BBC Sounds – Celebrating Eurovision, Eurovision Described – Alexander Rybak

Around 1 in 200 of the population is registered blind or partially sighted. Now, thanks to BBC Sounds, visually impaired music fans can connect with Eurovision in a brand new way.

Eurovision Described features iconic Eurovision performances from years gone by, Audio Described and rated by presenters Lucy Edwards and Abi Clarke.

Each episode Lucy and Abi will enjoy an iconic Eurovision performance, which has been audio described for blind and partially sighted listeners, so not only can they enjoy the music, but also find out more about the performance.

The costumes, the choreography, the set design, the props and all the craziness we’ve come to expect from Eurovision, it’s all covered.

Lucy, who is blind, has the power to pause the performance at any point, and discuss with her co-host Abi, what on earth has been going on, whether it be penguins with Papa Pingouin, monster masks with Lordi or viral dance moves with Daði Freyr!

As well as the audio description, throughout the series, Lucy and Abi will be hearing from some of the performers behind these iconic Eurovision songs, to find out how they put every aspect of the show together.

This episode features Alexander Rybak discussing ‘Fairytale’ from 2009, a particular favourite for Abi and Lucy. He reveals what inspired his performance, what elements from Eurovision have stayed in his show even to this day, and why he wanted to incorporate Norwegian culture.

About Lucy Edwards:

March 24th 2013 was the day that changed Lucy’s life forever. At only 17 her world went to black. She had to learn how to navigate her life again. This was just the beginning of an extraordinary journey to find self-acceptance and happiness.

In an instant, she had lost her eyesight but not her determination to make a difference. She took to YouTube and started to upload her experiences. The video ‘blind girl does her own makeup’ gained over 700,000 views and Lucy was the first British blind person to pave the way for change on the platform.

Several years later she now has over 500,000 subscribers, racking up over 300 million views and has amassed 1.7 million followers on TikTok. Her regular videos prove that having a disability doesn’t have to hold you back.

Lucy has worked with many charities in the sight loss sector. In 2014 she was the keynote speaker at the Royal National Institute for the Blind summer gala sharing the stage with Rod Stewart. She has toured several schools to promote the charity Fixers UK after collaborating in writing a children’s novel named ‘The Superhero Dog’, all about her now-retired guide dog Olga. Lucy has worked as a digital ambassador for the charity Living Paintings in which she interviewed Charlie Cox, Daredevil star. Notably, Lucy ran the London Marathon for Guide Dogs UK in spring 2017 raising over £3000 and, in the same year received the Young Persons Achievement Award at the Guide Dogs official annual gala for her contributions to the sight loss community. Her work was also recognized by the Lord-Lieutenancy of the West Midlands who nominated her to attend the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s wedding.

Lucy is a professional journalist and broadcaster and has presented reports for the BBC on TV and radio. In 2019 she became the first-ever blind presenter to host on BBC Radio 1. Through her consultancy work, Lucy constantly promotes disability inclusion and uses her own experiences to shape lasting change and facilitate important discussions within global brands, charities and big media corporations.

Lucy’s motto in life is that she is blind, not broken.

About Abi Clarke:

Abi Clarke is a stand-up comedian and presenter from Bristol who took to the internet in 2020 due to lockdown and achieved remarkable success. In her first year online, she amassed over a million followers across Instagram and TikTok, and now boasts a large following of 367k followers on Instagram, 893k followers on TikTok and 590k subscribers on YouTube. Abi was named as one of the eleven comedy stars of the internet by The Independent and has had her viral sketches shared by the likes of ENews, Buzzfeed, LadBible, Good Morning Britain, and BBC One.

First and foremost a stand-up, Abi has made swift progress on the circuit. 2022 saw Abi selected for the highly sought-after Comedy Reserve showcase at the Edinburgh Fringe and now performs at some of the UK’s most prestigious comedy clubs, as well as recently supporting Russell Kane on tour.

Abi recently hosted the hugely popular It’s…Wagatha Christie podcast for BBC 5 Live and BBC Sounds. She subsequently hosted the youth-focused podcast Pinned for BBC Sounds and has further podcast projects in the pipeline.

Abi’s recent TV credits include Dating No Filter (Sky Max), The Apprentice: You’re Fired (BBC Two), the Emily Atack Show (ITV2), Comedy Central Live and hosted additional content for Question Team (Dave) and Comic Relief.

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