The Eurovision Song Contest is a family show. It attracts children, their parents and grandparents. We caught up with teenagers in Ireland to hear their thoughts on this year’s contest.
Contents
We asked students from a second-level education school in County Longford, Ireland, to get to know these teenagers’ opinions about the Eurovision Song Contest this year.
What did you think of the way this year’s Eurovision Song Contest was set up?
Emily (thirteen years old): I didn’t really like the hosts – their humour just wasn’t for me. The stage was so beautiful. I think Lisbon did a really good job.
Nikola (thirteen years old): I absolutely loved the stage. It was amazing. Lisbon did a pretty good job, however I think that the show was a bit political, with the countries giving the maximum points to neighbour countries. I find that a bit unfair – a country should give points to a song that they actually like. The hosts – I didn’t really mind them. If I have to be honest, their accents made what they were saying a bit hard to understand, but if I had to choose my favourite host, well then, It would definitely be Filomena Cautela.
Miška (thirteen years old): I found the way this year’s Eurovision Song Contest was set up was way better than last year’s. However, I feel like the show was politically-biased this year.
Kitija (fifteen years old): Well, in my opinion there are both negatives and positives when talking about how the show was set up. The stage, like every year, was absolutely mesmerizing. However I believe that there could have been better and possibly more diverse hosts. Also, in my opinion the hosts were making unsuccessful and rather cringy jokes. The interval acts during the shows were mediocre and quite non-entertaining. The performances during the show were good, especially with the use of laser lights and other special effects.
Which was your favourite entry this year?
Emily (thirteen years old): It would have to be between Albania’s song Mall and Cyprus’ entry Fuego.
Miška (thirteen years old): I loved Czech Republic’s song, Lie To Me.
Nikola (thirteen years old): Oh, I cannot choose! There were so many good songs, but my favourites this year were Austria, “Nobody But You” by Cesár Sampson, Estonia, “La Forza” by Elina Nechayeva, and I have to say, our Ryan O’Shaughnessy was very good.
Kitija Olga Vucena (fifteen years old): My favourite entry most definitely is Denmark! I loved the song and the power it emitted, which of course, was primarily conveyed by the performers themselves. The performance on stage was just right, not too much bling and not boring either. I believe it was absolutely perfect and very enjoyable.
What did you think of Ireland’s placing on the scoreboard (16th) in the final?
Emily (thirteen years old): I think for the message and delivery of the song it should have been placed a bit higher, like maybe 10th, but I don’t think it was a winning song.
Kitija (fifteen years old): Ireland’s placing on the scoreboard was actually a great achievement compared to the luck they’ve been having these past years. I personally didn’t think they’d even get that high on the scoreboard, but I’m happy for them.
Nikola (thirteen years old): I found that it was a bit harsh…of course, it’s a good result for Ireland, if you look at the results for Ireland from the past few years…but I feel like Ryan should have got much higher! The song was very good.
What do you think about this year’s winner?
Claire (thirteen years old): I wasn’t fond of the winner. I’m happy for her, but in my opinion, there were songs that were much better.
Emily (thirteen years old): I think her act was mediocre at best. There was a nice message to the song, but there were so many better songs that could have won.
Kitija (fifteen years old): This year’s winner was unique. I don’t particularly like the song but I admire her confidence on stage. Although I wasn’t thrilled when Israel won, I’m happy for her. This year’s winner is still better than the few past year’s ones . Well done and congratulations Israel.
