Most Eurovision Song Contest performers to appear in a film

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (Netflix, 2020) featured cameo appearances from 11 Eurovision performers. They are: Bilal Hassani (France, 2019), Jamala (b. Susana Jamaladinova; Ukraine, 2016), Loreen (b. Lorine Talhaoui; Sweden, 2012 and 2023), John Lundvik (Sweden, 2019), Jessy Matador (b. Jessy Kimbangi; France, 2010), Elina Nechayeva (Estonia, 2018), Netta (b. Netta Barzilai; Israel, 2018), Anna Odobescu (Moldova, 2019), Alexander Rybak (Norway, 2009 and 2018), Salvador Sobral (Portugal, 2017) and Conchita Wurst (b. Thomas Neuwirth; Austria, 2014).

The US-made musical rom-com stars Will Ferrell as Lars Erickssong, Rachel McAdams as Sigrit Ericksdóttir and the likes of 2006 Junior ESC entrant Molly “My Marianne” Sandén, international pop star Demi Lovato, actor Pierce Brosnan and comedian and Eurovision commentator Graham Norton.

The film’s standout track, “Husavik (My Hometown)”, performed by Ferrell and Sandén (under her stage name My Marianne), was nominated for Best Original Song at the 93rd Academy Awards in 2021.

Rybak (2009), Loreen (2012 and 2023), Wurst, Jamala, Sobral and Netta had all lifted the ESC winners’ trophy by the time they appeared in The Story of Fire Saga, with Loreen’s record-breaking second triumph coming after the film had been made available for streaming on Netflix on 26 June 2020.

Eurovision legends ABBA are also heavily referenced throughout the story and can be seen on TV at the start of the film, although they do not appear in person. Ironically, The Story of Fire Saga was released in the same summer as the real-world ESC suffered its only cancellation to date, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) used the film to help fill the void left by a contest that had, to that point, been broadcast annually since 1956.