Last Saturday, Eurovision fans from the Netherlands and across Europe gathered in Amsterdam to celebrate the 10th edition of Eurovision in Concert. The preparty’s special anniversary edition, held at the AFAS Live venue, brought 32 of this year's artists to the Dutch capital to sing their songs for Lisbon in front of an ecstatic audience.
Eurovision in Concert had much to celebrate this year. For their 10th anniversary, they moved from a small concert venue to the much bigger AFAS Live concert hall. Missed it? Check out our recap of Eurovision in Concert 2018:
Some 120 journalists attended the press gathering hours before the concert. Of course Eurovision.tv was present as well and we spoke with many of the contestants, both at the press presentation as well as behind the scenes.
Monsieur finds temporary Madame
Ireland’s Ryan O’Shaughnessy, who admitted to feeling a little ill, was nonetheless excited for the show and the build-up to Lisbon: "I think it is going by like a flash, so I try to absorb every moment that I can — even experiences like this concert. I try to enjoy every second of it."
Cesár Sampson, Austria’s representative, said: "I am looking forward to tonight, and to performing, to connecting with the Dutch crowd and see what energy they bring."
The concert itself was packed with memorable moments, notably when the UK's contestant SuRie joined the stage together with France's male singer 'Monsieur', as his 'Madame' had to stay at home to recover from illness.
Aside from spectacular performances of this year’s entries the audience was treated with performances by 1996 Dutch representatives Maxine & Franklin Brown and Belgium’s Sandra Kim, who won in 1986 with the song J’aime La Vie.
Last year’s Bulgarian representative and 2017 runner-up Kristian Kostov joined this year’s Bulgarian entry Equinox for a surprise performance. Having been through the experience before, he had the following advice for his friends: "I know they know everything, they are ready to win it! But I think the most important thing is to have fun. I did have a lot of fun last year, but if I ever could come back, I would definitely enjoy it more."
"Dare to be different"
The show was hosted by Dutch Eurovision commentator Cornald Maas and Dutch singer Edsilia Rombley, who represented the Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest twice, in 1998 and in 2007. Maas offered his own advice to this year’s participants: "Follow your own path and don’t be afraid to take risks. I would say don’t try to be safe, but dare to be different. Do something that might not be in the typical Eurovision style, but do something that you as an artist believe in."
Only shorts
With only a couple of weeks until the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest takes place in Lisbon the artists are also feeling the mounting pressure. San Marino's Jessika and Jenifer Brening said: "We are so excited to perform there on stage and meet the people. We would love to maybe have a little bit of time in our busy schedule to do some sightseeing in the city." To that, Ryan O’Shaughnessy added: "I am looking forward to the sunshine. I only have shorts with me, so it better be sunny."
Artists appeared to have enjoyed themselves in Amsterdam, according to their social media posts:
What's next?
After the PreParty Riga, the London Eurovision Party, Israel Calling and Amsterdam’s Eurovision in Concert, we'll continue our journey through Europe to Spain. Madrid will host its traditional preparty on the 21st of April, and Eurovision.tv will be there to bring you more exclusive content with the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest participants.
All aboard for our next destination?
The Eurovision.tv team would like to thank the organisers of Eurovision in Concert for their generous hospitality.
