Eurovision!

When we found out that we'd be in Vienna for Eurovision we jumped through all the necessary hoops to get tickets. We had to apply to get in the lottery to have the chance to buy tickets at all? Something like that. All I know is that Patrick, Josie, and I all got through the first lottery round (Hadis did not) and then Patrick and I managed to buy a set of four tickets (the maximum number you could buy) while Josie did not. So Patrick sold/transferred his tickets to some friends and we used the tickets that I got. 

All of our tickets were really bad, but not really, really bad, so we felt okay about them. 

It helped (or hurt?) that they were only 15 euro each. 

We attended on Tuesday afternoon. It was cold and drizzly. 

The security for the event was...significant. Each ticket had to be designated for one person and one person only, and the name on the ticket had to match the name on whatever government ID you chose to present to prove your identity. We had to walk through metal detectors and get a pat down. We were allowed to bring only a few things that could fit in our pockets (no bags of any sort were allowed). We had to check our jackets at the counter. People who had brought umbrellas had to throw them away. 

It was pretty intense (but that's the kind of world we live in). 

Here we are, having all found our seats:

We arrive separately because Patrick and Hadis had been waiting for their friends to drop their things off at their apartment before walking over (there were lockers available nearer the venue, but Patrick's apartment was conveniently close and even more conveniently priced). So Josie and I headed over a few minutes before Patrick and Hadis and we were afraid we were going to miss the first number (Moldova!), which would have been rather unfortunate because we really wanted to see that one (we'd watched several YouTube videos beforehand and rather liked theirs). Fortunately, we made it through all the security and coat check lines with time to spare.

Our seats were not fabulous, as I mentioned. We had a pretty good view of behind the action ("We're going to see a lot of butts," Patrick quipped...and he was right). But it was actually pretty cool to see the tech crews hard at work from where we were sitting. I'm not sure I took pictures, but we could see everything waiting in the wings, as it were. 

The stage seemed to be a screen of sorts and the staging lines would appear for each act and the crews would throw together the set in an amazingly coordinated way. 

Many acts used fire or sparklers of some sort or another. We were close enough that we could feel the heat from these blasts of flame (so I wonder how hot it was for people sitting/standing closer):

Here are our hosts (Victoria Swarovski and Michael Ostrowski):

We saw the rehearsal for the first semi-final, so we watched Israel, Poland, Finland, Moldova, Serbia, Croatia, Greece, Lithuania, Sweden, Belgium, Estonia, Portugal, Montenegro, San Marino, and Georgia compete. We also got to watch Italy and Germany perform, though they don't technically compete since they are part of the "big four" and automatically qualify for the final round.

It was very cool to get to go, even if I didn't appreciate all of the music, and even if I wore my earplugs the whole entire time (I don't think I would have survived without them—we brought our own earplugs, but they also had big bins of earplugs that we could have asked for so I think everyone is well aware that the even is loud).

While we were cheering for Moldova to win (they ended up coming in 8th), we were happy with Bulgaria's victory as well. We actually saw Dara on the U-Bahn earlier in the week and were momentarily a little bit worried that she was being human trafficked...but then we realized that she was just a pop star with her entourage. The, uh, Eurovision lanyards (complete with photo ID) helped tip us off. 

We couldn't quite place her. The language sounded rather Slavic, but I couldn't understand much of what was said, which was a little baffling. But Josie pulled up a list of performers and we quickly were able to identify her. So, that was kind of cool. Even if we didn't really meet her, we did stand in proximity to her, breathed her same air (gross), and watched her suddenly throw out a sequence of stomping dance steps (which was another tip-off that she was perhaps a performer and not just a girl being trafficked). 

Patrick was literally minutes away from asking you whether that man (probably your manager) was bothering you before you threw out those dance steps. So...good thing we took a few more minutes to observe before intervening and asking if she wanted to be rescued, huh?

But, for real, Dara—if you're reading this, know that we've got your back. Because we were totally plotting ways to get you to safety. So, should you ever need help with anything...we've gotchu.

After the final act, we rushed out to grab our coats and then walked home and ordered pizza for dinner to get our energy back up to head out on the town in the evening...