Austria deserves nul points from Eurovision fans… it has done a terrible job of hosting this year’s contest. Almost every element has failed to hit the right note. The biggest problem has been the hosts. I’m sure they’re trying their best, but they’ve failed to impress most viewers.
Victoria Swarovski looks amazing and is pretty polished, but she’s hardly memorable. And her co-host, Michael Ostrowski, has been dire, with his jokes seemingly falling flat.
Together, they were received so poorly that even Graham Norton was openly mocking them tonight, as he said (via Metro): “‘Presenting Eurovision may not seem like rocket science, but wait ’til you see these two. You will see more of them tonight than you may want to.”
EBU / Sarah Louise Bennett
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And a lot of other viewers thought that, despite their best efforts, they didn’t gel too well, as one person said on X: “That interval act was brilliant… saved us from the horror that has been the hosts. Sorry Austria, even though they try, those two really don’t work.”
Meanwhile, a second commented: “Oh fuck its the hosts again with the Austria/Australia thing again…. just… no please… lets not.”
Getting the hosts right is so important. When the UK hosted the contest in 2023 on behalf of Ukraine, Hannah Waddingham was at the helm, and she wowed Europe with her charm and charisma. When the contest is in Sweden, which happens pretty regularly these days, Petra Mede is often drafted in to host, making her a Eurovision veteran at this point.
Another issue has been the semi-finals lasting so long. When you’ve got only 15 acts, there’s no need for the broadcasts to run for more than two hours. I love Eurovision, but even I was bored and wanted them to end.
Alma Bengstonn (EBU)
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One of Austria’s biggest blunders has been the interval acts. They’ve been really poor. The tedious and silly Eurovision quiz fell flat on Tuesday. It looked cheap and felt like filler. And yet they did it again on Thursday. It was a baffling decision.
The medley of former acts tonight was the only interval act worth watching, and even that wasn’t that good, given it was done to mark the 70th contest.
Viewers have been left disappointed by what they say, as one person said on X that they hoped “Austria really looks back on their host job of Eurovision”, while another wrote: “The main takeaway from tonight is that Austria must never host this again.”
However, while there were some detractors, others were more complimentary, calling it “amazing”, with someone particularly praising the music, adding: “This is my type of music. And just these playful joyful songs is German language fitting the best! Well done.”
When Austria hosted in 2015, it did an incredible job. Back then, they had Eurovision sensation Conchita to add a bit of sparkle to the proceedings. But this year hasn’t worked.
Hopefully, next year’s host country can learn from Austria’s mistakes.
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