Laura and Lisa: A Eurovision fansite love story
- Dale Roberts
- 5 hours ago
- 5 min read
The epic week in Basel wasn’t the only monumental recent Eurovision event.
Not long before, two Eurovision fans, Laura and Lisa Bird, made the commitment of a lifetime by saying “I Do.”
Now it’s not the first wedding between Eurofans, but what makes this pair a little different, is that they were fansite “rivals” from opposite ends of the planet.
Lisa is with ESCXTRA, while Laura is from our very own Aussievision.
The pair first met as Eurofans in the glory days of Twitter.
“It was many months before we actually met in person,” Lisa explains.
“We started messaging each other in March 2019 and quickly realised we had similar Eurovision stan countries in common.
“It wasn’t long before we started chatting about our off-screen lives, and as soon as Laura revealed she’s a Liverpool fan like me, I knew I was set for life!”
Meeting in Australia
After months of chatting, Lisa made the trip out to Australia.
“Lisa first landed in Melbourne in November 2019, and our first date was actually at McDonald’s,” Laura says.
“Lisa had been on the plane for 24 hours, and the only cure for her exhaustion was some hash browns and McMuffins, followed by plenty of rest at home.”
The pair connected in Australia and wanted to continue their relationship
“From the moment I met Lisa in person for the first time at Melbourne Airport, I knew she would be a very special person in my life,” Laura explains.
“I spent Lisa’s first visit to Australia taking her to some of my favourite places in Australia, including Sydney to see the Harbour Bridge and Opera House, Phillip Island, where I used to go as a kid on summer holidays with my family, as well as attending our first national final together - Australia Decides 2020.”
Long-distance during COVID
A planned reunion at Rotterdam several months later wasn’t to be.
“It was supposed to be my first time going to Eurovision and our first contest as a couple, but we all know what happened,” Laura continues.
“One week before I was due to fly out to Europe, the borders were closed due to COVID-19 and they would stay closed for nearly two years.”
The couple had to endure years of long distance, not knowing when the borders would open.
“Long distance was difficult, worrying about COVID case numbers in our countries and calculating when we could spend time calling each other. We spent every day calling each other over Facebook Messenger,” Laura says.
Lisa believes it made their relationship even more secure.
“I do look back on those two years of forced long-distance and see it as the making of us and why we are so stronger for it,” she says.
“The juggling of time zones and building that emotional bond as we passed the lockdown days playing Animal Crossing or watching TV online.”.
Reunited
Once the borders opened, the two could be reunited.
“I visited the UK and Lisa’s family for the first time in April 2022, and we would eventually spend our first Eurovision together in Turin later that year,” Laura explains.
“I decided to bite the bullet and move to the UK in November 2022. Now we live together and get to build our lives together, as well as finding some time for adventures.”
The pair continue to go to big events together, including Eurovision 2023 (above) and the Paris Olympics of 2024 (below).
Fan site rivalry?
Lisa was asked to join the ESCXTRA team back in 2018.
“I was familiar with the team already after finally dipping my toes into attending events for the first time,” she says.
“At the time, there were very few women in fan media, so it seemed like a great fit to change that and have an outlet for my online ramblings.”
Lisa played a pivotal role in Laura joining fan media circles.
“It was actually Lisa who encouraged me to apply for Aussievision when they first put out the call-out for contributors in 2019,” she explains.
“Before that, I barely had any experience writing articles or interviewing people, save for a couple of opportunities I was fortunate enough to have seized.
“These included writing for my university’s student magazine, as well as in OGAE Australia, including interviewing an Australia Decides 2019 artist and writing a review for one of the 2019 Eurovision entries.
“I enjoyed it so much that when I heard Aussievision was seeking new contributors, I jumped at the chance and applied. The rest is history!”
And is it a positive to have a partner who is also in fan press?
“For me it’s very helpful,” Lisa says.
“I’m already used to having some of my best friends work for different fan sites. We have always helped each other with recording interviews when attending national finals solo.
“Now it just means I can ask Laura instead and give them a break! I’m a Luddite with technology, so I’m often asking Laura for help if I’m struggling.
“It also gives us a mutual understanding when one or both of us suddenly has to drop everything for fan site work.
“Of course we’re women that love to gossip. But we keep it to things already made public and we give each other privacy while doing fan site work.”
Laura relishes the chance to connect with Australia via Aussievision.
“Contributing to Aussievision keeps me connected to Australia, even though I live in the UK,” she says.
“I’ve recently started covering national finals on the ground in Europe, so I relish being in the unique position of being in the European time zone while still applying my Aussie perspective.
“It can be daunting to go to international press centres for the first time, especially if you’re the only foreign press there and there’s a language barrier, but it’s reassuring to know I have Lisa there with me to support me with anything.”
The wedding
The wedding was in the UK, but some traditional Australian weather made it one to remember.
‘“It was hot,” Lisa says.
“I am lucky my wedding suit kept my delicate skin covered up from the sun. Otherwise, it was incredible.
“It might have been rare weather conditions for an April day in England, but it certainly made our Aussie guests feel at home,” Laura adds.
The real highlight was having their family and friends connect.
“Everything we had planned and imagined was finally a reality and was exactly as we wanted. Only some of our families had met each other before in different back-and-forth trips, so it was nice to have them all together at the same time,” Lisa says.
“Of course, Laura walked down the aisle to Te Deum, which caught the attention of the Eurovision guests in attendance!”
The party playlist naturally included many Eurovision and national final hits.
Laura describes a highlight of her non-Eurofan brother describing Hallucination as a “banger,” while Lisa names the DJ’s reaction to the explicit version of Serving as a moment of the day.
Eurovision 2025 for the newly married couple
The costs of a Swiss Eurovision and a wedding in the same year meant the newly married couple watched the Contest from home.
“We had a cosy night on the couch in front of the TV,” Laura said.
“Having attended lots of different Eurovision events, I find that for me, sometimes the best Eurovision parties are small ones with friends who love the contest just as much as you do.”
We wish the couple a happy Eurolife together and welcome ESCXTRA as official in-laws!
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