[LMBTO] The Eurovision In Concert 2018 Press Event - What A Whirlwind!

From what I can remember, I am pretty sure that all the artists performing at the Eurovision In Concert 2018 proceedings were here in this picture (although some might have been sound checking/eating/toilet).  This was taken after Jon Ola Sand (you all know who he is) and Mark Harbers, Dutch Secretary of Justice & Security (I assume that the Minister For Culture was otherwise indisposed) had given some nice speeches.  To say that I am amazed that I got a clear picture is an understatement - the melee amongst the photographers and other press members to get their shot was quite something to behold!  Colour stands out here across all those bodies...

Soon I would be mingling with the great and the good of the Eurovision press corp and various professional media organisations - I know that ITV were there as I spoke to a senior representative briefly, who was finding out who from the UK was present.  To be honest, this was by far the biggest venue for a press event that I had been in, given that my experiences to date have included: a table in the eating area of a hotel at Eurobash; a small conference area at Eesti Laul; and the bar of the Ruby Blue in London.  The schedule was brief and to the point as well:

To be honest, that was all I really needed to know - who was going to be there press-wise was really secondary to my reason for attending which was to meet a selection of the artists, chat to them, hopefully ask them some interesting questions and then post it for any Eurovision fan to enjoy.  Before the tables were put out for the artists to sit at and speak to us guys, I had a few minutes to admire the unusual "object d'art":

And to be interviewed myself on escSocial.  I would see this room again, about eleven hours later at the After-Party, but that is part of another story.  If you want to watch the artists being introduced to the throng, Eurovision Albania recorded the whole thing:



Just before the artists all broke for their interview positions, there was time for what I always term the 'Squad Pre-Season Photo' (football fans will know what I mean):
For those of you who have not been to a Eurovision Press Event, the Eurovision in Concert one, due to the number of artists involved, is organised so that the artists stay roughly in the same part of the venue and the interviewers go to them, either to wait for the person in front to complete their interview or as in this lady's case:
Have a very, very long queue waiting from the first moment she sat down until she left.  I got that picture because I was hoping to be one of the first to interview Zibbz from Switzerland, who were supposedly going to be on the table next door, but there was a twist in the tail with that one.  As it was, in the 150 minutes or so that the acts were there to be spoken to, I managed to chat with EIGHT of them, which I was quite impressed with.  And who are those artists that you will soon see posts about and be able to listen to their interviews?


That was the chronological order of the interviews on the day - I might have a play around with that as I intend to finish off with my favourite artist this year:
If was a journalist, I would supposedly be unbiased and not have favourites but as I am a blogger and still closer to fandom than getting a story at all costs, I will be totally doing my own thing and highlighting a certain 'Funny Girl' from Latvia last!

That's enough of the set-up article - here's how my interviews will be presented:

• Each one will have its own post;
• As I am a 'one-man band', I recorded them audio only, they will go on Soundcloud and be posted with a lovely picture of each artist and me (remember this sort of thing from last year in London?);
• The sound quality can be variable - there were a lot of artists and press around, with not much room between tables at times and there is only so much background noise that you can eliminate.