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Kids react to Eurovision

Once upon a time, back in May 2020, I was meant to travel to Eurovision to film social content with the EBU’s digital team. Of course, that wasn’t to be, and 2020 became the first year in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest that the Contest didn’t go ahead.

Thankfully, I still had the chance to get involved in the 2021 edition of the Contest. Sure, I only got to travel as far as Media City in Salford, but it was a lot of fun all the same. The BBC’s Eurovision social media team commissioned me to produce a video of children reacting to classic moments from Eurovision’s recent history. It was part of a wider campaign to pique young adults’ interest in the Contest, and boost its already plentiful viewing figures.

Along with a small crew, we interviewed about 20 children in a day, asking them questions and capturing their reactions to everything from Finnish rockers Lordi to a dancing gorilla. I turned around the edit in a couple of days, in time for the big build-up to the Eurovisional final. It made a big impact on social media, garnering over 200,000 views on Facebook as well as a tonne of engagement. Here it is – enjoy!

By Ben Horrigan

I've been producing digital content since 2012, primarily for flagship BBC brands like Blue Peter and BBC News. Now I run Studio 91 Media, a video production agency on a mission: to create content that is good for platforms, good for people and good for the planet. When I'm not behind a camera, I can often be found playing cello at weddings or riding a three-wheeled cargo bike called Babs.