My love for the Eurovision Song Contest is an amalgamation of everything the show has to offer.
For those not in the Eurovision community, it feels like this monster of entertainment that arrives at a host city and bankrupts the hosting television station. The actual lasting impacts include a massive injection to the local economy, tourist board and entertainment industry but it's the experience, charm and community that's made it incomparable to other events.
There's nothing quite like the bonkers array of musical excellence you're delivered annually, let alone how quickly some of the acts rise to superstardom. In the last decade alone, the shift in grandeur is shocking to look back at since it's always felt like the contest has been this huge, chaotic spectacle.
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Eurovision is in no way slowing down and it's due to the fans that celebrate it all year long. There's no other event of this size that guarantees you a new bunch of friends if you're walking in alone. Fans all over the world flock to the host city solo knowing full well it's one of the warmest and most welcoming communities around, which makes this year's slogan, United by Music, so faultless.
You could create a dissertation-sized praise piece on why the contest rocks but it really does come down to the feeling of community, love of music and the unadulterated joy that radiates from the stage. There's nothing quite like it, especially if you can experience it first-hand.
Being able to lead Liverpool's coverage of the contest has felt like the luckiest draw in the world. To be that point of call for fans to discover everything from breaking updates to answering general queries has been simultaneously the most, yet easiest, work I've ever done and has felt like a dream come true.
To keep up to date with everything going on around the city, breaking Eurovision news, and general contest-related escapades you can follow me on Twitter @chrismgegrath, sign up for my weekly newsletter, and join the Road To Eurovision Facebook page.
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