The Eurovision family has lost one its biggest supporters. Late on Tuesday evening Oma Ella, the world’s oldest Eurovision fan, passed away. She was 105. Her family made the announcement on Facebook, and have opened an online condolence book here.
Oma Ella â real name Ella Kastner â was a Eurovision fan from the very beginning. She listened to the early contests on the radio until she had saved enough money to purchase a television. The small screen solidified her passion. But it wasn’t until 2011 that she attended the contest for the first time. She sat in her wheelchair pushed by her grandson. She regularly updated her various social media networks, proving that you’re never too old to love Eurovision or life.
She had a passion for euro-pop, but she loved traveling just as much, visiting San Marino, Azerbaijan and countless countries in between. Later in her life life she was uncapable of traveling long distances, but she she still felt the warmth of Asia and the Americas through numerous cultural festivals in Germany. She was a huge supporter of the Bhutanese diaspora, attended Vietnamese cultural festivals and even met the Dalai Lama.
Oma Ella Photos
Oma Ella and Eurovision
Oma Ella began listening to Eurovision when it began, in 1956. She recalled having to pay attention to it on the radio, as the contest hadn’t even been televised that year.  She attended every contest as a VIP since 2011, having met numerous stars such as Valentina Monetta, Sanna Nielsen, Conchita Wurst, and Lys Assia.
Oma Ella and Azerbaijan
In her final years Oma Ella had a strong connection to the Azeri artists and entries in the contest. At the contest in 2011, she met with Eldar, her personal favorite, and forged a strong connection. She admired Eldar and loved how he was fluent in her native German. When Azerbaijan claimed victory that year, Oma Ella was overjoyed and couldn’t wait to attend the next year as a friend of Eldar’s.
Azerbaijan also visited her a few years later, at her 105th birthday extravaganza just a few weeks ago. Eldar and 2014 entrant Dilara Kazimova personally made the journey to perform for her at the largest birthday party in Germany, a personal gala in her honor.
Oma Ella with Dilara and Eldar
Oma, we wish you a restful journey to heaven. Our thoughts are with Oma’s family during this most unfortunate time.
Rip oma ella i remember finding out about you a couple years ago and i taught to myself will i be a eurovision fan that long or will i find that passion that you had in me you deserved to live longer but we all had a chosen time and yours sadly has come you will be a person i won’t forget about for a good while
@ Random.sage ~ Lys Asia is too old and with all these deaths that have happened recently it makes me wonder reasonably if we gonna lose another old senior grandpa or grandma that have taken part in Vision decades ago and obviously the very first person that my mind went to was her…Like what…? Do you think that Lys Asia with her much old age will probably still be alive in lets say 10 years from today when we will celebrate the 70 years of Vision…?? I have my doubts about that… We are not immortals and we all gonna… Read more »
R.I.P Oma Ella. The Eurovision fans will dearly miss you.
I hope they give her some sort of tribute at the 2015 Contest.
đ ———–> đ because she’s in heaven!
@Mario Gay Love: You tryna jinx Lys Assia? Lol You’re so gay you know every Eurovision song from 1998-2015 by heart ?.
now the most oldiest eurofan is my dad, every year see the semifinal with me, but the saturday not see it because go to dance, and he have 87 y.0.
R.I.P
What a wonderful woman who must have lived through so much yet was still so determined to enjoy life and indulge her passions right to the very end. Her family and the Eurovision community were very lucky to have her.
Such sad news. Rest in peace, Oma Ella.
I’m deeply saddened by her passing… she reminds me of my own grandmother who passed away a little more than a year ago, and who also kept very active all the way into her oldest years. Oma to me is the ultimate Eurovision fan, and she had a quite visible passion for travel that I admire as well. Rest in peace.
What can i say really….Kinda shocked about these sad news.. We had read that Oma Ella just few weeks only ago celebrated her birthday… She seemed healthy & fine enough and i didn’t expect to be informed now about her passing away.. She had become legendary to all of us eurofans and even eurostars of Vision.. R.I.P. Aunt Ella… We ‘ve first lost the 1st winner 4 Austria in Vision sir Udo Jurgens… Then we ‘ve heard about the tragic death of the creator & president of Austria’s OGAE Fan Club.. And now the oldest fan of Vision that is… Read more »
oh no đ i am so sad now… she was so amazing