🇬🇧 Meet the TES Team: Thomas

Before September 1 hits, and we get sucked into everything Eurovision/Junior Eurovision/Eurovision Asia, we wanted to take the opportunity to give our readers a chance to get to know our team a bit better. There’s no other way to do this other than to do a series where we introduce ourselves. The latest to join our team as a staff writer is Thomas who is a politics student from Manchester, UK

Name: Thomas James

Age: 28 

Pronouns: He/They

You are able to follow Tom, on the following social media platforms:

• Twitter – @escdestabxlxse
• Instagram – @escdestabxlxse

How did I get into the Eurovision Song Contest?

I don’t actually remember a time before the Eurovision Song Contest was in my life to some extent, although throughout childhood it was just a once a year occasion. The final would always be something that we watched as a family when I was young but the earliest I can remember the obsession beginning was Lena’s second appearance with ‘Taken By A Stranger’ in 2011. I also remember (as any queer, pop-obsessed youth at the time can probably remember) Loreen’s 2012 win and the grip that song had on pop music after the contest in Baku very clearly. 

During the 2013 contest I discovered the semi-finals back in the BBC Three days and watched the UK national final in 2016, which then opened a door to a whole new world of selections and national finals around Europe and Australia from which I’ve never looked back.

What point did I consider myself as a “Eurofan”?

I guess I was always a “eurofan” in waiting, but the year that took things to a new level was probably the 2017 contest in Kyiv. That was the first time I remember learning about Melodifestivalen in Sweden (justice for FO&O) and paid attention to some of the other selection news and National Final wins. It was also the first year where I truly believed my country of the UK had a shot at winning in my living memory – Lucie Jones, I thank you so much and still believe that was a jury winning performance! 

In the 2020s, I started attending pre-parties and concerts dedicated to the contest and was lucky enough to attend the semi-finals in Liverpool in 2023 – my first time at the song contest in person – which is a moment I will never forget.

How has my life changed since becoming a Eurofan?

Its a cliche, but everything has changed for me since becoming a Eurofan. I’d always had a keen interest in domestic and European politics, but Eurovision only made this more intense, as well as teaching me so much about different European cultures. I’ve visited different competing nations over the years because of the contest and met and befriended people from all over Europe. It’s helped me to improve a handful of different languages (I’m currently learning French, Swedish and Dutch) because of how much I love different countries and cultures. I now spend a lot of my time (and money) on travelling to Eurovision-based events around Europe. 

What are my favourite Eurovision Songs and Countries

In terms of Stan countries, I have a few that always catch my eye whenever they appear in the contest, Türkiye, Montenegro, Albania and Ireland being the countries who I am almost always drawn to. I listen to an eclectic range of Eurovision and national final songs from all eras of the contest pretty much every single day, so it is very hard to pick favourites, but here are a few songs that have recently competed that I play most often:

• 🇭🇺Hungary (2017) – Joci Pàpai with ‘Origo’
• 🇳🇴Norway (2019) – Keiino with ‘Spirit In The Sky’
• 🇵🇹Portugal (2021) – Maro with ‘Saudade, Saudade’
• 🇸🇮Slovenia (2023) – Joker Out with ‘Carpe Diem’
• 🇩🇰Denmark (2025) – Sissal with ‘Hallucination’

What are my favourite National Final songs

That is an even harder question to answer than picking favourites from the main contest! There have been so many incredible songs from National Finals that never made it into the contest over the years that I have playlists full of songs from National Final seasons gone by. Here’s a few that come to mind at this moment, but these could all change by tomorrow:

• 🇦🇺Electric Fields with ‘2000 And Whatever’ (Australia Decides 2019 – Australia)
• 🇸🇪Omar Rudberg with ‘Moving Like That’ (Melodifestivalen 2022 – Sweden)
• 🇮🇪Connolly with ‘Midnight Summer Night’ (Eurosong 2023 – Ireland)
• 🇸🇪Melanie Wehbe with ‘For The Show’ (Melodifestivalen 2023 – Sweden)
• 🇮🇹Mahmood with ‘Tuta Gold’ (Sanremo 2024 – Italy)
• 🇦🇱Lorenc Hasrama with ‘Frymë’ (Fetivali I Këngës 2025 – Albania)
• 🇱🇹SHWR with ‘Contact’ (Eurovizija.LT 2026 – Lithuania)

What am I looking forward to in the next Eurovision season?

There has been a lot of chaos surrounding the contest in recent years, and it has been hard to avoid the political discourse around the contest, but I always look for the joy in Eurovision wherever possible and so I’d have to say simply the fun side of the chaos. The one thing I am looking forward to most is Eurovision being in Bulgaria for the first time ever in 2027 and hopefully being able to travel to the contest in May. I’ve never been to Bulgaria but it has always been on my list of countries to visit so what better timing could there be?!

Aside from that, I am looking forward to attending Het Grove Songfestivalfeest in The Netherlands towards the end of this year, as well as discovering what Eurovision Asia has in store for a whole new group of fans in November of this year as well. 

Do you agree with Thomas’ opinions? As always, please let us know what you think by getting involved in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Threads, tumblr, Bluesky, and Zoop for more information about Eurovision 2027!