The Official Eurovision Song Contest podcast Season 1, Episode 18: Lion Ceccah 🇱🇹 & Vanilla Ninja 🇪🇪

1

Alessandra 🇳🇴

Norway’s Queen of Kings, Alessandra, joins us for the first episode of the brand new season of the podcast. She’s going to be joining other icons on the official tour to celebrate the Eurovision Song Contest’s 70th birthday. The singer talks about the excitement of visiting cities all across Europe and tells us what she’s been up to since her amazing 5th placed finish in the 2023 final in Liverpool.

27 min

2

Eva Marija 🇱🇺

Eva Marija will be representing Luxembourg with her song Mother Nature, and is the first artist from the Class of 2026 to appear on the official podcast! She talks about her winning her national final, how Alexander Rybak inspired her to play violin and chats about her love for one of the contest's legends... Celine Dion!

26 min

3

Aidan 🇲🇹

After several attempts to represent his country, Aidan is finally heading to the Eurovision Song Contest for Malta! He speaks to us about his song Bella, how he loves being an absolute Eurovision nerd and reveals to us his dream collaborations and inspirations.

24 min

4

Søren Torpegaard Lund 🇩🇰

Søren Torpegaard Lund talks about channelling his 'inner-Britney' as he gets ready to represent Denmark in Vienna. He talks about his musical theatre background, his energetic staging of Før vi går hjem and his love for 2025's entry Sissal.

25 min

5

Antigoni 🇨🇾

Antigoni is living out a childhood dream by representing Cyprus at the Eurovision Song Contest. She joins the podcast to talk about her song Jalla, honouring her Cypriot roots and performing on stage with Hollywood star Jason Momoa.

25 min

6

Jonas Lovv 🇳🇴

Jonas Lovv is hoping to make his mark on the Eurovision Song Contest as he competes for Norway with the song Ya Ya Ya. He talks to Steve about his huge win at the Norwegian national final, his love of Queen's Freddie Mercury, and tells us about his impressive array of tattoos.

25 min

7

DARA 🇧🇬

Bulgaria’s superstar DARA is ready to bring the energy to Vienna! The singer talks to Steve Holden about the meaning of her song Bangaranga and bringing Bulgaria back to the Eurovision Song Contest.

22 min

8

Satoshi 🇲🇩

In a love letter to his country, Satoshi is heading to Vienna with the pulsing national anthem Viva, Moldova! He talks about the story behind his song, his love of Linkin Park and some of the hidden moments in his lyrics.

26 min

9

Atvara 🇱🇻

Latvian singer Atvara will be bringing raw emotion and drama to the Eurovision stage with her highly personal ballad Ēnā. She talks to Steve about the magic of the song, finding fame on TikTok and how she's already vibing with the Class of '26, including Australia's Delta Goodrem and Akylas from Greece.

26 min

10

Alicja 🇵🇱 & Eurovision Asia!

After the 2020 contest was cancelled, Alicja from Poland is finally back to have her moment on the Eurovision stage. She talks to Steve about returning with her song Pray, her musical influences and how she set up the group chat for the Class of 2026. Marcus Tang also joins us from Bangkok to talk about the excitement of bringing the first ever Eurovision Song Contest Asia to life.

30 min

11

Essyla 🇧🇪

The latest guest on the podcast is Essyla, who will be Dancing On The Ice for Belgium in Vienna. She joins Steve to chat about fulfilling her lifelong dream to sing at the Eurovision Song Contest, the support she's getting from her tiny city in Belgium, and the advice she's been getting from former Belgian entrants Gustaph and Mustii.

23 min

12

Tamara Živković 🇲🇪

Tamara Živković is representing Montenegro with her empowerment anthem Nova Zora! The singer talks to Steve about her talent on the flute, her love of Lady Gaga and her special friendships with this year's contestants.

25 min

13

The London Eurovision Party

We go backstage at the London Eurovision Party to meet some of the stars of this year’s Contest. Steve chats to LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER from the United Kingdom about being a new dad, and Sarah Engels from Germany about lighting a fire in Vienna. He catches up with best friends COSMÓ from Austria and Eva Marija from Luxembourg, and the party’s hosts Sissal (Denmark, 2025) and Cesár Sampson (Austria, 2018) also join for a chat about life after Eurovision.

29 min

14

Akylas 🇬🇷

It's Ferto time! Akylas from Greece joins us for the latest episode of the podcast to talk about his preparation for Vienna. He talks to Steve about his love of the contest, his appreciation of Käärijä, and his journey to Eurovision fame.

25 min

15

Veronica Fusaro 🇨🇭

Veronica Fusaro is ready to rock the stage in Vienna with her song Alice. The Swiss singer talks to Steve about her lifelong love of music, her love of Conchita Wurst and why she's bringing such a powerful anthem to Vienna.

24 min

16

LELÉKA 🇺🇦

LELÉKA is all set to represent Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest with the beautiful ballad Ridnym. She joins Steve on the podcast to talk about her musical life, her love of Rosalía, and how she could break a record for the longest note ever sung at the contest.

24 min

17

Satoshi 🇲🇩, Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen 🇫🇮, LELEK 🇭🇷

Hello from Vienna!! It's our first episode from Austria as we catch up some of the acts of 2026 straight after their first rehearsals. First up, it's Satoshi from Moldova who's opening the whole event. Representing Finland, Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen talk fire, ice, sauna and violins. And LELEK from Croatia chat about their favourite pop divas, their intricate make-up and how they're bringing the drama on stage to sing Andromeda.

32 min

18

Lion Ceccah 🇱🇹 & Vanilla Ninja 🇪🇪

Lithuania's Lion Ceccah and Estonia's Vanilla Ninja join the podcast straight after their first rehearsal. Lion Ceccah chats to Steve about his silver era, his multilingual song Sólo Quiero Más , and the support he's getting back home in Vilnius. Meanwhile, Vanilla Ninja are back at the contest, 21 years after they first entered. They chat about returning to Eurovision, ice cream and their interesting side hustle.

26 min

19

LAVINA 🇷🇸 & JIVA 🇦🇿

Fresh from his first rehearsal, Luka from Serbian band LAVINA joins Steve on the latest episode of the podcast to discuss the group's song Kraj Mene. He talks about his love of fantasy, idolising Lordi and Wig Wam, and explains where his passion for metal began. JIVA from Azerbaijan also swings by to chat about her song Go, her musical influences and how her journey to Eurovision has been 20 years in the making.

23 min

20

Alexandra Căpitănescu 🇷🇴 & Bzikebi 🇬🇪

Fresh from their first rehearsals, Romania's Alexandra Căpitănescu and Georgia's Bzekebi join the latest edition of the podcast. Alexandra and her bandmates talk about bringing Romania back to the contest, being huge Eurovision fans themselves... and how the singer has an interesting double life as a physicist! Georgian legends Bzekebi discuss their memories of winning Junior, bringing the vibes to their song On Replay, and where to find the best khachapuri in Tbilisi.

25 min

21

Delta Goodrem 🇦🇺 & Daniel Zizka 🇨🇿

Two amazing piano players join the podcast in Vienna! First up, it's Australian superstar Delta Goodrem to talk about her song Eclipse, her love of representing her country, and how the stars aligned - literally - for her Eurovision debut. Daniel Zizka from Czechia also jumps on the pod to chat about Crossroads, his favourite musicals and how he nearly didn't quite make it to Austria.

29 min

22

SENHIT & Boy George 🇸🇲 & Bandidos do Cante 🇵🇹

San Marino legend SENHIT is joined by music icon Boy George to talk about their Vienna collaboration Superstar! The pair talk about how their partnership came about, and George's first impressions of the Eurovision Song Contest. Luis and Miguel from Portuguese vocal group Bandidos do Cante also drop by to chat about their friendship, their proud history and their song Rosa.

19 min

23

Sarah Engels 🇩🇪 & Sal Da Vinci 🇮🇹

Two of this year's 2026 Grand Final stars join the podcast for a catch-up! First up, Germany's Sarah Engels returns to talk about musicals, motherhood, and her song Fire. Italian legend Sal Da Vinci also chats to Steve about his song Per Sempre Si, the love he has for his home city of Naples, and some of his Eurovision favourites.

22 min

24

Noam Bettan 🇮🇱

Noam Bettan joins the podcast for a chat about his journey to the Eurovision Song Contest to represent Israel. He talks about his lifelong love of music, his influences and the unusual animal he'd like as a pet.

13 min

25

FELICIA 🇸🇪 & LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER 🇬🇧

We can't get Sweden's FELICIA out of our system as she joins us on the podcast, alongside LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER from the UK. The Swedish star talks about her love of Eurovision icon Carola, being influenced by Shrek and discusses her extensive mask collection. Meanwhile, LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER chats about his rise to YouTube sensation and his hands-on approach to the Contest.

27 min

26

A Taste of Vienna with COSMÓ 🇦🇹, Alis 🇦🇱 & Atvara 🇱🇻

Get ready to join COSMÓ, Alis and Atvara at one of this year's Eurofan Cafés - the legendary Gerstner in Vienna. In front of a live audience of ESC volunteers, the trio of stars talk about their Eurovision experience so far. Austria's COSMÓ chats the Tanzschein, Latvian star Atvara is feeling like a celebrity and Albania's Alis reveals how he got one of his country's acting legends involved in his song Nân.

27 min

27

Semi-Final 1 Qualifiers + Monroe 🇫🇷

Your ten qualifiers from the first semi-final are right here! The artists representing Greece, Finland, Belgium, Sweden, Moldova, Israel, Serbia, Croatia, Lithuania and Poland give their immediate reaction after making it through to Saturday’s Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final. Steve then talks to Monroe, who's representing France with her pop-opera epic Regarde!

32 min

28

The Eurovision Champion JJ Returns! 🇦🇹

The current Eurovision champion JJ returns to the podcast to reflect on his incredible year. He talks to Steve about performing his new single Unknown during the second semi-final and the love he's received from Austria since winning with Wasted Love. JJ also spills the tea on his friendship with the Beauty Blenders (Miriana Conte, Erika Vikman, Sissal and Kyle Alessandro).

31 min

29

Semi-Final 2 Qualifiers + Salena 🇦🇹 & Danny from Voyager 🇦🇺

Your ten qualifiers from the second semi-final are right here! The artists representing Bulgaria, Ukraine, Norway, Australia, Romania, Malta, Cyprus, Albania, Denmark and Czechia give their immediate reaction after making it through to Saturday’s Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final. Steve then hosts a Liverpool 2023 throwback as Salena (from Teya & Salena) and Danny from Voyager reunite to share their memories of that amazing contest.

39 min

30

Lordi 🇫🇮

It's 20 years since Lordi became Eurovision icons after storming to victory with Hard Rock Hallelujah for Finland. Frontman Mr Lordi joins Steve for a chat about two decades of success, the joy of the contest, and his special relationship with Johnny Logan.

19 min

31

Alexander Rybak 🇳🇴

Norway's Eurovision winning icon Alexander Rybak drops by for a chat on the podcast. The singer and violinist is performing in the Grand Final as part of a star-studded medley to celebrate the Contest's 70th birthday. He talks to Steve about being part of the Eurovision family and the continued success of Fairytale.

16 min

32

DARA Wins For Bulgaria! 🇧🇬

It's a first ever victory for Bulgaria! Hear one of DARA's first interviews, just minutes after winning the Eurovision Song Contest with Bangaranga! She achieved a total of 516 points in the Grand Final.

3 min