What are /r/eurovision's favorite Products & Services?

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

Please download the Gagnamagnið game Think about Aliens. he made the game possible and worked so hard on it!

Android

Apple

Australia doing well (Strong SF performance?), and then Belgium/France/Ukraine/Bulgaria seem to be in a single block. I think Belgium and Ukraine both benefited from their live performances as well (Gogo Belgium!)

Notably Russia's fairly far down, as well as Spain. Something tells me a lot of people aren't going to be too happy on Saturday.

Oh, and I think this link should work if you want results but don't want to give away your email?

There's ways of doing this that are wayyy faster and more efficient.

http://www.allourideas.org/ for instance, this will pit 2 random countries against each other, and anyone can pick who they prefer. Reduces a lot of spam.

> No it isn't. The word "shall" is as unambiguous as it gets.

Let's use this definition: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shall . "b —used in laws, regulations, or directives to express what is mandatory", and mandatory means compulsory, so we could word it like "It is compulsory for Artists to perform live on stage" and it will mean the same thing. Doesn't change my interpretation of the rule because there isn't adequate detail in the statement.

> No. You don't get to use your imagination when enforcing the rules. The rules are the rules.

You misunderstand. I used the checklist as a tool to explain a possible interpretation. There is no pretending, making stuff up nor adding something that isn't there.

> They start when you submit your entry, not 10 seconds into your performance.

Maybe, maybe not. I feel this is the problem here. The wording "Artists shall perform live on stage" does not account for this information. "Shall" is equivalent to "must do in the future" , agreed? Well, the Swedish guy will start the performance off stage, will come onto the stage ten seconds later. He must come and perform on stage in the future, well he will, just later than when you expected. Unexpected, but not covered by that rule as it is worded currently.

> The phrase you have added in your version is 100% redundant.

No it clarifies it by taking into account the missing information. The artists shall perform live on stage, and that performance will definitely, absolutely stay on stage for the entire duration of the performance.

You really should look into a good VPN. It gets past the geoblocks so you can watch the official streams coming from wherever. It also gives you access to the YouTube archived broadcasts and performance videos from recent years, and to all the other Eurovision foofoo that gets broadcast (red carpets, Junior, Young Dancers, Choir, and so on and so forth). And you don't have to listen to Logo's dingbat announcers try to wing it through a 3-hour broadcast they didn't even slightly prepare for.

There are free VPNs as well (I believe there's one built in to the Opera web browser for instance) but as with everything on the internet ... if you're not paying, then you're what they're selling.

Unpaid endorsement: I've been pretty happy with PureVPN, especially now that I have a wireless router that can be easily configured to use it.

The best way to watch the contest unblocked is to get a VPN. I use PIA (Private Internet Access) and pay 6.95 a month though I’m sure there are even cheaper ones out there. This is the best way to watch the contest on practically any stream including the YouTube stream. However, I believe SVT streams the contest unblocked but don’t quote me on that. Logo also streams the contest on their website which works in Canada but they only stream the final.

None of YouTubes LiveStreams are available in Germany. You could try and find a free VPN or proxy server to another country. I'm using PureVPN at the moment to watch the countdown (it costs money, but I've had a good experience with them. It also work to unblock GEMA videos or watch TV Streams from other countries)

If you use a free VPN/Proxy, make sure to read up on how they make it free. Some people recommend HOLA, but that also routes traffic from other people through your internet connection, so you should not use it in Germany thanks to our Störerhaftung

For YouTube, https://www.4kdownload.com/products/product-videodownloader .

For other stuff, https://software.charliemonroe.net/downie/ . (Yes, it costs money. Don't be cheap.)

If you need access to post-2016 footage, you can either root around on eurovision.de, or cough up a little more money and get a VPN.

The opening ceremony? No idea.

Your best bet, as always, is to buy a month's subscription with a reputable VPN. (I use PureVPN and like 'em.)

There are also YouTube proxy websites that sort of function the same way as VPNs, but as always with free stuff on the internets, you need to figure out "what's in it for them" and whether you want to take the risk. I'd link you to a few but I'm at work and our IT department has them blocked.

SVT worked for me in Canada last year and the year before, both live and replay. I don't think it will be blocked this year (I really hope not).

Modifying what I wrote for another post and reposting it here:

If you're looking into a good VPN for Eurovision, I recommend Private Internet Access. I'm pretty sure they have a free trial period, so you could use the free trial for Eurovision and then unsubscribe. They also have mobile apps.

The VPN built into the Opera browser has been hit or miss for me during NF season, but it seems to be going strong for the opening ceremony right now.

The easiest and most ensuring way would be to just get a VPN. And get the one who has the least speed drop like NordVPN or VPN Unlimited, than you could enjoy the live stream with no interruptions. I know that both NordVPN and UnlimitedVPN have free trials, so you can test out their services.

By the way (he double-posts ...), there's a much cheaper alternative. Sign up for a a VPN like PrivateTunnel or TunnelBear, and you can watch it on YouTube. In high definition. With Justin and everything. Semifinals too.

I've just made and published this little humour android app to play the critical moment and be able to use it as notification sound. Hope someone finds it funny :) https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.archison.doitforyourrooster

Thanks for not harrassing me ;P The code isn't mine, in the end, so it's not like I take any ownership in it. But some people HAVE blatantly stolen my specific modifications before, which was annoying. But I digress.

I do have all the heart flags from Eurovision; I'm not particularly fond of the flag beads though. I think I'll stick with the tiny flags though. I like the minimalist pixelly look. Also they're available as a set to download online here.

Also if you would like commentary for some information about songs/artists you could get Media Hint and use BBC player. It used to be Terry Wogan but I think it's Graham Nortan now, not sure. I watch it in Ireland so we would have someone different (Marty Whelan to be precise.) I think Ireland and England are the only ones that would be in English.

It's from the app My Eurovision Scoreboard. You can download it from the links below.

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.euroscoreboard.euroscoreboard

iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/app/id982774983

If you can find a decent VPN (I've heard good things about TunnelBear but that's all the advice I can give you, being European) you can watch it through streaming services in Europe like BBC iPlayer, especially if you want Graham Norton's iconic commentary.

Failing that, it's livestreamed on the Eurovision official YouTube channel, just with no commentary, so that should be available to you, but I'm not 100% certain that and work in the US.

Sorry for the very late update (didn't think there'd be 320 votes overnight), but I was sleeping.

First update after 320 votes (I'm only gonna put the top 10 here):

1. Sweden 1872
2. Belgium 1412
3. Australia 1354
4. Serbia 1047
5. Spain 954
6. Norway 808
7. Italy 775
8. Estonia 752
9. Slovenia 737
10. France 697

You can follow the voting here: https://www.mentimeter.com/share/4b966e679b63/c1b40876953f

If you're on Android, there's a RaiPlay app. Or, you can chrome cast the website on PC using Google Chrome.

In addition to all the other VPN comments, yes the ESC stream on Youtube is good, but it's not great. Get a decent VPN and then connect to the UK and try to watch Eurovision via BBC iPlayer so you at least get some great commentary as well.

The BBC are quite good at spotting VPNs however so a free one isn't going to cut it. You'll need something like Astrill or Express VPN.

I'm a Brit living in China, so know all about the need for a VPN!

Eurovision's YouTube channel should have it up later today. You'll need a VPN to see it Stateside though. Opera browser has one built in, alternately you can use a subscription VPN service. I currently use PrivateTunnel—$5 a month, I have it tell YouTube I'm connecting from Stockholm or London or wherever, and Bob's your uncle.

Are you willing to pay for a VPN? If not, then I second the Opera browser which has a VPN installed. I've never used Opera's VPN, so I don't know how consistent it is or if gives you a lot of options in terms of countries. I've used Hola Unblocker, which is also free but I don't recommend it because apparently it uses your computer as a VPN for someone else and you don't know who's using your IP for what. In terms of ones I've paid for, I've used Tunnelbear and NordVPN. Tunnelbear is a good beginner VPN service. It's got a very cute bear theme but I have found it spotty. I currently use NordVPN, which gives you a lot of options in terms of servers. For example, if I wanted to use a Germany-based IP, Tunnelbear would only give you one server and if you wanted to use a different IP because the one you're on isn't working, you just have to disconnect and reconnect and hope for the best. NordVPN gives you like 100 options for German IPs. A lot of other VPN companies do that too, but I picked NordVPN because I got a discount around December.

I've been pretty happy with Private Tunnel, although it doesn't work with BBC iPlayer.

I know TunnelBear got a lot of recommendations on here last year, and it has a free trial. It did work with iPlayer (I don't know if it still does) but I found its connections to be a bit too slow and choppy for reliable streaming use in California.

Asked and answered yesterday, but the short version is that there were only three ways to watch it online in the USA last year:

LogoTV's website, which streamed it in the clear. I got an excellent-looking HD stream, but a lot of other folks didn't.

A few random international feeds that were also in the clear but weren't supposed to be. (These weren't in English, and quality was crap.)

And ... GET A VPN.

No announcements have been made as to what's available this year. Most VPNs are a monthly subscription thing, or you can use PrivateTunnel, which charges by the GB instead of by the month.

I use PrivateTunnel, which is unique in that it charges by data usage (prepaid) rather than monthly. But it doesn't have many servers, and speed is hit and miss. Since I don't use it that much and it's always been adequate for my purposes, I haven't been motivated to try another alternative.

BBC iPlayer + VPN that works with the BBC iPlayer (if you aren't in the UK) + Tubedigger software.

The file will be a TS file, which you'll need to convert to MP4 to get it to play in most software. (TubeDigger includes a utility that does that.)

Note that this solution is not free. Life bees that way sometimes.

Actually, as the program only lasts 2 hours, I assume BBC3 has it programmed for 20:00 GMT, which is CEST-1.

You should be able to watch BBC3 on the official iPlayer, but you may have to use a browser extension like Hola!, which'll trick your browser into thinking you're in the UK.

Third update after 66 (damn haha) votes: http://imgur.com/70yOoZT

1. Sweden 466
2. Slovenia 392
3. Norway 384

Didn't think Sweden would be that popular, also almost 100 points between the fourth (Latvia) and the third place

You can follow the "live" votes here: https://www.mentimeter.com/share/5e6462d6152c/a7678ec133c0

(Also, I'm trying to update for every 20 votes, don't know if this is too slow or too fast?)

ANY VPN will get you European YouTube.

And if you're too lazy to even fool with that, do a google for "YouTube Proxy Site". It's a VPN through a web browser. (I'd find you one myself, but my work blocks 'em.)

FYI, the link for today's party:

Oh, and to answer your original question, I've been very happy with PureVPN. Even works with the BBC iPlayer.

It shouldn’t be the case but unfortunately in the UK, we are required to pay a TV license to watch, record or stream BBC shows annoyingly otherwise there’s a hefty fine. Although they can’t impose it on anyone watching abroad using a VPN.

Also OP, I’d recommend researching some VPNs that allow access to iPlayer as BBC can be strict with blocking servers. NordVPN works well apparently ?? Hope you manage to figure something out.

Question: have the YT live-streams been posted yet? Obviously they won’t air for a few days, but I’m wondering if anyone where it isn’t geoblocked can see them on the “upcoming live stream” tab on YT.

I’m using ExpressVPN set in Germany, so it should work but I’m not seeing anything

Welcome to the party! I'm Canadian, so if you plan on joining the Discord/hanging around the Reddit during the semis or the grand finale, remember to take it easy.

I normally watch on my own and follow along via those channels, however getting completely smashed starting at 11AM (the time the Contest starts where I live) is generally not ideal. Especially when the programming is usually finished at 5PM and you've gotta go deal with normal people after the fact.

If you're looking for a VPN to watch this year's contest, here's a referral link to the one I use called ExpressVPN. I've tried a few over the years, and this one connects the most consistently. Using the referral code gives you a 30 day trial, which is more than enough time to configure it and make sure it works prior to ESC and not have to pay anything. You're then able to cancel it right after if you so wish.

It disappeared accidentally on esc store. Accidentally edited that out.

Found it on amazon Here you go

Sorry, I didn't want to plug a certain one necessarily.

I went with ExpressVPN which has a 30 day guarantee.

The good: you can add to multiple devices and I've gotten HD quality during live streams on the official Eurovision YouTube channel on both my desktop as well as my mobile phone. No problems on quality or set-up.

The bad: They sent me a verification email about 2 days after signing up, saying they needed to give me a call to or they may cut off my service. I gave number and they didn't call. Then I got a 24 hour warning unless I sent them a copy of my credit card (showing only name and last 4 digits only). I did, and they said I was good. It was highly annoying since they're doing this over only about 10 bucks a month (like they really have to worry about this being a fraud), so be sure and check regularly with whatever email you use if you go this way.

What do you use? I've got Nord and there are a ton of UK servers. I haven't tried this year yet but last year I had to UK server hop a bit until I found one that worked with the BBC. Hopefully whichever one you're using has that ability.

I was previously using Private Internet Access but it didn't have the ability to let me choose specific servers so it was a crap-shoot as to whether it worked for the BBC or not--that's actually why I swapped to Nord.

SVT is my backup too if RÚV 2 suddenly decides to stop working at 3 ��. I tried Windscribe VPN but it kept declining my very good, very under limit credit card and I was getting annoyed after my computer inexplicably wouldn't download ProtonVPN so I'm just going to put up with Icelandic ads lol.

I used Tvcatchup last year and I'm so bummed it's gone now. It wasn't this complicated lol.

In the past I've had luck with iPlayer by creating an account and using a VPN but last year they blocked NordVPN and I had to find another one (apologies for not remembering but I think it may have just been Hola!).

I can't watch live, so I'm hoping they get them up for replay on iPlayer quickly. Last year the Grand Final took FOREVER to get uploaded :/

EXACTLY! Total shit post.

But hey if we are here advertising VPN's - anyone who would like to watch BBC live - get Astrill VPN with a private IP set to London.

The BBC are very good at spotting VPN's most services one work. This extra private thing for 5USD has been reliable 99.9% of the time. I was streaming BBC this morning with zero issues.

As a Brit overseas I will recommend Astrill with a private VPN for the UK - BBC iPlayer got VERY good at knowing you were using a VPN, more so than any other streaming site/app.

The only one that works for me is Astrill private VPN.

Don't know about others, but the PureVPN software has a dedicated IP feature that works swell. It connects you to a server specifically set up to work with iPlayer, so the connection is as fast as possible and their anti-VPN sniffers don't get ya.

You may also need to clear your BBC browser cookies, since they WILL bust you if they see you've been to the site from a blocked location in the past.

Had the same problem last year, I was very disappointed, but for this year I got a VPN. I'm on the free trial now of NordVPN, Eurovision works with it, very glad that this year I could watch It easily! Oh And I'm going to vote for Czech Republic boy, he has a good vibe.

I would not use Hola since they’ll use your IP for someone else, so that’s not secure. I know you already said you want something that’s not Hola, but it should be mentioned.

A good starter VPN is TunnelBear. The interface is bear themed and very cute and they’ll give you a certain amount of data for free. It is sort of limited. You can only select from a list of countries rather than a list of servers and there’s only like 10 countries on the list but for the remaining NFs (which is just Portugal and Norway maybe that will need VPNs) it is workable.

I currently use NordVPN, it’s very reliable and gives you multiple server options. There are other good ones too but I can’t think of them off the top of my head.

The Logo coverage is dreadful. Best option would be to try a VPN or SmartDNS. I use TunnelBear. There's a free version you can sign up for and test it out, but it's capped at 500 MB so you have to pay to use more. If you are trying to watch BBC 1 off the iPlayer website, there are Chrome extensions that allow that... but I don't know how reliable they are.

You probably will. I’d recommend TunnelBear. They have a “free” level which gives you 500mb of data a month. And when I was using the free option they gave you an extra gig for tweeting about them. They have an extension for Chrome and Opera and allow you to set the UK specifically.

You’ll also need to create and iplayer account. Just pick a random British postal code (which you can easily find by googling the address of a major landmark like the London Eye). And when t asks you if you have a certificate click yes. It doesn’t ask for any sort of verification.

I have Astrill and Express VPN, Astrill is more bankable but i use Express for my phone (Astrill is blocked in China for mobile devices) and can stream geo blocked Sky News no problem.

I use Astrill on my smart TV, rarely have issues, sometimes i need to switch between UK servers if the BBC or ITV detect it's a VPN but it doesn't happen that often.

Don't let that stop you. I signed up with TunnelBear, and the software is stunningly no-brainer.

You literally fire up the software, select an un-blocked country, wait a few seconds for it to connect, and then you use your usual browser to watch the Contest. I'm sure most other services have something similar.

Please note that an HD stream of the Final will probably eat several GB of data, so the free trials probably won't cut it.

We lived overseas for a decade, we watched on iPlayer every year.

How? With a good old VPN - Astrill to be specific. We paid the extra for a private location, it's extra 5USD a month on top of the normal subscription, but it guaranteed flawless coverage because let me tell you, no one can spot a VPN like the BBC.

We lived in China for a couple of years during that decade too which had an extra layer of Internet crapiness to it and the private location never let us down.

>Let's use this definition: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shall . "b —used in laws, regulations, or directives to express what is mandatory",

Yes.

>and mandatory means compulsory,

Yes.

>so we could word it like "It is compulsory for Artists to perform live on stage" and it will mean the same thing.

Nope. You can't reword it. It says what it says.

>I used the checklist as a tool to explain a possible interpretation.

A completely wrong and unsupported one, but OK.

>Maybe, maybe not. I feel this is the problem here.

I really don't see where you're getting this. There's no maybe about it. It's six words. You don't get to add any more, or change the meaning of any of them. And that's what all your "alternate interpretations" are doing. And sorry if this offends, but

>"Shall" is equivalent to "must do in the future" , agreed? Well, the Swedish guy will start the performance off stage, will come onto the stage ten seconds later. He must come and perform on stage in the future, well he will, just later than when you expected.

This is REALLY reaching. You're getting silly here. Just arguing for the sake of arguing. You can't POSSIBLY get this out of those six words.

>No it clarifies it by taking into account the missing information.

There's not any missing information. Come on, man. You (and the EBU) are trying to interpret it as "artists shall perform live onstage unless they're Sweden and it's the first 10 seconds of the song." There's CLEARLY nothing in the rules that supports that.

EDIT: Just checked the Melfest video. It's 42 seconds ... but who's counting?

Well I know they stream Eurovision in Peacock, but tbh I do not recommend it unless you have a subscription, it because I’m not really interested on the other shows. 🥴

Instead you should get a VPN like NordVPN or Surfshark where not only you can see the livestream on Youtube, but also the semi final and grand final live performances since it’s geoblocked here.

That didn't work for me on Amazon.co.uk, thanks though as it made me persevere. I found this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09WJMVRRY/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?crid=1HLUZAE351QVV&keywords=eurovision+2022&qid=1650047998&sprefix=%2Caps%2C52&sr=8-2

And found the MP3 download option!

Thank you.

I just tried going to Amazon, and I think you can buy the MP3s from this link. This is Amazon France, but I guess that changing the .fr to your preferred webshop will do the trick. I can see two options here: "Listen now" and "Buy the MP3 album: €14.99"

It’s because my family bought it through a cable company that provides the channels they have to Viaplay. But I just checked and SVT doesn’t send it live unfortunately. They instead release it on their own streaming service (SVT play) on wednesday 18:00 (CET) and it’s free, except that you need to use a VPN and set it to Sweden. What I’ve seen on the internet, NordVPN workn on SVT play

If you're in the US, you can watch the full shows on Peacock for free.

For the individual performances, you can use a free VPN like Windscribe or the one built into the Opera browser.

This reddit post is sponsored by ExpressVPN/NordVPN! Are you tired of Jon Ola Sand peaking into your web history? Or perhaps you’re an American unlucky enough to be hit with the geoblock? Subscribe today and get 15% off with my code below!

Your best bet is one of the standard VPNs like ExpressVPN or NordVPN. I think they have a 30 day money back trial thing so you can pay up front and then cancel it and get your money back if you don’t want one forever.

I guess you can still watch the show via the official YT channel. All you have to do is get a VPN (Nordvpn, ExpressVPN) and then cancel after Eurovision and you get a refund.

​

However, i think Netflix will have it uploaded after the end of the final.

Yeah I was kind off hoping that since Junior Eurovision was accessible to watch here in the states, that the same would be true for this year's Eurovision contest. Unfortunately due to travel restrictions still in place I can't travel back to Europe so from what I heard is you can see streaming from Sweden's broadcaster or try VPN of some sort such as NordVPN or ProtonVPN(free trial for a few months).

The Netflix agreement might have only been a one year thing because of the film- a serious tragedy that COVID had to get in the way of that, delayed showing or not.

I'm in Canada, and after lots of trial and error with VPNs I found ExpressVPN, since it so far has the most luck so far with actually beating the geoblocking in multiple countries- I mainly use it to watch Hulu in the US and was able to get a successful test run done for the BBC iPlayer.

I included my referral link up there, btw. If you click on it and decide to use the VPN, you'll get a free month for it and then can delete the program again until next year.

VPNs are beautiful, wonderous things. It's just making sure you have a sufficient one that's powerful enough to get over the barriers. ExpressVPN is one I've had the best luck with in the 8 or so years I've been toying with them, so I highly recommend them. You can also get 30 days free if you click on the link, which doesn't hurt.

BBC asks for a television license for their website, so you may want to attempt viewing Australia or Ireland's streams instead- SVT's stream on Youtube is usually okay, but you may not understand the commentator.

That said, I did also listen to the contest on BBC Radio (I think Radio 1?) in 2015, which you can stream without being geoblocked. But it really isn't the same as watching it on screen- it just worked out for me that year because I'm 8 hours behind CET and was volunteering for school the day of the Grande Finale that year. But it worked, and that's what counts.

> Please be careful when buying Belarusian products, many of the items are government companies.

There's app KRAMA to weed out products created by companies who sponsor fascist Lukashenko's regime.

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kramastudio.krama&hl=en&gl=US

IOS: https://kramaapp.com/

Here's a good one, it's free for an hour though,so if you want to watch the video I'd reccomend to do it fast :) Just don't choose any nordic country, or belgium. To be sure I'd pick slovenia. Hope it works, I miss your comments!

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.free.go.vpn.ivn

Investing in a good vpn isnt a bad idea. I got NordVPN for roughly $100 for 3 years.

You can get away with Opera Web browser too, it has a built in VPN that at least would allow you to watch this and its free. However, i think the opera browser vpn has a limit, then it starts to throttle a little bit.

I would like to add that RÚV has a Chromecast-able app where you can access both each stream

Edit: iPhone version

Can report good results with PureVPN, although the Mac software isn't 100% stable and sometimes takes a couple tries to get going. Once I figured out how to get it working using my router settings instead, everything has been fabulous. (Including the BBC iPlayer.)

Thanks for your reply!

​

I'm using ProtonVPN. It works great except for the fact that the BBC knows what's up when I try to log on lol. I thought about getting Nord but saw mixed things. How was it this year?

I use NordVPN but almost any reliable VPN should work. However, the BBC is really good about blocking IPs that they've discovered to be coming from a VPN, so when you look into purchasing a VPN make sure that there are lots and lots of servers available and that their team is on top of adding more when BBC crackdowns occur.

Logo says they will stream the Final in the clear (for America), both on their website () and on YouTube. The links to both streams will probably be posted very last minute - they'd obviously prefer you to watch on TV so they get the ratings, which lord knows they desperately need. (Their telecast had 62,000 viewers last year. No, I didn't leave off any zeros.) Logo doesn't carry the semis.

Speaking of which, Logo is usually found on one of the more expensive tiers of the cable service ... and on most systems it's not in HD. So you may or may not have it. Their announcers were horrible in 2016 and pretty good in 2017. This year one of the contestants from RuPaul's Drag Race has replaced one of the announcers from last year, so I'll let you decide if that bodes well or ill.

You WILL need a VPN to get it on the EBU's YouTube channel. (It's not on their website - they don't do that anymore). Some of the national broadcasters are likely to have their feeds in the clear, but you can expect that getting stutter-free performance on this side of the pond might be a bit difficult.

I'd have a backup plan to the tvcatchup links if I were you. Those sort of things have this annoying tendency to konk out for big events like this.

TL;DR: Save yourself the suffering and get a ding bling VPN. (I've had good success with PureVPN.)

Modifying what I wrote for another post and reposting it here:

SVT worked for me in Canada last year and the year before, both live and replay. I don't think it will be blocked this year (I really hope not). The SVT Play app and website both work wonderfully on mobile and are Chromecast compatible too which is a huge plus. I like SVT's stream a lot because their commentators don't really say a whole lot during the semi-finals (not that I can understand enough Swedish anyway). I didn't find their commentary distracting or intrusive at all.

If you're looking into a good VPN for Eurovision, I recommend Private Internet Access. I'm pretty sure they have a free trial period, so you could use the free trial for Eurovision and then unsubscribe. They also have mobile apps which are very easy to set up and use.

The VPN built into the Opera browser is free, but has been hit or miss for me during NF season. It was going strong for the most part during the opening ceremony today though.

And finally, if you keep an eye out for the megathreads of the live shows, /u/MrTigs (with the help of other users) usually includes links to different national broadcasters' live streams that may not be blocked internationally.

SVT worked for me in Canada last year and the year before, both live and replay. I don't think it will be blocked this year (I really hope not). The SVT app and website both work wonderfully on mobile and are Chromecast compatible too which is a huge plus.

> Edit to add: I like SVT's stream a lot because their commentators don't really say a whole lot during the semi-finals (not that I can understand enough Swedish anyway). I didn't find their commentary distracting or intrusive at all.

Modifying what I wrote for another post and reposting it here:

If you're looking into a good VPN for Eurovision, I recommend Private Internet Access. I'm pretty sure they have a free trial period, so you could use the free trial for Eurovision and then unsubscribe. They also have mobile apps.

The VPN built into the Opera browser is free, but has been hit or miss for me during NF season. It was going strong for the most part during the opening ceremony today though.

Last year from Canada I used a VPN (Freedome, for which I believe there is a free trial that should work) and YouTube, worked fine. I see lots of recommendations for SVT if you absolutely can't use a VPN.

I purchased SaferVPN last year for one month and it worked fine streaming through the bbc 1 streaming service.

I did some tests yesterday once I signed up again and it looks like I had to create a BBC1 account to watch. I just listed my zip code as a random london zip code and it started working.

Be careful if using google chrome, if you are logged into your gmail and your gmail is set to the US the VPN will not work. I had to run Microsoft edge (had no accounts tied to it) and launch the video in that browser, worked fine and started watching the Graham Norton show. Pumped for Saturday <3 (I don't watch semis so that almost all the live performances are a surprise in the final)

I use Private Internet Access. It’s not the easiest to use, but it gets the job done properly. They also have a pretty good app for IOS & Android, so while I got it to stream ESC, I definitely used it to watch trade Centre here in the states last week while I was at work. Haha

Get a VPN.

Most offer a free 30 day trial, sure you'll need a CC card probably to start that free trial but just set a reminder to cancel it. Set it up maybe a week before hand so you can test which connection works for you.

My personal fave is Astrill, followed by Express VPN. I've been sitting here watching UK Netflix and about five episodes of The Chase on ITV hub all morning while I do house work and meal prep.

Who am I? Just your friendly European abroad in China who uses a VPN every single day. Yes they're not legal here, but I'm watching videos of cats in YouTube and posting pictures of my coffee to Instagram, not plotting to overthrow the government or brainwash the local population with western ideals.

Also with a VPN, you can watch the semis on iPlayer with BBC commentary. I really like Mel and Scott.

I live in China and use iPlayer every day, it's still ok on two of the biggest VPNs, Astrill and ExpressVPN.

It recognises Astrill UK 1 and 2 but there's 3 more to choose.

I have two VPNs not for iPlayer but the Chinese government of course knows about them and at sensitive times of holidays effectively blocks Astrill, so Express is my back up!

China here, been living for 8 years with a VPN, i swear by it and it's the reason i can watch the BBC version, as well as the ESC feed on Youtube.

OP, if you're in the States, i highly recommend Astrill, it streams extremely well from China so from you it's probably as normal!

It is built in in Opera but it's just not fast enough for the live stream. The same for all of the other free VPNs I've downloaded in the past couple of days. The best that I watched the semi's with is Hotspot Shield but I don't think it'll hold out for four hours. I paid for a month of Browsec recommended by someone, it's five bucks and supposed to be super-fast in Chrome.

Try a different VPN location. Denmark, Sweden, UK all work for me on TunnelBear (Denmark being the best). Germany doesn't. You can test it on the archived versions of the broadcasts.

Can't be of much help there.

The one I use is PrivateTunnel, and it's because (1) you prepay based on data usage, not monthly and (2) since I use it so seldom, I'm not concerned about their limited servers and intermittent speed issues.

I honestly don't know how it compares to anything else because I haven't had any reason to try anything else. It's worked adequately well for me (other than some Mac software glitches that I ended up having to sort out on my own), and the last $20 I gave them lasted for three years.

The links for the app:

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.clapp.android.lightifyesc

iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lightify-eurovision/id990254853?l=de&amp;ls=1&amp;mt=8