I’m Going to Eurovision!

for at least a decade i’ve been a fan of Eurovision, and it’s even made my semi-official bucket list. i’ve watched online many times and live on TV when i lived in Germany, and last year when i happened to be in Athens during the contest, but have always wanted to see it in person.

last year, when SAS announced their new San Francisco – Copenhagen route, they had a sale and i immediately jumped on it to get a plane ticket. i tried in vain to get a ticket to the actual final, though, but was stymied due to Ticnet’s (their Ticketmaster) requirement that online credit card purchases be made using a European credit card. i tried calling the arena (the only alternative for non-Europeans) right when tickets went on sale but after nearly 2 hours on hold i was told there were no tickets left.

i convinced myself i would be perfectly happy to just experience it in a public square of Malmö (i’m sure they will have screens set up), but…

imagine my surprise when i randomly checked Ticnet again this evening and found there were a couple of seats left for sale. i tweeted about it and the credit card problem, and luckily @thatjohn (of RouteHappy, go and review your flights!) came to my rescue.

*choir of angels*

I HAVE TICKET IN HAND.

in related news, i had booked a hotel using the hotel equivalent of a mistake fare and only tonight found out that i had an email saying it was canceled (sent a month ago, and i’ll be there in 10 days — eep!), so i ended up using my hotels.com free night bonus for about $100 off of a $275 room — ack. my airbnb-staying ass isn’t used to those kinds of prices, but for a once-in-a-lifetime-level experience, some sacrifices have to be made.

I. CAN’T. WAIT.

p.s. my early favorite is, of course, Germany’s Cascada with “Glorious”:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y77A9-hQAp0?rel=0&w=640&h=360]

p.p.s. some of my favorites over the years (i am beginning to see i sort of have a type…)

Sertab Erener’s “Every Way That I Can” (Turkey, 2003) [more info here]

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3i4S4E7h3I?rel=0&w=480&h=360]

Anzej Dejan’s “Mister Nobody” (Slovenia, 2006 — i even remember sheepishly asking for his single in a Ljubljana CD shop later that year lol)

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXbLm9weMys?rel=0&w=640&h=360]

Malena Ernman’s “La Voix” (Sweden, 2009)

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WH2OwJeMBE?rel=0&w=640&h=360]

Anggun’s “Echo (You and I)” (France, 2012)

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DZ7DbdeOeE?rel=0&w=640&h=360]