Twelve polls of Christmas: Who are your favourite Eurovision hosts of the 2010s?

This year at wiwibloggs we are celebrating the festive season with a series of different polls. For the next few days, we’re going to stuff your stockings with a selection of end-of-decade Eurovision votes. Consider this a unique riff on the classic “Twelve Days of Christmas” carol.

Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, you can join us and let us know your thoughts for each and every poll.

Eurovision Hosts: 2010 to 2019

Every year, one of the most popular questions in the run-up to the contest is: Who is going to host?
Dozens put their name in the hat and many more are rumoured to be on the front line to become the face of their country.

Some of TV’s finest, funniest and, occasionally, weirdest and cringiest hosts were chosen to present in the past. But who in this decade was the best?

Take a look at all the hosts from 2010 onward and vote for your favourites in our poll. You can vote for as many as you like, but you can only vote once — so make it count!

Eurovision 2010: Erik Solbakken, Haddy N’jie and Nadia Hasnaoui

Ah, who could forget the presenters in Norway – Erik Solbakken, Haddy N’jie and Nadia Hasnaoui?
We love a cringey moment in Eurovision and TV Presenter Erik and his pre-voting speech hit the cringe sweet spot! The speech which was obviously meticulously choreographed to explain all the things you can do whilst you wait for the votes to be delivered. As Eric was walking, he undressed to reveal some sparkly green party clothes, carried a candelabra, popped some confetti, opened a bottle of champagne, made popcorn in a microwave and took a family photo – it was top-level cringe with definitely a hint of genius.

Everything is in fact choreographed to the minute on the night in Eurovision… usually. But you can’t help but suspect that wasn’t quite the case when Haddy N’jie visited the UK commentator Graham Norton’s booth. The slightly awkward exchange only proves that you can’t completely plan everything.

However, you can’t deny the hosts’ talent. They showed off their rather impressive language skills in the lead up to the voting with a segment where they effortlessly speak to several of the Eurovision acts in their own languages including German, Spanish and Finnish.

Eurovision 2011: Anke Engelke, Judith Rakers and Stefan Raab

The hosts in 2011 were comedian Anke Engelke, TV Presenter Judith Rakers and all-round entertainer Stefan Raab. The latter of which stole the show by showing off his talents singing and playing on his electric guitar. This included performing a swing version of the previous year’s winning song “Satellite”. Luckily Lena was there to save the day and joined in at the end. Fake punches, fireman’s lifts and paraphrasing the Ronald Reagan Berlin Wall speech (classic) were also on show as these three presenters certainly made it an entertaining year.

Eurovision 2012: Leyla Aliyeva, Nargiz Birk-Petersen and Eldar Gasimov

No awkward lifts happened in 2012 however as Leyla Aliyeva, Nargiz Birk-Petersen and one half of the winning song for Azerbaijan Eldar Gasimov took a more straightlaced approach that year. The night kicked off with Eldar and Nikki’s winning song “Running Scared”. It was a very professional approach some will say, with no flirting between hosts and no jokes. The land of fire it may be but it seemed that the fire was a bit more controlled on stage in Baku.

Eurovision 2013: Petra Mede

The one and only Petra Mede was the sole host of Eurovision 2013. Though she was joined by the “Popular” Eric Saade in the green room, Petra took the proceedings single-handed with grace and flair. The presenter, comedian, actress and all-round genius Petra just had her cards with her for help and gave Europe a flawless performance. Even giving the audience a brilliantly funny song about Sweden before the voting started.

Eurovision 2014: Lise Rønne, Nikolaj Koppel and Pilou Asbæk

TV Presenter Lise Rønne, musician and journalist Nikolaj Koppel and Game of Thrones’ Euron Greyjoy, sorry, Pilou Asbæk took charge of the 2014 contest. Not too much to buzz about here as the three gave a very accomplished performance. They also sang a brilliant, though very cheesy interval song about the number 12 – of course the highest score a country can give. However, the United Kingdom’s commentator was subjected to another impromptu “chat” and this was almost certainly not rehearsed. Spraying Graham’s small cubical with a truck full of confetti, a result of Graham allegedly poking fun at Pilou’s Chinese speaking (a running theme in the contest) – with Graham responding with “How lovely, it’s so fun” It was very clear what he meant but the three hosts in Copenhagen were indeed lovely and fun!

Eurovision 2015: Mirjam Weichselbraun, Alice Tumler, Arabella Kiesbauer and Conchita Wurst

It was an all-female affair in Vienna as television presenters Mirjam Weichselbraun, Alice Tumler, Arabella Kiesbauer and 2014 winner Conchita Wurst took to the stage to host the contest in 2015. Another accomplished performance, though with perhaps a slight lack of personality with many of their jokes and improvised pieces failing to land. Professional yes, fun? – you decide.

Eurovision 2016: Petra Mede and Måns Zelmerlöw

Petra Mede was the host once again. But this time she was joined by the 2015 winner Måns Zelmerlöw. More of the same from Petra in 2016 and she was definitely aided by Måns and his charismatic smile. They worked very well together, though the “Heroes” singer could be forgiven for a few nerves at the start. They did create, however, one of the most memorable interval acts ever with a parody song celebrating how to win Eurovision called “Love, Love, Peace, Peace”. Genius, Genius.

Eurovision 2017: Oleksandr Skichko, Volodymyr Ostapchuk and Timur Miroshnychenko

Kyiv brought us a contest with an all-male cast with comedian Oleksandr Skichko and TV presenters Volodymyr Ostapchuk and Timur Miroshnychenko, the latter of which hosted the Junior Contest in 2009 and in 2013. With sparkly blazers, these boys came to “D-I-S-C-O” which definitely set the precedent of the energy they brought to the stage. Not all of it was warranted as some of it felt like some bizarre Eurovision lads holiday, including making part of the audience dance the Ukrainian dance Hopak with them. Nevertheless, boring they were not and they definitely kept the audience going throughout the long show.

Eurovision 2018: Sílvia Alberto, Catarina Furtado, Filomena Cautela and Daniela Ruah

It was another all-female group in Lisbon and it definitely promised drama as all four ladies were actresses. Three of them were also TV presenters — Sílvia Alberto, Catarina Furtado and Filomena Cautela. Portuguese-American actress Daniela Ruah was best known for being an actress in the US crime drama NCIS: Los Angeles. They certainly lived up to it — they pulled duck faces, put on American accents, had contestants lift them up and even proposed to them. They were determined to make sure everyone was entertained, a very different dynamic to that of 2015.

Eurovision 2019: Erez Tal, Assi Azar, Lucy Ayoub and Bar Refaeli

The final hosts of the decade were TV presenters Erez Tal and Assi Azar, presenter and poet Lucy Ayoub and international model and entrepreneur Bar Refaeli. It was an interesting dynamic, with the three younger members of the team flawlessly and professionally working together. At points, Erez seemed like the stern uncle that invited himself to the party. While he was perfectly proficient, it never felt completely natural, slowing down the energy of his younger colleagues. Assi however was especially good during the interval act when previous contestants were playing the “Switch Song” (a game singing each other’s songs). Bar even accidentally created a phrase that will be remembered in Eurovision folklore for a very long time — “I’m sorry zero points.”

That was only a little reminder but who were you favourite hosts this decade?

Who are your favourite Eurovision hosts of the 2010s?

Check out more of our polls here