"The Eurovision Song Contest Has Always Been A Big Platform For The Queer Community" - with Rob Holley

Lost Spaces: Memories from Gay Bars, Lesbian Clubs, and LGBTQ+ Parties

EpisodeMay 8, 202356m

"The Eurovision Song Contest Has Always Been A Big Platform For The Queer Community" - with Rob Holley

Lost Spaces: Memories from Gay Bars, Lesbian Clubs, and LGBTQ+ Parties

EpisodeMay 8, 202356m

So, this week we're going to do something a little different... It's our first ever episode celebrating the Eurovision Song Contest. And, before you say it - yes, technically Eurovision isn't a queer event. But, I mean... have you ever watched it? it's pretty bloody queer... And, to celebrate the 2023 competition I sat down to chat to Rob Holley, the Head of Content for the Eurovision Song Contest. Only we didn't talk about the contest itself - we chatted about #EurovisionAgain, an online watch-party of past competitions that Rob set up during those grim early days of the Covid-19 pandemic after discovering that 2020's competition was cancelled. I know that's a little bit different to our usual show, cause it's focussing on an online space rather than a physical space, but what struck me most during this conversation is how many similarities there are between #EurovisionAgain and queer bars - in particular this sense of community and belonging... which I think is pretty damn special, and certainly worth celebrating... We talk all about those early days of lockdown (which, honestly, I seem to have wilfully forgotten), what it was like for Rob to watch the meteoric success of his baby project, and, how #EurovisionAgain led him to snag his dream job with the EBU - the European Broadcasting Union. Do you have any memories of #EurovisionAgain, or any other online events that brought you joy during the pandemic? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos! You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod) Find out more about Rob by following him on Twitter (https://twitter.com/robholley). Or, if you want to know more about #EurovisionAgain go and look at that fancy wikipedia page - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EurovisionAgain

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How do queer spaces help to shape people's lives? Why are they so important to the LGBTQ+ community? What is the impact of losing these spaces? Lost Spaces explores these questions (and more!) through conversations with members of the LGBT community. Each week host K Anderson sits down with a different guest to discuss a space from their past, why it was important to them, and how it helped shape who they are. Expect conversations about coming out, going out, and getting down. And snogging strangers on sweaty dancefloors. We can't talk about gay history without that coming up.

www.lostspacespodcast.com

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