It's really painful to admit it, but the Eurovision 2012 season is officially over. A winner was already crowned - Loreen and her unforgettable "Euphoria"; the winners, the Swedes, have already celebrated their victory in any possible way; the newspapers have already gave a variety of stories about the event; the full results of the semi-finals were already published; and we, fans, have already discussed every aspect of these results. Indeed, 36 hours after it ended, there's nothing more to say, write or do about the Eurovision Song Contest 2012.
Quite depressing, some would say. During this last half-a-year, Eurovision played a central role in the life of every Eurovision fan. From late September until May, Eurovision gradually became more and more dominant in our daily routine, starting from slight interest in the first national finals, and ending in dedicating our whole daily schedule for following the rehearsals at the very last days before the contest. Eurovision slowly conquered our lives, and now it's suddenly gone. Over. Some would say that it feels just like marrying someone and losing him right after the wedding-party is over.
No wonder that Eurovision fans tend to experience a slight depression every year after the big show is over and the dull, normal, Eurovision-less life is about to begin again. Post Eurovision Depression, or Post Eurovision Blues, whatever it may be called, is a genuine phenomena known to Eurovision fans. It usually starts within 24 hours after the show is over, and normally passes after 1 to 7 days, depends on the fan and his personal life. PED tends to be unusually strong in those fans who traveled all the way to the host country and experienced the great magic of Eurovision from a close distance.
I remember my first PED untill this very day. It happened after my first Eurovision as a fan - ESC 1999. The contest escorted me through half a year and made my life so interesting: In November I followed the draw for the running order, then I followed our representative musician being chosen for my country, I watched the preview shows, and watched all of the many Eurovision related-shows that were broadcasted all year-long since Eurovision was held in my own country - Israel.
On 29th May that year, the Eurovision night came and then it was gone. At 00:00 everything was over. I had to go to sleep because I had school on the day after, and it was really hard for me to fall asleep. I remember feeling horrible at school. All I wanted to talk about was last night's show and my favorites who didn't do so well at the contest, but around me were children who were not interested in all this. I was probably so depressed that I became sick and was sent home in the middle of the school day. When I came home, I did the only rational thing - creeped into bed, took the tape on which last night's show was recorded, and watched the contest several times. Only after one week of decreasing Eurovision doses I was finaly able to go back to school and follow the routine.
Why is it so hard for us, fans, to go back to normal life after Eurovision is over? I mean, it's not like we don't know that we'll have a new Eurovision next year. We DO know that the Eurovision would come back - all we have to do is hibernate and be a little patient. If so, why are we feeling so sad? I came to a conclusion that as Eurovision fans, the disapperance of Eurovision from our life leads to a several losses that cannot be immidiately recovered by the fact that next year would bring another Eurovision with it.
1. A loss of capacity. Untill May, Eurovision took a lot of our brain capacity. We often thought about ESC, even 99% of the time as the date approached. This was all we cared about and were all about. When suddenly there are no special dates to wait for, no rehearsals to watch, no songs to support...it creates an empty space that is waiting to be filled with somthing else. But it still can't be filled with next year's Eurovision because at this stage, we usually know about it very little.
2. A loss of interest. Eurovision is a big thing. It's glorious and shiny and makes a lot of noize. People who traveled to the ESC host country often tell that it's like being in a bubble where it seems that Eurovision is the centre of the world, the most important thing to everybody. We're all wrong, ofcourse. Eurovision is basicly important to the fans, to the participants and to the people who create it. All the others (a.k.a normal people) watch it for fun and never think about it again. But for us it seems so big that when it's over, everything else seems so little and unimportant. Including our normal life, jobs and so on. It's hard to go back to the boring serious routine after we've experienced "the real thing" - the fast-rythm, dynamic and glourious life of the two Eurovision weeks.
3. A loss of love. After Eurovision is over, we have to say goodbye to all of those songs that we really loved - our favorites. We had big expectation for them, which didn't necessarily came true. These songs meant a lot to us, and made us proud and hopefull when we listened to them. Now that we know the final results, listening to them is just...not the same thing. It feels pointless in the best case (if they didn't win) and really hurts us in the worst case (when they totally failed). Eurovision is about winners, and before the contest, everyone is a potential winner. After the Eurovision - there're a lot of losers, and listening to losers doesn't give us good viberations. It even makes us feel a little stupid and ashamed.
3. A loss of love. After Eurovision is over, we have to say goodbye to all of those songs that we really loved - our favorites. We had big expectation for them, which didn't necessarily came true. These songs meant a lot to us, and made us proud and hopefull when we listened to them. Now that we know the final results, listening to them is just...not the same thing. It feels pointless in the best case (if they didn't win) and really hurts us in the worst case (when they totally failed). Eurovision is about winners, and before the contest, everyone is a potential winner. After the Eurovision - there're a lot of losers, and listening to losers doesn't give us good viberations. It even makes us feel a little stupid and ashamed.
Is there a way to deal with this damn depression? I came up with a few which usually help me:
1. Start fantazising about next year's ESC. Make next year's Eurovision seem closer by checking flights, hotels and so on. Fantasize about the shopping you're going to do before your trip and be happy about the fact that you have one whole year to go down in weight and become a beauty queen before you travel to Eurovision and give the show of your life. Do it even if you actually don't plan to go to Eurovision at all. But come on, on the first month after the contest is over and the new host is known, EVERYONE has intentions to go.
2. Start something new. A project, maybe, like...studying the language of the next host country. You'll fill you time with something which is Eurovision-related and also would broaden your knowledge and would make you a worthier human being. Besides, think how nice it would be to use this language next year at the host country!
3. Write a song. A song for Eurovision, of course. Team with a friend - one of you would write the lyrics, and the other would compose it (in other words - become a G:son-&-Boström). Consider sending it to one of the many national finals of Eurovision. This intention would surely erase any kind of depression and replace it with joy and hope. Naturally, you'll forget about this project after typically few days, and would never send anything to any national final, but it would be worth the fun and the relief of the PED symptoms.
And the best tip of all -
4. Go back to your routine. The sooner you'll go back to work / studies or whatever you do, the faster the magic of Eurovision would wear off and the feeling of real normal life would come back. Sounds dull, but sooner or later there would be no other choice. Yeah, we all want the feel the ecstasy of Eurovision all year long, but no one can live a Eurovision life forever. Besides, doesn't it feel better to know that you stand on solid ground and that your mood is gonna be quite stable for the upcoming months? Forget about Eurovision and make a little efforts in order to make your real life better and healthier. If you will like you life and job and friends and family in the end of this year, it would make it lot more easier to cope with the lose of Eurovision next time around.
And the best tip of all -
4. Go back to your routine. The sooner you'll go back to work / studies or whatever you do, the faster the magic of Eurovision would wear off and the feeling of real normal life would come back. Sounds dull, but sooner or later there would be no other choice. Yeah, we all want the feel the ecstasy of Eurovision all year long, but no one can live a Eurovision life forever. Besides, doesn't it feel better to know that you stand on solid ground and that your mood is gonna be quite stable for the upcoming months? Forget about Eurovision and make a little efforts in order to make your real life better and healthier. If you will like you life and job and friends and family in the end of this year, it would make it lot more easier to cope with the lose of Eurovision next time around.
I myself feel a lot better today, after I've been through one day of work. I rarely got to think about Eurovision the whole day. Actually, I got to think about it only once, when guys from my workplace raised the subject themselves and said that they loved Ireland and Romania :-).
