At 7.30 this morning all countries and members of the press were invited but the city of Stockholm to the "Raising of the Flags" ceremony.
This prestigious event took place at the Euroclub complex in front of the Royal Palace of Stockholm in Gamla Stan. Gathered were all Heads of Delegation, Heads of Press, Members of the EBU, and the Eurovision media. Several dozen fans of Eurovision were also in attendance.
As 8.00 a.m. approached the roads were sealed in preparation for the marching band to arrive bearing the flags of each and every country taking part in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016. It was quite some sight in the early Stockholm sunshine to hear and see the approaching LifeGuards, the oldest regiment in Sweden.
The procession then stopped at the foot of the Royal Palace and the band began to play Euphoria. A little too early for my taste but nice all the same.
Then is was time for the flags to be raised. This seemed to pass without hitch, though we were informed that all flags were to raise at the same time and sadly this moment did not happen. However, it all looked effective and was actually a rather touching moment to see everyone COME TOGETHER....
After this the band played Heroes and marched off taking the route that they came from.
We then grabbed a few words with Sietse Bakker and one of the organising committee from the City Of Stockholm organisation
Finally Andy and I had a few moments guessing the flags....we were not great, there were a few mistakes...opps
Gallery;
