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What Happened at the World’s Biggest Live Music Event? It’s Worse Than You Think (Or Perhaps Not)

And why we need — and deserve — an escape!

3 min readMay 23, 2025
Photo courtesy of author

We made a big mistake last Saturday. My wife and I decided to watch the Eurovision Song Contest. Allegedly, the biggest live music event on television in the world.

We had assumed it would be an amusing nostalgia trip, with maybe one or two catchy songs and a few confused-looking dancers. We expected lots of live music.

Wrong. So very wrong.

Let’s rewind. We hadn’t watched Eurovision in years. Saturdays used to be work nights. My wife ran a restaurant. I was habitually doing things. Because there is always something to do.

But this time, we were both home. So, together with over 160 million people across Europe and beyond, we tuned in.

When I was a kid, Eurovision was the only thing on. It was a real event. My parents made it special. Cake, drinks, some nuts in a fancy dish. We sat together and watched singers from different countries take the stage, sharing our opinions about the songs and performances while predicting who would win. Every performance featured a live orchestra. Every country brought its own conductor.

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Erik P.M. Vermeulen, PhD
Erik P.M. Vermeulen, PhD

Written by Erik P.M. Vermeulen, PhD

Where Gen X memories meet today’s struggles.

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