Grab your selfie sticks, charge your smartphones and don’t forget to drink plenty of water — Eurovision 2017 is on!

Wiwibloggers William and Ron landed on Friday and headed straight to Maidan Square, where they took in the beautiful lights, withdrew a stack of Ukrainian hryvnia and felt the urge to eat. Speaking no Ukrainian, and feeling rather illiterate, they wound up in a traditional Crimean restaurant. It’s as if the spirit of Jamala and “1944” guided them there.

William got down on some borscht with meat, while Ron enjoyed some delicious meat dumplings. We need energy for the next two weeks, so carbs are most definitely in.

After staying up way too late and editing way too many stories, we got up bright and early to tackle the city by daylight.

Standing in the glorious Maidan Square — the site of the recent revolution — we headed to the gorgeous Eurovision sign, which features that iconic blue-and-yellow Ukrainian Eurovision heart.

Minding our own business, a man dressed as a minion started taking pics with us. And then his friends dressed as a panda and lion joined in. They asked us to hug them, choke them, rest on their head…and then they asked us for 600 UAH. Classic scam. Thank goodness we turned away the man and woman trying to put a falcon and pigeon on us!

Pockets emptied of all our spending money, we decided we’ll just use credit cards from now on — a bit harder to extort money from us that way.

We then headed toward the Eurovision Village, which sits at the end of a pedestrianised street leading from the square.

It’s lined with fabulous cafes — Turkish! Ukrainian! Italian! — and Kyiv’s hot young things were outside sunbathing while enjoying traditional pork cutlets in cheese sauce. William paused to meditate.

Then it was time to ride on the very efficient subway, which costs just 4 UAH. That’s 0.14 euros for a single trip!

The subway stations are incredibly deep and artistically lit, creating a real sci-fi feel as you descend. They are also air conditioned and have amazing wi-fi, so you have no excuse not to upload your selfies.

William was, perhaps, too enthusiastic. No one wanted to smile for his groupie on the train.

The direct entrance from the Livoberezhna metro station to the International Exhibition Centre will open in May. But for now it’s a tad confusing.

You’ll find yourself wandering on the highway and dodging oncoming trucks and SUVs, who all seem to be in a hurry.

But eventually you’ll arrive. And if you’re lucky the party bus will still be open for business!

After picking up our accreditation we had a very long stroll through Mariinsky Park as we searched for EuroClub.

Eventually we found it. You can watch us trying to get there — and discussing the day more generally — in the vlog below.

Watch more Eurovision 2017 videos on our YouTube channel

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AngieP
AngieP
6 years ago

Loved it!!
Thanks guys for sharing! I truly feel like I’m there with you, while I’m not!

I really enjoy your videos! I admire how dedicated and passionate you are to Eurovision! And that’s because you love it!! And also your descriptions are hilarious! “They’re smoking, they’re pushing their children”!! LMAO

Cheers from beautiful Greece! Have fun wiwiteam and enjoy your stay! “Grab the moment” and live this experience to the fullest!

cheesecake
cheesecake
6 years ago

Love the vlog. I wish I could be there, the city looks very nice. Lovely to see Eurovision back in Eastern Europe, it’s obviously different there. 🙂

Purple Mask
Purple Mask
6 years ago

Haha! William Lee Adams has even managed to appear in cameo in an ESCKaz introduction video to the press centre. Here it is: https://youtu.be/QzZ1ELlm2rw

😀

#Engeladus
#Engeladus
6 years ago

Here we go… So it starts..
Let The EuroVision 2017 begin <3 🙂

fikri
fikri
6 years ago

fun vlog! i want moooaaarr

Leonardo
Leonardo
6 years ago

William, I really admire all your passion, devotion and dedication. I always enjoy Eurovision but your all involvement and hard work make me actually LOVE IT even more!

Purple Mask
Purple Mask
6 years ago

So we already know that Estonia’s Koit & Laura have released an Italian language version of “Verona.” But now, Moonwalk Studios have released an official video to accompany this version; the video features behind-the-scenes footage of the recording process at Moonwalk Studios. Here it is:
https://youtu.be/eeolMtZha68

Purple Mask
Purple Mask
6 years ago

Thanks William, you are a star. 🙂

Off-topic, there were two new video releases last night. One is from Switzerland’s SFR who have released an acoustic video of Timebelle’s “Apollo.” It’s quite beautiful, although I’m not sure whether it was originally recorded before or after the official video. Here it is: https://youtu.be/PrQvzPjHTDw

The other video is from Estonia’s Moonwalk Studios. I’ll post that link separately above. x

Mar
Mar
6 years ago

Kiyv looks gorgeous, but the area surrounding the Exhibition Centre seems… uninviting

Ariana
Ariana
6 years ago
Reply to  Mar

Same, it just brings up memories from Euromaidan to me. :/

Joe
Joe
6 years ago

This video gives me life…”they are smoking, they are pushing their children…” hahaha
Have fun!!