The ‘diehard Eurovisionist’ Jens Geerts speaks up!
Ever since I discovered the contest in 1998, I’ve been hooked. I am a diehard Eurovisionist. Going there every year feels like coming home… Somewhere… Over the rainbow… With giants, vampires, monsters, sun-glassed angels, singing turkeys, dancing monkeys and other fairytale creatures taking over one of the biggest stages in the world. Let’s be honest: Eurovision is a magical wonderland where good music is debatable and every hobby journalist is a professional homosexual. You’ve got to see it to believe it. Really. Introducing and listening to all my favourite Eurovision entries for more than 12 hours… It’s like I’ve died and been taken to heaven by Charlotte Perelli in person!
Not only is it fun to relive all the Eurovision classics from the past 65 years: the “ESC Top 250” is also a great homage to several LGBTQ+ artists who represented their country while being openly LGBTQ+. Something I consider as an incredibly brave thing to do. It all started with Paul Oscar representing Iceland (# 175 in the “ESC Top 250). Although his song only reached 20th place in a field of 25 back in 1997, Paul is and will always be my personal hero for becoming the contest’s first openly LGBTQ+ artist at Eurovision. Only a year later Israel’s Dana International, Eurovision’s first trans performer became the first LGBT+ artist to win the contest with the song “Diva” (# 103 in the “ESC Top 250).
Several open members of the LGBT+ community have since gone on to compete and win the contest like Conchita Wurst, the bearded drag persona of openly LGBTQ+ person Thomas Neuwirth. He won the 2014 contest for Austria with the classic “Rise Like A Phoenix” (# 28 in the “ESC Top 250). And don’t forget the openly bisexual singer Duncan Laurence, winner of the 2019 contest for the Netherlands with his self-written power ballad “Arcade” (# 3 in the “ESC Top 250). In 2007, there was also Marija Šerifović, who won the contest for Serbia with the song “Molitva” (# 13 in the “ESC Top 250). Although she wasn’t out and proud back then, she subsequently came out publicly as a lesbian in 2013. So if you’re as excited as I am to figure out all the other LGBTQ+ tops and bottoms in this year’s list, meet me now. Every working day at 10 PM on OUTtv for the countdown of the “ESC Top 250”.
I can’t wait to see you there.
Europe, start the countdown now!
Love, love, peace, peace.
Jens Geerts.
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