also brought a car on stage. I’m so glad Australia gets Eurovision

Moldova keeping electrofolk and flute solos alive at Eurovision. Thank you, Moldova.

Norway completed a trifecta of Nordic excellence with a fusion of Norse mythology with pop. Got shafted by the juries but the public fucking loved it.

Germany went very metal this year, but tradition dictates you need to fight with the UK for last place.

Croatia, meanwhile, brought the biggest disaster of the night. Yes, that was the point, I know, but I still reckon it deserved last place.

Quick shoutouts to Isreal for showing the power of the unicorn and to Slovania for their Beatles knockoff

Voting time, let World War 3 begin

No Graham Norton snark on commentary this year unfortunately because he has to stand on stage.

Hatari, my beloved, how the fuck is Eurovision even on speaking terms with you after what you did?

Catherine Tate saying Allons-y? Yup, Doctor Who has now officially had a presence at Eurovision

Chill out everyone, Loreen’s song was good. It came second in the televote, so it winning overall isn’t some great crime.

Plus this means we get to see  Måns Zelmerlöw again next year

See you in Sweden for 2024

[white-eyed-girl]

My personal top 37 for Eurovision 2023 Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 I dont' even know what to say anymore, it has been the most exhausting ESC season ever for me and I just want this Saturday to come and go

11) Italy - song is alright (it actually grew on me in these weeks), Marco is a great singer and a cool guy, but half because I didn't want it to win Sanremo and half because I have actual favourites I'm spending the season worrying to death about, I have exactly zero interest about what happens to Due Vite in Liverpool

10) Moldova - how often does it happen to have two returning artists from the same year? Seeing Pasha and Loreen meet again was so cute! (and the fact that Ivi Adamou was there as well made the whole thing even better asdfghjffg) Anyway lol the song is awesome, Moldova incredibly managed to find a middle ground between genuine ethnodance and the amateurish country fair performance from last year, and I'm happy about it Lautar is also one of the few songs I actually love from 2012 btw, just as an add-on :'' He looks hella fine too but shh

9) United Kingdom - purely and simply a bop, it almost makes me forget how much of a tamarrata* it is asdfghjk As for its chances in Liverpool, if the pre-parties are of any indication, there's no way in hell this will get a top10 like many seem to predict, more like it will be lucky to get out of the bottom 5 :'' (*tamarrata = something camp and cringy and excessive, that sometimes you like exactly because of that lol)

8) Czechia - I usually adore songs with a women-supporting-women narrative, this one is no exception, and it also has a double reading which makes it even cooler I was a bit afraid that if they kept the aesthetic of the video on stage it could end up looking messy and uncoordinated, but luckily they decided to make it tidier and in fact their performance on Tuesday was amazing

7) Austria - This, this is how you do clever and funny This could have ended up being an apocalyptic level of trash but, ironically, the nonsense narrative keeps its feet on the ground Thankfully it seems like it's not a Halo 2.0, though the performance could have used being a lil bit more whimsical and energetic

6) France - I love how this starts tango-ish and then catches rhythm! I have no idea how it will go, France was my winner last year and I never would have imagined an almost last place for them, so yeah :'' I don't think they can snatch the win but I'd be on board with them trying purely because that would mean a new Sweden vs France death match which, like, AAAAAAAAAAAAA

5) Norway - this is the first song from this year I listened to and I'm still bobbing my head from that first time ahah This sounds like a song KEiiNO could have sung, which in my book is always a compliment We'll give her a wagon of points as soon as the commentators let it slip that she's Italian lol

4) Finland - This is me having a drunken dream while also never having been drunk in my whole life :'' Look, I love this song, or it wouldn't be in my top 5, it's a banger, it's fun and it's been stuck in my head since the first time I heard it in the studio version (the live rendition sucks, I know you all know but choose not to acknowledge it c:), I actually like the way it has two very different styles and the moment it leaves the rappish part to basically become the Carameldansen makes me fall from the chair every time It does deserve to do well. Does it deserve to win though? Ehhhh personally no, I don't think this is enough

3) Serbia - This year every time I think I have listened to the most feverdream-ish song of the line-up there comes another right after to prove me wrong lmao This is so weirdly composed, it pulls my nerves right out of me but like in a good way?? The part where Luke starts ''unplugging'' the dancers and his voice becomes low and rough gives me such a fine tingle in the stomach AHHHHH Serbia wants a win and it damn well shows, and maybe it won't happen this year but if they keep this up I don't think they will have to wait for much longer

2) Spain - this is genuinely amazing and I think it grew to be the only song that wouldn't make me want to set fire to the universe if it won in Sweden's place lol just because it's so ethnically artsy and well-sung and it has such sad melancholic good lyrics, plus I think Blanca would actually make a good winner ''Ay child, when I die let them bury me on the moon so that I'll see you every night, every night except one'' Best damn lyrics of the year hands down! This >>>>>>>>>>>>>> booty hypnotic

1) Sweden - The way she claims exactly every bit of the stage that she needs to, the way she shapes sound between her teeth, the desperation in her voice in the final part, the actual tattoo element which is important in her Berber culture, the creativity in the desert environment with both sand and sky, the double reference to the Atlas myth and the Atlas mountains, there's so much cool shit around this even if you don't like the song and so much to be happy about her participating again and so many people are choosing to stay mad for some of the most ridiculous reasons I've ever heard Unbelievable Not to mention that ''it's a song contest!!'' only when it fits their narrative I know she probably won't, it would be way too perfect and eurofans this year have decided that making literal history isn't cool, but IF she does…

[pepimeinrad]

after watching many of tonight's national anthems, some thoughts:

basic lovely stuff at the Portugal vs Czechia game, singing is alright, people are energized enough, only the one little girl who kept making gestures at the camera was a bit annoying.

unfortunately didn't catch Norway vs Northern Ireland...

my faves were the Polish girls, they had nice energy. the Austrian ladies were nice too (at least they all managed to sing the correct updated lyrics), but unfortunately they were drowned by some dude singing the WRONG lyrics and out of tune somewhere near the microphone.

and then Finland vs Scotland.... eh. they're lovely anthems but having them sung by solo artists without any music is really NOT my thing. I couldn't stomach it. at least there I have the memory of the first game with the bagpipes...

unfortunately I missed Serbia too and came just in time for Sweden - did I hear right, they had singing on their recording? those lyrics were too loud and crisp to be live... anyway also a nice rendition, I liked it!

missed Belgium vs Ukraine too because I couldn't sign up for the Belgian tv stream. shame, I'd have loved to hear them (Ukraine especially).

and finally Wales and Ireland... the stadium is too big, their timing was completely off, the singing and music not even close to synchronized and thus neither was nice to listen to. (and they used a pretty stripped down version of the Welsh anthem, I didn't really like it.)

[alexbkrieger13]

For anyone who can't access the official one later btw (Serbia vs Sweden stream)

https://www.youtube.com/live/5oVKKM83s4c