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Brick by brick: Eurovision in LEGO

10 September 2020 at 17:00 CEST
Alexandro Kröger LEGO: EUROVISION stage from 2014 Alexandro Kröger
It's an eye-catching vision to see your favourite Eurovision moments, from stages to costumes, rebuilt piece by piece. We recently caught up with the creator of LEGO: Eurovision and super-fan Alexandro Kröger from Sweden to learn more about his designs and the man behind them.

There are so many passionate and creative Eurovision fans with amazing talent, from painters to singers to dancers and more! One such fan is Alexandro Kröger who recently provided fans around the world with a stop-motion video made out of LEGO featuring all 41 songs and artists from Eurovision 2020.

Thank you so much for allowing the Eurovision family to get to know you. Tell us a bit more about yourself.

"I’m a 27-year-old man living in Umeå, Sweden, with my [partner] and family, where I work within the field of communications. Besides living and breathing Eurovision, I love to travel and to spend time with my cat and family."

What initially brought you into the world of Eurovision? Have you ever attended a Contest?

"I watched the Contest for the first time on TV back in 2003 and of course I have been to the Eurovision Song Contest! All of my Eurovision experiences have been amazing and the Eurovision bubble has also given me new and dear friends that I would not have met if it was not for the Contest."

We are glad to hear that your Eurovision experiences have been so positive! What are your top 5 Eurovision moments and why?

  1. "The first was when I worked at my first Junior Eurovision Song Contest as a Web & Social Media Editor in Kyiv 2013. As a small kid, I dreamed of two things: 1) getting a letter from Hogwarts and 2) Singing at the Junior Eurovision Contest - since I was too young for the adult edition. To be able to be a part of something that I had dreamed for so many years was fantastic!"
  2. "When Sweden won with Loreen in 2012 after my country had struggled for years and years. To win the Contest felt like another dream come true when she took the trophy in Baku."
  3. "The next was when Junior Eurovision was broadcast from Romania. As a one-year-old, I was adopted to Sweden from Romania and in 2006 when Junior Eurovision was aired from my birth town of Bucharest, I got the first glimpse into the culture of my home nation."
  4. "The Grand Final of Eurovision 2016 in Sweden. It was an amazing broadcast, an exciting Contest and I felt very proud as a Swede when the Contest was broadcast from our capital and that the production was flawless!"
  5. "When I got to take my LEGO models and videos into an exhibition at a museum in Stockholm after Sweden won the 2015 Contest."

Such amazing stories, it sounds like a lot of your Eurovision dreams really did come true! Speaking of your LEGO models, when did you become interested in it and when did you start making Eurovision sets out of LEGO?

"I’ve been creating movies and imaginary worlds out of LEGO since I was a child. I started to recreate Eurovision out of LEGO in 2004, so for about 16 years!"

Alexandro Kröger's LEGO: EUROVISION stage from 2018 Alexandro Kröger

Take us through the process of making LEGO: Eurovision, from concept to completion.

"It all starts in November/December each year. Around that time the first sketches of the stage for the upcoming event are released. Then, I start to plan how I can make certain parts of the stage with LEGO - everything from giant triangles for the roof to how to build big walls that can open by themselves. When the new year starts I get in contact with the set designers from the Eurovision Song Contest and they are very often kind enough to share the stage plans with me. What follows is months and months of building the stage.

Around the time that Eurovision is broadcast my sets are finished. From then on, I look at the shows, acts and voting. Over days and nights, I animate all the graphics from the event and recreate the acts so that they look the same with the same props and similar outfits. When it's all done I’ve presented both Semi-Finals and the Grand Final in 5-7 minutes of LEGO stop-motion video.

During the year I recreate this process for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, Melodifestivalen and Contests from the past, just like this. I’m currently working on finishing Eurovision Song Contest - the Story of Fire Saga in stop motion with LEGO."

Wow, so much detail and effort go into your creations. How long does it take for you to make one of your YouTube videos?

"To create one LEGO: Eurovision edition it takes all my free time between December and June!"

All that work seems to be paying off as you have nearly 11,000 YouTube followers and thousands of Instagram followers as well. What has been your experience with your fans and what did it take you to get to this point?

"I’m so glad that people follow and love the content I create. Most of the comments and interactions I have are just pure love and I’m so glad to be able to create videos that entertain people for a few minutes - especially during these times when people are in need of happiness to make it through such hard times. It’s been a long process to get to this point, but when I read all the positive responses to my videos I know it’s been worth all the years of hard work."

Alexandro Kröger LEGO: EUROVISION stage from 2019 Alexandro Kröger

Tell us how your Eurovision 2020 LEGO edition was made.

"Right before the cancellation of the Contest, I received the final draft of the stage plans for the show. At the same time, I found myself out of a job due to the Covid-19 pandemic so I focused all my time to create, build and finish the stage. I made all the acts into LEGO and used their music videos as inspiration. My aim was to be finished by Eurovision week 2020 but since many of the LEGO pieces I ordered for the stage and acts online were delayed, it was not possible. But in the middle of June, I was finished with my videos and I finally could share them with my followers."

I am sure your fans were very grateful. How did the cancellation of Eurovision 2020 impact you personally?

"I was really sad due to the cancellation. The week in May that was intended for the Contest felt really depressing for me and I know that it sounds a bit silly to some, but for me, it’s so much more [than a television show]. It’s a few hours per year when I zoom out from everyday life and just enjoy the event. When I forget about all the stress and struggles in life."

It definitely was a sad time for all Eurovision fans but there were some amazing songs that came out of 2020. Who were your top 3 songs from that year?

"All Of My Love, Destiny (Malta), Tears Getting Sober, VICTORIA (Bulgaria) and Uno, Little Big (Russia). I thought the Russian entry was really entertaining!"

What are you most looking forward to during Eurovision 2021?

"I dream to be in Rotterdam and to watch it live, but since the pandemic may still be around then, I honestly most look forward to watching the wonderful production and to hear all the new songs for 2021."

Where can people follow you and your LEGO: Eurovision creations?

"You can follow my work on Youtube, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. If you want to watch my everyday life with my LEGO, partner and cat then you can follow me on my personal Instagram page."

Which is your favourite LEGO: Eurovision creation? Let Alexandro know in the comments below!