Published on 17 May 2022
The UK made a real impact at Eurovision this year, with Sam Ryder breaking the UK's Eurovision 'curse' and coming second place to the people's choice, Ukraine's Kalush Orchestra.
One man who was very close to the action James Rowe, a third year Media Production student at the University of Sunderland. James is also Programme Manager for Spark, and has run his own Eurovision podcast, The Euro Trip, since 2020.
James was in Turin, Italy, for the final of Eurovision 2022 as an accredited member of the press.
“Going to Turin to cover this year’s Eurovision Song Contest as accredited press was an amazing experience," James said.
"Alongside my studies and volunteer work at Spark, the University’s radio station, I dedicate so much of my time to The Euro Trip podcast, interviewing the biggest names from the world of Eurovision.
"In Turin I worked in the press centre, watched the rehearsals from behind the scenes and interviewed the artists."
James says he has "just about recovered" from the experience and added: "I used so many of the skills I’ve learnt from my course while producing daily podcasts from Italy.”
Richard Berry, Senior Lecturer in Radio at the University of Sunderland, said: "All through his degree James has shared his passion for Eurovision, including shows on Spark. He’s recently submitted a special documentary as part of his major project, which he’s put out on his podcast too.
"Media Production is all about finding your passion and then finding ways to share that and podcasts are a great way for students to put their ideas out into the world."
You can listen to James's podcast, The Euro Trip here.