If we put all the highest holidays and birthdays together, we still don’t reach the importance that Eurovision Day has, do we?

And now, the biggest day of the year has arrived once again. In about 12 hours, we will know where to book our flights to next year. We will know where our most beloved songs ended up, and some of them will have ended up surprisingly low down on the right-hand side of the scoreboard. It happens. Meanwhile, other entries that we don’t feel so much for will get a very good result. It’s natural. The anger during and after the “verdict” is part of the tradition. God was I irritated after Ukraine’s good result last year. And poor Kati Wolf from Hungary, wtf…! There will be discussions about friendly voting again, and people will think about “how would country X have finished if they had sent another song?” (Speaking of which, you can still vote in our polls asking which national final entries you missed most in semi 1 and semi 2.)

Most likely, most of us will be okay with the results, some of us even very happy. However, as soon as the initial reactions fade away, PED will set in. PED? Post-Eurovision Depression, of course. It’s the same every year. There will be emptiness. Two weeks later, the ESC fan forums and chatrooms like ours will be abandoned by seasonal visitors – it seems like once we are done with analysing the results, we all go into hibernation.

The summer will pass mostly quietly, with a few rumours here, a few bigger bits of news there, until Eurovision’s winter solstice – probably the Swiss Final, and if not, then reliable old Albania – will wake up the last sleepy fanboys and fangirls for the reunion of the online Eurovision family.

It can be a long and hard way from May to December, so it’s important to enjoy and be aware of today. And what’s even more important than results, hitting the right notes, not getting a snowflake in one’s throat, is the togetherness that our beloved event creates. Only we share this passion, we are united in our love for the contest from Reykjavik to Baku – no, from Vancouver to Vladivostok, even if arguing fans are capable of having the most violent disagreements too! But today is the highest day of the year for the Eurovision family, and that’s what we are.

There has never been a better Eurovision theme than the Norwegian “Share The Moment” in 2010. That’s the most important thing today. This, and the hope that a country wins tonight that respects human rights, freedom of speech, freedom of press, and that welcomes us next year the way we are, to celebrate our highest holiday together again, to Share The Moment again.

But for tonight, we hope that you will be happy with your favourites – and maybe be successful with the bets you placed before “Te Deum” pumps out of the TV speakers! (If you want to do this last minute, take a look at our betting guide 2012).

So that’s all for now. On behalf of esc-chat.com, do have a great Eurovision experience, be it in the Crystal Hall, on your TV couch, at a Eurovision party, in the press centre, or at a public viewing surrounded by thousands of crazy people. May the best song win, and:

Enjoy the show!