Kiama, you would have loved it!

Sequins, soaring vocals and 36,000 fans singing ABBA in unison. 

Eurovision in Basel was everything we hoped for and more.

Eurovision unites the world by music and the overriding sense of togetherness and love is all around here at the epicentre of Europe.

Basel is incredibly well located in Switzerland, almost touching France and Germany.

The city is the size of Nottingham, around 200,000 people, progressive and wealthy.

It hosts annually gigantic Basel Art and Basel Tattoo and other hugely successful events which were key to Eurovision selection.

We stayed with our friends in Switzerland in beautiful Pfeffingen, an idyllic village just outside Basel.

The countryside is very Swiss with cows, rolling hills and fields and one of the oldest cathedrals in the Canton of Basel dating back to 13th century.

As the glitter and high drama settles on a memorable lifetime Eurovision experience, we had a nail-biting and tumultuous Eurovision night.

Austria's operatic elegance combined with pop won over juries and the public.

Tenor singer at Vienna State Opera JJ showed emotion and humility on winning.

He was inspired by 2014 winner Conchita Wurst to participate.

It was a rollercoaster night in Basel’s Football Stadium filled with palpable euphoria and tension by 36,000 people.

There were live shows in the build-up and the fabulous Basel DJ before the big event. Our friend in Basel, Rob was part of the Basel Choir volunteer group.

They sang crowd-pleasing pop anthems including Waterloo, a sing-along for the entire audience, and an ingenious Cube in the centre stadium live-streaming on all four sides.

 John and Tony. 

A special mention to Australia who despite opening the second semi-final with a mind-blowing sexy and visual performance did not make the final.

It’s still one of my favourites and I will be on my Europe Spotify playlist along with Estonia, Sweden, Finland, and Austria.  

Our holiday continues to the UK and then Italy for a month, so ciao for now.