Adult Themes

I’m clearly out of touch with the musical tastes of the Swedish public. Last weekend I was at Melodifestivalen—the Swedish finals leading up to Eurovision—and a local man in Sundsvall asked for my favourites. I told him Sanna Nielsen and the A-Teens. Both made it through to the finals held over the weekend, but they absolutely bombed with the voting public.

I should have known, really; at the heats, Sanna was incredibly popular with the older demographic but failed to connect with the younger voters.

It’s a shame, because Sanna is a legendary Swedish performer and “Waste of Love” was an absolute banger of a song—a bit of an old-fashioned schlager, which I suppose is why I liked it.

The A-Teens, who started as an ABBA cover band years ago and recently reunited, also struggled to find momentum with their song “Iconic.”

Obviously, times have changed for the Swedish public, or at least for those who vote in Melfest.

Interestingly, Australia votes in these finals. I saw the Australian jury on screen—no idea who they are or what their qualification is, though I assume they are from SBS.

This is Sweden’s entry for Eurovision 2026 – Felicia – which of course, I’ll support, though it doesn’t do much for me.

Back in Sydney, it’s been a weekend of settling back into life after my travel. I had a lovely catch-up on Friday for drinks with friends. We shared stories and videos from my recent travels, but the real highlight was discussing a joint travel plan for next year.

There’s a new confidence in those discussions now. I’ve been scared of travel lately, worried I’d be a “burden” on my companions, due to my amputation. But having navigated this last trip independently, that fear has lifted. I know now that I can hold my own.

To round out the weekend, I saw Afterglow at the Eternity Playhouse, an extension of the Mardi Gras season. There was a sign at the entrance prominently warning that the play contained adult themes and nudity—a fair heads-up given the subject matter. The audience was almost exclusively gay men between 40 and 70. A man sitting next to me, closer to the top end of that demographic, kept nodding off! Of course, the nudity featuring Matthew Mitcham was a drawcard; I’m not going to beat around the bush, who wouldn’t want to see a bit of Matthew Mitcham naked?

The play was good, though not great. They used generic American accents that didn’t feel quite “New York” enough, and the themes felt universal enough that they could have just used Australian accents. It got me thinking about the evolution of “Gay Theatre.” I remember the era of liberation where a gay play was a massive, anticipated event. We used to wait for Monday nights at 10:00 pm on SBS just to get our “fix” of queer content. Now, that level of anticipation seems to have faded.

While I didn’t personally connect with the polyamory plotline—played out by three very handsome young men—it was good to see it happening in Sydney. Now, I’m just settling back in, restocking the fridge, and prepping for the next big thing: work travel to Darwin in a couple of weeks.