In the first article of the Eurovoix series “70 Years, 70 Memories,” we revisit some of the contest’s most memorable moments, from Conchita Wurst’s iconic victory to the unforgettable Käärijä and Baby Lasagna collaboration, the atmosphere of Torino’s press centre, Norway’s televote triumph in 2019, and the evolution of Eurovision into a week-long event.
🇦🇹 #1. When We Became Unstoppable — Austria, 2014
We begin our “70 Years, 70 Memories” series with one of Eurovision’s most defining moments, Conchita Wurst’s victory in 2014. With Austria hosting this year’s contest, it felt fitting to start with their second win in the contest.
At the Eurovision Song Contest 2014, Austria was represented by Conchita Wurst with “Rise Like a Phoenix.” After finishing second in Österreich rockt den Song Contest in 2012, Conchita was internally selected by ORF in 2013. Written by Charlie Mason, Joey Patulka, Ali Zuckowski, and Julian Maas, “Rise Like a Phoenix” was a dramatic, James Bond–like ballad that stood apart from much of the competition in Copenhagen.
Despite the strong package, Conchita’s selection sparked intense reaction across Europe, drawing criticism from voices often rooted in anti-LGBTQIA+ sentiment. Several petitions to disqualify the artist emerged in Austria and Eastern European countries, yet Conchita remained among the bookmakers’ favouites for the win.
On the night of the Grand Final, when the voting began, Austria didn’t initially emerge as a frontrunner. After a slower start, 12 points from Greece, the Netherlands, and the UK, followed by several high scores from Denmark, Romania and Malta, started to build the momentum. As voting entered its final stage, it became less a question of if Austria would win, and more when. With only three countries left to vote, the hosts confirmed Austria could no longer be overtaken, officially confirming Conchita’s victory. With 290 points, Conchita Wurst was declared the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2014, ahead of the Netherlands, Sweden, Armenia and Hungary.
The arena erupted as Conchita returned to the stage and reprised the winning performance. In the winner’s speech, they delivered the now-iconic line: “You know who you are. We are unity and we are unstoppable”. The victory resonated far beyond the contest, becoming a powerful symbol of visibility, acceptance, and progress for the LGBTQIA+ community across Europe and beyond.
Alistair: “The electricity of being in the arena for the first time watching such an iconic winner be crowned, felt like watching history unfold in the most important way in front of my eyes”
Gerry: “I was doing press in Copenhagen in 2014 and got to be a cameraman for an interview with Conchita Wurst. She was my favorite at that time and I was dying to meet her! The hype was building up for her so it was lucky that my colleague got to interview her on camera. When the interview was done, I asked for a selfie, but she was suddenly whisked away by her management to a bevy of other media appearances. But as she was leaving, she turned back to me and said, “We’ll take that selfie later, darling!” right before she disappeared.”
🇭🇷 🇫🇮 #2. When Europe Dabbed — Baby Lasagna & Käärijä, 2025
One of Eurovision’s most unexpected collaborations brought together two of the contest’s most beloved televote runners-up, Baby Lasagna and Käärijä.
In 2025, Käärijä and Baby Lasagna joined forces for an interval act at the Eurovision Song Contest. Käärijä represented Finland in 2023 with “Cha Cha Cha,” finishing second with 526 points, while Baby Lasagna achieved a similar result for Croatia in 2024 with “Rim Tim Tagi Dim,” scoring 547 points. Both artists became fan favourites in their respective years, each winning the televote but ultimately finishing as runners-up behind the jury winner.
In Basel, the duo debuted their joint single “#Eurodab” as part of the Grand Final interval act. The track combined their distinct styles, blending Finnish and Croatian lyrics with and English-language chorus. The performance was staged as a playful “battle” between their Eurovision entries, incorporating video game-inspired visuals. Both artists performed sections of their original songs before transitioning into the new track, supported by large groups of dancers on both sides of the stage.
High-energy staging and clear references to their Eurovision journey made an immediate connection with the audience, turning the interval act into one of the standout moments of the night.
For many fans, the performance felt like a long-overdue redemption, a moment when two televote favourites returned to the Eurovision stage not as competitors, but as collaborators sharing the main spotlight.
Tamara: “Croatia’s result in 2024 felt like the closest I might ever get to experiencing Eurovision in the Balkan region. When it became clear that Switzerland had won, I felt genuinely sad, for the Croatian fans around me in the Euro Village and for Baby Lasagna, who had given everything throughout his journey.
A year later, watching Käärijä and Baby Lasagna on stage together, I became unexpectedly emotional. I realised I needed that full-circle moment to truly come to terms with 2024. What once felt like a loss began to feel like a success story for a Balkan artist and its fans, including me.”
🇮🇹 #3. When Everyone Got on the Moldovan Train — Torino, 2022
The Eurovision Song Contest 2022 marked the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic that Eurovision returned fully in person. Fans, press, and delegations were once again able to come together, restoring the atmosphere that had defined the contest before 2020.
The Grand Final took place on 14 May, featuring 25 countries competing for the title. The show opened with Czechia’s “Lights Off,” followed by Romania, Portugal, and Finland, setting the tone for an energetic evening.
The atmosphere in Torino was electric, with the contest feeling like a celebration of music and freedom. A mix of high-energy performances, including Norway in 7th position, Spain in 10th, and Ukraine in 12th, kept the momentum going, before a run of slower, more atmospheric songs from Lithuania, Azerbaijan, and Greece shifted the mood.
Moldova performed 19th on the night, represented by Zdob și Zdub and Advahov Brothers with “Trenulețul” (The Little Train). While the energy had been building throughout the show, Moldova’s performance felt like a full release. As “Trenulețul” began, the atmosphere spread far beyond the stage. The traditional instrumentation, distinctive harmonica “train-whistle,” and “Hey ho! Let’s go” proved instantly contagious.
In the press centre, journalists, fan media, and volunteers left their seats and formed a conga line, moving together through the room. What is usually a focused working space was transformed into a spontaneous celebration. The same feeling echoed across the arena, backstage, and within the delegation bubble. For a few minutes, everyone became part of the same moment.
In the end, Ukraine won with 631 points, setting a new record for both total points and televote score, including 28 sets of 12 points. The United Kingdom finished second with 466 points, topping the jury vote, while Spain, Sweden, Serbia, Italy, Moldova, Greece, Portugal, and Norway completed the top ten.
Neil: “My favourite moment in a Eurovision press centre happened in Turin in 2022. It was the live final and we were all enjoying the show. Then the Moldovan entry, “Trenulețul” by Zdob şi Zdub & Advahov Brothers, came on. Suddenly, the energy in the press centre reached levels unseen during that entire week. Some Polish journalists started a conga line and soon the entire press centre was involved, from fan press to national media and everything in between. We kept going for those three minutes and although we were tired by the end of it, we were all on such a high.
I will forever remember this moment because it sums up the true essence of Eurovision, people from different backgrounds coming together and being united not by money or television ratings but on a deeply emotional and human level by music. With everything happening to the contest in recent years, I hope that Eurovision can return to a place where it unites more than it divides.”
🇳🇴 #4. When Yoiking Won the Televote — Norway, 2019
The 2019 voting sequence remains one of the most dramatic in Eurovision history, with one of the largest disparities between jury and televote preferences.
In 2019, Norway was represented by KEiiNO with “Spirit in the Sky”. The trio won Melodi Grand Prix 2019 and earned the right to represent the country in Israel. Their entry blended pop and electronic elements with traditional Sámi joik, making it one of the most distinctive and risky entries of the year.
After the jury result in the Grand Final, Norway had just 47 points and sat in 15th place, far behind Sweden, North Macedonia, and the Netherlands at the top. At that stage, a top ten finish seemed unlikely. As the televote reveal began, results were announced from the bottom of the scoreboard, with countries like Spain, Israel, and the United Kingdom receiving low scores. With each announcement, anticipation in the arena grew, and when the camera cut to KEiiNO, the reaction intensified.
Host Bar Refaeli paused before revealing Norway’s result: 291 points, the highest televote of the night. In an instant, Norway jumped from 15th place to 1st with a total of 338 points, sparking an emotional reaction from the delegation.
Norway held the lead until Russia overtook them, ultimately finishing fifth, a remarkable turnaround driven almost entirely by the public vote.
Despite the European Broadcasting Union later correcting the Grand Final results and Norway ultimately placing 6th with 331 points, the roar of the audience and Alexandra Rotan’s reaction to Norway taking the lead make this one of the most memorable televote moments in Eurovision history.
🇷🇸 #5. When One Night Became Two… and Three — Discovering the Semi-Finals
Since 2004, the Eurovision Song Contest has evolved from a single-night event into a multi-show experience. The introduction of semi-finals transformed the contest into a full week of music, giving viewers the chance to discover more artists, countries, and songs than ever before.
Image Source: Eurovision 2004 Semi – Final || The 10 Qualifiers Announcement | Youtube
Image Source:
Eurovision 2008 1st Semi-Final: 10 Qualifiers
The semi-final format was first introduced in 2004, when 36 countries took part in the contest, with Albania, Andorra, Belarus, and Serbia and Montenegro debuting. One semi-final was held to determine which countries would join the automatic qualifiers, the previous year’s top performers and the Big Four, in the Grand Final.
As the number of participatng countries continued to grow each year, the format had to expand further. In 2008, when the contest was held in Belgrade, a second semi-final was introduced, creating the three-show structure that remains in place today. This change allowed even more countries to compete and ensured that all participants could take part every year, replacing the earlier relegation system.
Both changes meant that instead of going into the Grand Final having heard only one or two songs, viewers suddenly had access to an entirely new world of music. Countries they had never followed before, songs they hadn’t heard, and artists they didn’t expect quickly became favourites. This shift fundamentally changed Eurovision, turning it from a single television event into a multi-night journey.
Anthony: “2009 was the year that I decided that I really wanted to watch the contest properly and found out about the Semi-Finals, hidden as they were on BBC Three. I was still at the point of going into the contest blind having heard nothing but the United Kingdom’s song for the contest. Watching the Semi-Finals was a brilliant experience, hearing music from countries I had never heard of outside of sport and realising there was even more music out there than I realised.
The song that really stuck with me was “La Voix” by Malena Ernman. To me it was incredible, this pop-opera song by a Swedish singer performed in French. It hooked me from the start and made me adamant I wanted to keep watching the Semi-Finals. The song and its impact lead me to create this website and really changed so much of my life, the people I now call among my closest friends and the experiences and opportunities I have had.”
70 years, 70 memories
In this special series, the Eurovoix team reflects on the moments that have shaped our Eurovision journey, as both journalists and fans. Across 12 articles, we share 70 memories spanning decades, countries, and contests, each paired with personal stories. Follow the series and share your own Eurovision memories with us.