Bringing Brighton to Malmo
Our Shadow Trustee, Ellie Hart, went to the live Eurovision final.
As a Eurovision and Abba fan, the recent exhibition ABBA: One Week in Brighton at Brighton Museum & Art Gallery has been a highlight. Shortly after I visited the exhibition, I was off to Malmö as I was lucky enough to get tickets to the live Eurovision final in Sweden.
The show was everything you would hope it would be – the costumes were elaborate, the music was loud, and the arena was full of joy and dancing. What struck me was the technical precision of the show. Watching the team set the stage for each act in only a few minutes was impressive, working in theatre myself this was particularly inspiring. True teamwork was on show as everyone had their role in ensuring each act had the stage and tech perfectly placed as the show sped through the 26 finalists.
The crowd favourites were Baby Lasagnes song Rim Tim Tagi Dim and the winner, Nemo, got everyone on their feet as they scaled the revolving stage balancing on the edge singing their song The Code. It was exciting to watch. My personal favourite was Armenia’s Jako performed by Ladaniva. The feminist anthem was fun to dance to, with the call and response with the audience, it was a hit in the arena.
I was delighted when Brighton got a shout out, a special mention for the 1974 final where ABBA famously won. If you don’t know about the Brighton Dome hosting the final in 1974, I urge you to visit ABBA: One Week in Brighton. You will be uplifted and inspired to learn how Brighton rose to the challenge of hosting the international competition and be immersed in the joy of ABBA’s music. Sequins and feather boas are encouraged!
