Editor's newsletter: Everything you need for your Eurovision viewing

The finalists for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 have been confirmed. (Credit: Kim Mogg)

While most people either love or loathe Eurovision, I'm more of a Eurovision-skeptic.

Every year I struggle to summon a huge amount of interest in the increasingly drawn-out event - until the week it's on, when I inevitably get sucked into the hype around some Bulgarian novelty pop act or Nordic faux-metal thrashers.

Of course, it's never been the same since Terry Wogan's cutting commentary - "Who knows what hellish future lies ahead? Actually I do, I’ve seen the rehearsals" - but Graham Norton has made a good fist of replacing the gentle bitchiness necessary for the occasion.

And in these times when the news can seem unremittingly dark, Eurovision - for all its increasingly corporate sheen - is a welcome blast of colour and comedy.

To get you in the mood, our resident Eurovision super-fan Heather Carrick spoke to a neuroscientist who has tried to predict who's going to win - and it's not the bookies' favourites Sweden. We also have our own predictions, a complete TV guide, a Eurovision quiz, and even a bingo card to play along to tonight.

Introducing our new politics editor

From pop to politics, this week we were delighted to welcome Tom Hourigan to the NationalWorld fold as our new and first ever politics editor. Tom joins us from the BBC, and he will be based in Westminster, where he'll be holding your elected representatives to account, and explaining the issues that matter.

This week he has already written about the local elections fallout, and fact-checked Rishi Sunak's claims on GP numbers.

In the spirit of intros, I posed him some quickfire questions for this newsletter:

Tell us about yourself in one sentence: "I'm a 30-something Londoner with a love of pasta, soul music and a news addiction that can't be cured."

Career highlight so far? "Having the opportunity to regularly broadcast on BBC Radio 2 was something I never dreamed of when I recorded myself reading out the newspaper on a cassette player as a child."

What do you hope to bring to NationalWorld's coverage? "Fair, honest and - most importantly - really clear reporting that helps make sense of what's happening at Westminster and how it affects us all."

Who is your hero - journalistic or otherwise? "The ex-Formula One driver Niki Lauda, sadly no longer with us, who became the very definition of triumphing over adversity."

You can follow Tom on Twitter @TomHourigan and find all of his reporting on NationalWorld.com.

📺 Need some TV inspiration - Eurovision or otherwise? Check out this week's episode of Screen Babble, and try our Weekend Watch mini-episode.

📧 You can email me with any feedback on this or any of our stories at [email protected].

Have an enjoyable weekend - whether you're at a Eurovision party or not.

This is an abridged version of our NationalWorld Today newsletter - you can sign up for free to read the full version.

Editor's newsletter: Everything you need for your Eurovision viewing

Introducing our new politics editor

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