Welcome to Bulgaria The EuroWhat? Podcast The EuroWhat? Podcast Mike 0:18 Hello, and welcome to the Eurowhat, episode 308, dropping on September 1st, 2026. We are a pair of Americans trying to make sense of the Eurovision Song Contest. I'm Mike McComb, and I'm here with my co-host, Ben Smith. Hey, Ben. Ben 0:32 Hey, Mike. Mike 0:34 For our 10th season premiere, we'll get caught up with news from this summer and start exploring Bulgaria. Happy New Year, birthday, all the things to us. Yay! Ben 0:44 Yeah! That ends in a zero. Pew, pew, pew. Mike 0:47 Pew, pew, pew, pew, pew. So, we are back from our lengthy summer break. Uh, h y'all enjoyed the, uh, episodes that came out from behind the Patreon paywall. weirdly prescient in some of the episode choices there, but... Ben 1:04 Yeah, yeah, no, just, just once again, we should not have put the monkey's paw in charge. Mike 1:08 Mm-mm, no, old habits die hard, I suppose, Ben 1:11 Yeah. Mike 1:11 but... are refreshed. both physically and, like, visually, if you're looking at, the show imagery right now. Uh, w want to shout out Justin Ladia, past and future guest of the show, uh, who helped us with a little bit of a brand zhuzh. So, hope you all like it. We absolutely adore. Ben 1:30 Yeah, let's say we are, we are so thrilled with it. We hope you are, too. Mike 1:33 yeah, let's get caught up with some of the, uh, mechanical stuff that has happened over the summer. ------ Eurovision Rule Updates for 2027 ------ 1:40 Mike 1:40 Eurovision has introduced some new rules for the 2027 contest. Uh, some of them are minor tweaks. Some of them could be major tweaks. Uh, we may not have even seen the final revisions yet. But, uh, yeah, I guess we'll kind of take them in order of significance. Or impact. Ben 2:01 like, how much they seem to be nailed down. Mike 2:03 Right, yeah, yeah. So, like, the first one, which isn't really a rule change, it feels more like a reminder that, uh, the lead singer, like, really does have to be live vocals. I, I don't know if there have been complaints about, vocal sweetening or what, what brought this reminder about. But, uh, yeah, Eurovision felt the need to reiterate that the main vocals of a song have to be live. Uh, the change that I'm very pleased with is, raising the minimum age, the last several It's been, like, you have to be at least 16 years old on the day of your first performance. And they are now raising minimum age to 18. Uh, I am very strongly in favor of that. Ben 2:48 Yes, especially, uh, given how much of a pressure cooker, uh, Eurovision has become behind the scenes. Don't, don't, don't subject, like, a young person to that. make them be 18. Mike 2:58 just the presence of junior Eurovision, like, I think the maximum age for that was 14. And I don't know, it, it feels like there should be a little bit more of a gap between, like, June, the junior edition and the senior edition. I, I, I don't know. Like, maybe that's just my organ. just, I've just been thinking, Ben 3:17 I've Mike 3:17 so. Ben 3:19 14, weird liminal space 16 is just kind of interesting. Mike 3:23 Yeah, Ben 3:23 Versus, Mike 3:23 yeah. Ben 3:24 versus, like, again, just sort of, like, junior Eurovision being for up to 14, uh, and then 18, yes, you can be in real Eurovision. Mike 3:32 Yeah. Ben 3:32 Or adult Eurovision, or, I don't know, Eurovision? Mike 3:35 Yes, y. Ben 3:37 Junior Eurovision is also real Eurovision. Mike 3:39 Yes, yes, it's just not on our beat, so. I think the rule change that got the most attention, uh, well, let me read from the press release. the rules of the contest now say the winning broadcaster will automatically be ineligible to host the contest if an armed conflict, a sensitive geopolitical situation, or any other situation materially affects the security, safety, or stability of their state or immediate in. If the winning member is deemed unable to host, the EBU will identify an alternative host broadcaster. The appointed host broadcaster will assume all rights, obligations, and liabilities associated with hosting the contest, including responsibility for the organization, production, and staging of the event. The host broadcaster will organize the contest in its own right and will not be required to stage the event on behalf of another member. I like how this is threading the needle in a weird way. Like, I don't feel like it's a complete resolution to the corner that the EBU has painted Ben 4:44 in. Mike 4:44 it But wha do you think of this change? Ben 4:48 I'm generally in favor of it, but like, every time I think about it too hard,I sort of think of it as the Eurovision equivalent of men will do blank except go to therapy. like, they are saying so much of, okay, but like, you guys aren't gonna, resolve the issue of why it's there. And like, they have, like, I think that you're right that it does do a good job of threading the needle. Because I think they are just sort of providing an actual structural framework for what happened when Ukraine last won. of just like, hey, that went really well, should set up the framework so that that can happen again if we are dealing with a situation like this. We should add in a clause that like, the host broadcaster that is hosting does not need to make it, we are doing this on behalf of whoever. but that the, the framework is there. So I think that is good. And I think like, this is a rule that's good for them to have and like, in typical EBU fashion, it's like, what do you mean you didn't have like a war clause? Mike 5:38 Yeah. Yeah, I think that's one of the things that really kind of drew me to this, where it's just like, oh, wow, you're actually thinking two steps ahead. Okay. Even though it does feel a little late for that, especially since they already gave this kind of a trial run for 2023. the difference here is BBC would have had full ownership of it instead of it being a co-production with Ukraine's broadcaster. But that's not to say that the host broadcaster can't invite other broadcaster into the planning process. It's just not required per these rules. Ben 6:15 Exactly. think it's good. think I understand the general, like, fandom reaction of, okay, but like, why aren't you, like, why can't you guys just explicitly do blank? But like, there are a lot of reasons they can't do blank. Like, it's not as, it's not as cut and dry as we would perhaps like it to be. Mike 6:31 a lot of the reporting that I saw on this, like, framed it as, oh, countries at war aren't allowed to host the contest. And it's like, that's not what is being said exactly. if Ukraine were to win next year, and like, their situation has not changed, I don't think they would be allowed to host Because again, it's the safety concern. And like, they're in a war of defense, not a war of their choosing. Ben 6:56 okay, but, like, does that mean that, like, if, if, not Afghanistan, Mike 7:00 If Ben 7:00 Afghanistan. Mike 7:01 Afghanistan Ben 7:01 Is that... Yes. Mike 7:01 wins Eurovision, I would be very surprised. Ben 7:05 Just shocking out of nowhere. but does this mean that, like, if Azerbaijan and Armenia are having, are having their continued border issues that they don't get, you know, and they win, they don't, yeah. Yes, they shouldn't get to Mike 7:15 That's Ben 7:15 host. Mike 7:16 interesting. Yeah, because, like, I don't, I don't know in that particular example, like, where the safety aspect comes in.But I guess, like, thinking back to the 2012 contest win, as a... Ben 7:25 Like, when they hosted, Armenia sat home because it was a concern. Mike 7:30 I like that this rule exists. I'll be curious to see if and when it fully gets implemented. Ben 7:39 Yes, yeah, that's the other part, it's just, like, this is the announcement of the rule, this is, we need to see what the implementation looks like. Mike 7:44 Right, yeah, so it's just, it's, it's nice that it's there, um, like, because, remember, they didn't have a rule for how to break a tie for the longest tie. ------ Voting overhaul? ------ 7:56 Mike 7:56 then the other major consideration that, uh, I don't think has been fully resolved yet is exploring how voting is going to work in next year's contest. Uh, the jury will still be part of the semifinals, and it's still supposed to be a 50-50 split, as far as I can tell, but in terms of how the actual mechanics of voting will work, I think that is still up for debate. they may be exploring, like, fully online methods, uh, and just getting rid of SMS and, phone votes entirely, uh, which it seems like a number of broadcasters have already kind of moved in that direction. with Eurovision Asia, like, just seeing how, uh, their voting mechanisms have been, implemented so far, uh, they're, doing online votes, and it's like with Junior Eurovision, where you have to vote for three even if strongly supporting once. So you would get 10 votes, uh, that you can and you could buy more votes. this, this is what Bhutan did in their selection process. this hasn't been formally proposed, at least not in a public-facing way. So I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it, Ben 9:07 Yeah, Mike 9:07 but... Ben 9:08 like, well, like, I feel like just sort of, like, deploying some info about this is just, or let's, let's dip our toe in the water, let's let foot, let's, you know, let's, let's put a little chum in the water and see if, see how people react. I'm interested in the fully online portion as it relates to all of our beautiful little micro-states like San Marino. Is this, does this give them an actual voice, or is, like, their internet connection still that hardwired to Italy? Mike 9:29 Right. Ben 9:30 Uh, because, like, does, does that give them an actual voice? That would be lovely. Mike 9:34 Yep. Ben 9:34 I like the idea of being forced to spread to, like, at least three entries. It's just like,yeah , you can put a bunch of stuff on one, but, like, you still have to indicate a preference. You, please, please, uh, provide proof that you at least sort of watched the show. Mike 9:48 Right. yeah, that, that feels like something that will probably be more resolved when they have their, like, general assembly meeting later in the year. at least they're thinking about it, and, like, this Ben 9:59 Yeah, Mike 9:59 is, this has Ben 9:59 well... Mike 9:59 always been a topic, so... Ben 10:01 It's always been a topic, I, yeah, like, I think that's been, I mean, particularly the last couple years, like, I have been on a particular charge about the rest of, like, the rest of WorldVote and just sort of the way that, like, it feels easily exploded. Mike 10:13 Mm-hmm. Ben 10:14 Uh, so, like, I'm glad that they are, they, they are at least sort of acknowledging, hey, we've noticed that this has been, like, this has been a problem area. Uh, and then, like, the combination of that with the, with the clause about, like, being eligible to host based on, you know, other geopolitical stuff that's happening. It feels like they are at least acknowledging that there is an elephant in the room, even if we are not necessarily... We're not trying to remove the elephant, we're just sort of, but, like, we are aware it's there, and we have released a press release about the elephant. Uh, thank you. We are aware. Mike 10:47 Getting a lovely throw blanket to place atop it, and just blend it in Ben 10:52 We Mike 10:52 with the Ben 10:52 have Mike 10:52 rest of Ben 10:52 a... Mike 10:52 the furniture. Ben 10:54 We have corralled it to the corner of the room, and we have placed, and we have duct taped a tarp to either of the walls, so, yeah, ------ Netherlands Likely Not Returning while Canada(?) Joins ------ 11:02 Ben 11:02 no. The corner of the room is fine, what's going on? Mike 11:05 Yeah. these changes have already been met with some, uh, resistance. Avatros, the Dutch broadcaster, was not satisfied with these changes, at least not fully satisfied, and, have decided to, not return for the 2027 contest. Ben 11:23 Ava will not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2027 because the event can no longer be considered neutral with a participating country still involved in a large-scale military conflict. Over the past year, Avotros has called on the European Broadcasting Union to establish transparent rules for the participation of countries involved in military conflicts. However, the recently announced changes by the EBU do not provide sufficient confidence that the independent and neutral character of the Eurovision Song Contest has been restored. Participation is therefore no longer consistent with the values of Avotros, trustworthiness, independence, and humanity. Mike 11:53 Avotros has thrown the responsibility of, conducting Eurovision to NPO, which is kind of like the overseeing organization for all of Dutch broadcasting. So, theoretically, one of the other 12 eligible broadcasters, that have EBU membership and meet all the other, like, qualification criteria for Eurovision represent the Netherlands. Three of those 12 have already said no thanks, uh, partly because, like, it's expensive, Ben 12:23 like... They Mike 12:23 s, Ben 12:24 just don't have the budget, yeah. Mike 12:25 Yeah, yeah, and there is still, like, pretty strong public support for Avotros' decision. I think it's fairly unlikely that, uh, the Netherlands will be, uh, in Burgess in 2027, but, uh, we'll keep an eye on that. we're not sure if this is pushback or not, but, uh, Moroccan Oil, which has been a major sponsor of the contest since 2020, has ended their sponsorship of the contest. if you go to the Eurovision website, uh, as we record this, their logo's still on the main page, but, probably won't be there by the time you're listening to this. Uh, it'll be interesting to see what, when that changeover happens. Ben 13:03 I feel like that was the main, that was the main thing I did as soon as I, I heard a whiff of Moroccan Oil dropping, I was like, as I went to the website to, like, and it was still there. I'm like, what do you mean? Mike 13:12 Yeah. Ben 13:12 Or, has this, has this been confirmed? But no, like, they're, like, they announced that, like, the same day as the rule changes, so, like, sort of, like, sliding behind that press release, Mike 13:22 yeah, it's unclear if the rule change is related to that, or if this was going to happen anyway. It's, it could just be a coincidence of timing, Morocc Oil is, uh, an Israeli-based company and, has, has been the target of boycott action, with, with regards to its association with Eurovision. one of the big impacts of this is going to, uh, is the turquoise carpet, uh, which was their project, uh, whi I did not realize until this whole thing happened. And it's, like, oh, yeah, I guess that timing does line up. And also, like, their first time sponsoring the contest was 2020, which, um, weird year to be a sponsor. And, uh, so a lot of, I, I think a lot of those details uh, missed. But, like, turquoise is Moroccan Oil's color, so they're going to have to find a new- Ben 14:10 it all makes sense in hindsight. It's just, like, for years I've been asking, why is it turquoise? Mike 14:14 Mm-hmm. Ben 14:14 Uh, and, like, they, they, they, they did give us the clues all along, Mr. Police, so. Mike 14:20 no word yet on, if there's going to be a new color for the carpet, if the event is going to continue. that's going to be the most visible impact and, like, not seeing the Moroccan Oil logo before every single preview video, uh, for the contest. Just saying. Ben 14:39 Or, in my case, just sort of remembering fondly them being across the press center, but not for my level of press. Mike 14:45 Oh, okay. Ben 14:46 Yeah, yeah, we, we were not allowed the fun tote bags. Mike 14:49 Aw. Ben 14:50 Yeah, I wanted swag. Did, uh, yeah, on the other hand, did I? Mike 14:54 Yeah, yeah. the last major surprise to, uh, happ over the summer, there's going to be a new country debuting at the contest. It won't be Kosovo.It won't be Liechtenstein. It won't be the Vatican. It's going to be... Ben 15:13 Canada? Mike 15:14 Yeah. Eh? Ben 15:19 Canada has been announced and, like, their broadcaster is doing it. CBC's like, yes, uh, they have announced the details for their submission portal. that open, August 31st, and will stay open until September 9th. it will be an online selection. Uh, videos will be posted and Canadians and a jury will vote. Uh, the timing on that's TBD. I mean, like, all of this is being nailed down, but that as a selection method makes sense to me, particularly as somebody who re-listened to our coverage of the American Song Contest, which amongst- many issues had to deal with the notion that there are many time zones in America. Canada has that same problem, uh, Mike 15:54 Uh, Ben 15:55 given that it is America's hat. Mike 15:57 Yep. Ben 15:57 So, uh. So, it's nice to see that they're just sort of, like, yeah, no, online voting. Online voting is gonna happen. we will have more info, uh, and more of a deep dive on Eurovision's contestant next time. but, yeah, Canada. Mike 16:11 what I also like about the online selection, it's like, that's what Czechia was doing for, a handful of years, and I really like that process, and this sounds like it's kind of recreating that, and it's like, well, that's really practical, and I like that the public's going to be involved with their first selection, the actual presence of Canada, in a European music competition, uh, Australia notwithstanding. Like, it' just gonna be like, hmm, interesting, but, uh, yeah, I mean, we already know that Netherlands probably won't be there, so Canada can take their spot, and, yeah, it's- it's still going to be a numbers game in terms of how many participants will be there in 2027, Ben 16:53 Yeah, yeah, yeah, just because, like, Netherlands has already spoken out, I'm very interested to see how the other four that sat out this year- at this point, I'm just kind of waiting for their press releases, uh, we already know Belgium trades broadcasters, and the broadcaster whose turn it is, uh, was not thrilled by this year's rule changes, and I'm very interested to see how they feel about the new rule changes. But, yeah, so, uh, we're gonna continue to monitor that number. Mike 17:17 mean, alongside that, we are also covering Eurovision Asia, 11 other countries that are having their own music competitions, we are doing that coverage on our Patreon. we talked about Bhutan, in our most recent episode, and their rhythm of Bhutan selection process. Uh, Philippines will have happened by the time that you're listening to this, and South Korea is coming up later this week. It's already a lot of fun, and, so completely different from, uh, what- what's been happening, at Eurovision HQ. uh, if you want to join us for that part of the journey, uh, check out our Patreon at patreon.com slash eurowhat. ------ Welcome to Burgas, Bulgaria! ------ 17:59 Mike 17:59 the other thing that happened this summer, they picked a host city, Ben 18:02 it. Mike 18:02 like, I Ben 18:03 Oh, yeah, Mike 18:03 forgot Ben 18:03 yes, Mike 18:03 about Ben 18:03 yes. Mike 18:04 Uh. Ben 18:05 Do some- they did do some work towards next year's Eurovision. Mike 18:07 Yes, yes, so, uh, previously at Eurovision, uh, Bulgaria won the contest, coming out of nowhere in some- in some respects, uh, Ben 18:17 On Mike 18:17 with- Ben 18:17 some level, Mike 18:18 Yeah, Ben 18:18 yeah. Mike 18:18 yeah, with Dara's Bangaranga. most of this summer was, spent with Bulgaria, like, juggling, which city will be their host. Uh, there were four cities that were proposed, uh, Sofia, the capital, Burgess, Plovdiv, and Varna. Varna and Plovdiv were, uh, quickly eliminated, uh, just because they did not have a venue of an appropriate size. Uh, Sofia has the largest venue in Bulgaria, and Burgess has the second largest venue. Uh, the choice was supposed to be announced at the end of July, but then they needed a couple more weeks to, figure some stuff out, which, I don't know, for me, like, when that happened, it's like, oh, perhaps Sofia is not the shoe-in that I think everybody was expecting it to be. Ben 19:10 between this and the Canada of it all, just sort of, it was just a summer of waking up and seeing a notification on my phone, and then just sort of immediately opening my laptop and going the Tiffany Pollard, uh, saying, Beyoncé. On, on, on Meme Generator. Mike 19:22 Yeah. Ben 19:23 The thing of just, like, Burgess! Mike 19:25 Yeah, yes, so Burgess will be hosting the 2027 contest. there was some controversy over the selection, again, l, Sofia expected to, like, just take this in a walk, but, uh, there may be some, like, local politics that are in play, Burgess's mayor is in Bulgaria's GERB party, um, and, like, could be a possible presidential candidate, is sympathetic to, like, the national government, Sofia's mayor is in the opposition party, so, that, that may have been, causing some additional conflict in, uh, the organizational From the reporting that I've seen, I don't think anybody is suggesting corruption in this decision. I think it's, it's more, like, your mayor has failed to deliver, what was promised, and, just kind of more, like, political sniping than, like, any actual, malfeasance on anybody's part. there was a protest for, like, we want Eurovision in Sofia, like, the night that the announcement was made. I didn't see any reporting on, like, how big the turnout was for that, and it apparently did not change BNT's mind, uh, because competition is still going to be happening in Burgess, as usual, uh, when the host city was announced, prices for hotels and stuff just went bananas. there are some listings that are,like , 4,000 euro a night, uh, and, um, yeah, so, uh, the Burgess government, like, they're taking the, like, price speculation and price gouging, uh, seriously, and waiting for this stuff to kind of level off, which it almost always does. So, if you have been shut out of getting a hotel for a contest that you have not gotten tickets for yet, don't worry, but anyway, uh, talki about Burgess, the host venue is going to be Arena Burgess, uh, which is the newest arena in Bulgaria and second largest in the country, and it was built with the intention of servicing, like, large-scale concerts and events of, like, the Eurovision sort. it has up to, 9,000 seats and up to 6,000 standing capacity. but, again, that's for, like, a normal concert where you're going to have, like, ability to be a 360 event. it's probably going to end up being about 10,000 tickets, for a given Eurovision show, which is still pretty good. so, pretty comparable to, like, what the contest has been the last few years. the EBU did identify that there are some sound and acoustic issues that the arena is going to need to deal with, like, in preparation for the contest. but part of the plan is for Burgess to host, like, practice concerts, like, ahead of Eurovision, just to make sure that everything is, uh, to spec. So, um, y, it'll be interesting to see how that part of the process goes. Ben 22:24 That's a fun notion of just, like, hello, we're having a practice global-scale concert event. Mike 22:29 Mm-hmm. Yep, yep. Pack a sandwich. So, um, Burgess is about 400 kilometers east of Sofia. It's, like, 150 kilometers south of Varna, 80 kilometers north of the Turkish border. It's, uh, right on the Black Sea. It's a resort town. it's in a somewhat central location, but kind of difficult to get to. Uh, Burgess is in the largest province in Bulgaria. Um, and the greater Burgess area has a population of about 200,000. So, it puts it kind of on par with Basel. but since it is a resort town, there are, like, plenty of hotels, lots of lodging options, both in the city proper and in the, uh, greater area. But, again, there's going to be, uh, some price spikes, uh, especially around the time that, uh, tickets are available, pr. Um, but, again, all that stuff will calm down if you're planning on going. So, Ben 23:24 Well, I'm just thinking about, uh, like, the arena being built with the intention of servicing large-scale events, uh, and it being just sort of, like, a resort city. over, over our summer break, like, one of the many things Instagram served up to me, was one of those year-birth-month whatevers. it was a year-birth-month, year-socialist-era summer resort. Mike 23:41 Oh, wow. Ben 23:43 Yeah. Apparently, I'm a Yalta. Mike 23:45 Oh, Ben 23:45 Yalta. Mike 23:45 okay. Ben 23:47 it looks very brutalist. I would be thrilled to go there, but no, just like, uh, v, uh, Bulgarian locations pop up there as well. Mike 23:52 Huh. Interesting. All right. like tourism is one of their major industries. They also have the largest port in Bulgaria and, uh, they are a twin city with Rotterdam. So yeah, another, another Eurovision connection there. Uh, so far, 20 million Euro has been earmarked, uh, to cover expenses for the rest of 2026. they will likely be provided with more funding in 2027, just kind of based on how things are going. But, um, yeah, like Bulgaria seems very excited to be hosting this event. Ben 24:23 I mean, I think that's what I've been excited about with this coming Eurovision season is that we have, we have a winner who hasn't hosted Mike 24:30 Yeah. Ben 24:30 before. Mike 24:31 Yeah. Yeah. So it's going to be fun to see like what sort of challenges they encounter, how they take advantage of this opportunity. And like, we haven't really had this since our very first season when we were talking about Portugal and we didn't really get to explore that aspect of it since we kind of started midway through the season. Um, like, uh, yeah, like I, I, I think Bulgaria is going to be a good time. the airport issue is going to be a challenge though. the Burgess airport is really more designed for seasonal travel than year round travel. Uh, it does serve like an average of 50,000 passengers a day. So like it, it, it should be able to handle the Eurovision influx. It's just, there aren't really a lot of flights that go there directly. Um. part of, the organization happening now is trying to negotiate like additional routes, uh, with airlines and they've already, gotten some expansion. Like Austrian airlines will have, uh, additional flights from Vienna to Burgess. Uh, Bulgaria air, uh, is going to have more, uh, flights between Sofia and Burgess. Um, and jet two, uh, is also, adding Burgess, uh, to their route. So you can have that jet two holiday. I Ben 25:42 was about to say like Jess Glens hold my hand, just, just popped into Mike 25:45 Yeah. Ben 25:45 my head. Mike 25:46 Yeah. Honestly,like UK, if Jess Glens not on your shortlist right now for representatives, you might want to consider it. Ben 25:53 Just for like comedy purposes for like three Eurovision nerds and two of them are Mike 25:57 Yes. Ben 25:58 us. Mike 25:58 Yes. Yes. But, uh, it will be appreciated. they're still like trying to figure out, uh, the whole flight situation. And this is where like Sophia, even though they didn't get to host, they're probably still going to experience some sort of Eurovision bump. Uh, because like, there's going to be a lot of people that are going to have to go through Sophia probably to get to Burgess. so there will be a benefit, even if it's not the full benefit of Eurovision. Um, Varna may also be, benefiting, for the same reasons. And they're also working with, uh, Istanbu airport for, possible additional flights or, uh, shuttles, from there. It's, I think it's about a four hour bus ride or something. So maybe not the ideal travel conditions, but at least like they're trying to get people there. So, um, Ben 26:45 yeah. Mike 26:45 Yeah. Happy about that. Burgess. it is a smaller city, I think they're really up for it. And it's kind of continuing the trend that Eurovision has had, uh, over the last several years where it's like the second and third cities that are hosting the contest rather than like the main cities or the capitals. the other element that,uh , is kind of up for debate, but though, I'm not sure it's in an official capacity yet. Um, mascots, uh, the, the Lumo effect. Ben 27:15 Lumo jump scare. I will say this year's mascot was less nightmare inducing Mike 27:19 Yes. Um, and not really front Ben 27:22 or. Mike 27:22 and center. Although that one does seem to be like an official Eurovision thing. Cause it keeps popping up on the all hits channel clip art. So. Ben 27:31 it felt like they had gone to the people who made the Philly fanatic and gritty. Mike 27:34 Mm. Ben 27:35 and like, that's, that is, that's a good step unlike Lumo again, we, in this house, we love and disrespect Lumo. Mike 27:40 Yeah. Uh, Ben 27:40 Um, but, uh, that was a children's drawing who, uh, had a terrible wish made to become a real Mike 27:46 Yeah. Ben 27:46 boy. And it looked like it. Whereas this year's mascot looked like, uh, it had been built with the idea of this needs to be a mascot Mike 27:54 Mm. Ben 27:54 costume. Mike 27:54 so there are a couple of proposals out there for potential mascots. I'll share them one at a time. Um, Ben 28:01 Okay. Mike 28:01 so I'm gonna drop this in the show notes. S this is the first mascot. yeah, if you could describe it. Ben 28:10 It is a capybara, wearing, like, a little, like, I can't tell if it's, like, a safety harnessed or just, like, a real snazzy, like, waistcoat with, like, a Bulgarian flag pin. Mike 28:21 Yeah, I think it's a waistcoat. Uh, it looks like a, like, a blackjack dealer at, like, not, not necessarily a casino, but, like, a casino night at, like, a church basement or something. Ben 28:34 So, yeah, it's, it's either, yeah, like, it's, yeah, like, it's, it's that or it's just sort of, like, the, the vest that you can buy on Amazon when, like, your dog isn't technically a service dog, but it does mean a lot Mike 28:43 uh, Ben 28:43 to you. Mike 28:44 this is, Cappy, a proposal from uh, the Burgess Zoo, this may surprise you, capybaras, not native to Bulgaria, but, Ben 28:55 And, Mike 28:55 yes, uh, um, yes, the article that I pulled this from, uh, the animal has no natural connection to the Black Sea City, but the zoo says that is part of the concept. Uh, Eurovision brings together countries, cultures, and people from across Europe, while the capybara can represent calmness, friendliness, acceptance, and positive energy. Ben 29:15 I've seen the memes online. They're friends with everything. Mike 29:17 Oh, yeah, absolutely. And, um, yeah, and cannot be I'm not sure fully matches, but at least this artist's rendering, it's cute. And. Ben 29:27 Yeah, like, yeah, it's cute. And just, like, again, like, if this is just, hey, we have a couple of capybaras handy, can we just, like, bring them over to the Eurovision? Yes, please do. Mike 29:34 Yeah, yeah, uh, yeah, I think there was a capybara exhibit opened at the zoo, like, within the last year or something, but, yeah, they are a huge draw, and they want to capitalize on that. So, I say, I say good for them. Ben 29:49 this is just making me think of, there are, like, a couple of the penguins at the New England Aquarium that are super chill, Mike 29:53 mm-hmm. Ben 29:54 where they just have a program where they just, like, bring, like, one or two of the penguins in, like, a little, in, like, a little vitrine. So, like, they're safe, and they, like, seen people. Mike 30:01 Okay. Ben 30:02 Uh, just, just, like, do that with, like, a capybara. Mike 30:04 Yeah. Ben 30:04 I would, I would enjoy Mike 30:05 Yeah. Ben 30:05 that. Mike 30:05 yeah, and just kind of thinking of, like, how saunas have, uh, really grown in popularity the last few years. Like, those, like, yuzu baths? I could be down for that. So. Ben 30:16 Does, yeah, does a capybara onsen have anything to do with the Burgos? No. Do I need to see it at Eurovision? Absolutely. Why not? Mike 30:23 I think we're both in favor of this as a potential mascot? Ben 30:26 Yes. Mike 30:27 Okay. All right. Here is the other one that is currently up for consideration. Uh, there may be others, but I, uh, I've not seen photos of them yet. So, uh, here we go. Ben 30:38 Okay. So, this is, like, it's not, like, a secretary bird, but, like, it does feel like, I mean, between this, it's, it's, like, some other sort of large kind of puppety bird. like, between this and the capybara, Bulgaria has, has seen the movie flow. Mike 30:53 Okay. Ben 30:55 So, just, like, is, is the third mascot option just, like, a black cat? like, generally, the right level of just sort of, like, anthropomorphize, where, like, it's not, like, one of those terrifying Easter bunnies at the mall. Mike 31:05 Okay. Yeah. This Ben 31:08 feels, like, slightly more child-friendly, but also I don't want to maintain extended eye contact with it. Mike 31:12 Yeah. I, I, I find this one vaguely threatening. Uh, this is, uh, Euroglaris. and it is a puppet. It is a puppet on stilts. this was presented by a puppet theater. of highlighting how seagulls are, a dominant part of Burgess culture. Ben 31:31 Well, and, like, I'm, I'm just, well, and it's, like, I feel like it's also important to note that, like, he also has, like, a fancy vest on. He will be manning the roulette wheel at, at church basement, uh, casino night. Mike 31:40 it's reminding me of, uh, the stories you were telling about the seagulls in Liverpool and, like, the one that swallowed an entire slice of pizza in one go and then just, like, sauntered off looking for its next treat. Um, yeah, so I, I kind of want to see this bird do that. Ben 32:03 Yeah, Mike 32:03 Um, Ben 32:04 I need to see, I need to see this bird eat an entire hot dog in one gulp. To see its belly distended. Mike 32:09 Yes. yeah, I think maybe part of it is, like, this artist rendering is, um, kind of intense. Like, all of its, looks like it just kind of woke up, a, like, its feathers are, like, each feather is articulated, rather than it being kind of, like, the smooth. Look that a seagull would have. So, I could grow to like this one, maybe. And if it also wasn't trying to make direct eye contact with you in this photo. Ben 32:39 So the fact that, the fact, thank you for correctly calling out that this is an artist rendering, because it's like, well, this is, this is what we ordered. What are we going to Mike 32:47 Oh, Ben 32:47 receive Mike 32:48 yeah. Ben 32:48 if we acted? Just the, this has high cake rec possibilities. Mike 32:54 Oh, goodness. Yeah. So, more to look out for visually, I suppose. Uh, Ben 32:59 Yes. It's just, like, between the two, I would much prefer to, like, uh, hold assuming that Cappy is, like, actual capybara-sized and is not, like, gigantic. Mike 33:08 I suspect this one's going to be probably. six foot, something like that. Ben 33:12 Yeah. Mike 33:13 Giant capybara. But yeah. Burgess seems, like, fully on board with hosting. Bulgaria seems fully on board with hosting. I've, I've been following a number of, like, local news websites, or at least Bulgarian-focused websites. And, It's been fun just seeing, like, just how excited it is. It kind of has a local newspaper vibe about it, which I'm finding very charming. It's getting me really excited for, what's gonna happen in May. Ben 33:41 I would agree. Again, like, we are, we are getting a new country and a new host city, like, we know what to expect from a Swedish Eurovision. We know to, you know, on some level, we know, like, the slight chaos we would have gotten from, like, another Italian Eurovision, but just, like, we don't know what a Bulgarian Eurovision is yet. Mike 33:58 well, that's going to do it for this episode of the EuroWhat. Thanks for listening. The EuroWhat podcast is hosted by Mike McComb, that's me, and Ben Smith. Ben 34:06 That's me. You can find our full archive of episodes on our website at eurowhat.com. If you'd like even more episodes, join our Patreon. There are dozens of bonus episodes available, including our coverage of Eurovision Asia. Go to patreon.com slash eurowhat for more info. Mike 34:21 Next time on the Eurowhat, we welcome the newest country to join the Eurovision family. Canada?