Lights, cameo, action: meet the guest stars of Fire Saga

11 Eurovision stars of editions past graced the screen at some point during Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, many of them during the Song-A-Long feature, where the stars sang a mashup of Cher's Believe, ABBA's Waterloo, the Black Eyed Peas' I Gotta Feeling and the 1988 Eurovision classic Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi by Céline Dion. But that's not the only time you'll spot a familiar face!

Salvador Sobral

Portuguese entrant Salvador Sobral joins the cast as a busker on the streets of Edinburgh. In the movie, he sang his 2017 entry, and winning song, Amar Pelos Dois. Eurovision 2018 in Lisbon saw Salvador come in first place in both the first Semi-Final and the Grand Final, winning the Contest ahead of Bulgaria and Moldova.

Amar Pelos Dois was written and composed by his sister, Luísa Sobral.

Loreen

Loreen Talhaoui, otherwise known simply as Loreen, is one of many Eurovision artists featured in the movie's Song-A-Long where she sings a portion of Cher's Believe. Loreen won Eurovision for Sweden in 2012 with 372 points.

Her winning song Euphoria is the most commercially successful Eurovision entry of recent years and has been watched over 41 million times on YouTube. Euphoria was written and produced by Peter Boström and Thomas G:son.

Jamala

Ukraine's Jamala is another familiar face in the Song-A-Long, singing ABBA's Waterloo alongside the star of the movie, Rachel McAdams, amongst others. Jamala won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2016 with her song, 1944.

Jamala shared a little of her experience while filming her scene: "On the set, I was impressed by everything from the number of people involved in the production to the professionalism of the film crew. When I first went into the old castle, where they shot my scene, it seemed that I was in a fairy tale! Everything looked amazing. Both the actors and the crowd were so beautiful that it was impossible to look away."

Jamala wrote and composed her Eurovision entry, 1944, herself.

Alexander Rybak

Alexander Rybak is a Belarusian-Norwegian singer that won Eurovision for Norway in 2009 with Fairytale and returned again to Lisbon in 2018 with his entry That's How You Write A Song. Known for his talent on the violin, the instrument is featured in both his Eurovision entries and as an interlude to Madonna's Ray Of Light in the Song-A-Long sequence.

His 2009 win, securing a total of 387 points, marked the highest recorded score in the history of the Contest at that time.

Tom Neuwirth

Known on stage as Conchita Wurst, this glamourous Eurovision star won the Contest for Austria in 2014 with Rise Like A Phoenix. Tom first performed as his alter ego, the famous long-haired full-bearded lady, in the talent show Die große Chance in 2011. Since then, he has been a symbol of tolerance and artistic freedom in Austria and beyond.

Conchita takes part in the Song-A-Long feature singing Céline's Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi alongside Estonia's own Elina Nechayeva.

Rise Like A Phoenix was written and composed by Charly Mason, Joey Patulka, Ali Zuckowski and Julian Maas.

Netta

Netta Barzilai enters the Song-A-Long sequence by introducing the Black Eyed Peas' hit I Gotta Feeling into the mix. The unforgettable Netta won Eurovision for Israel in 2018 with her pop-anthem Toy, securing a whopping 529 points in the Grand Final.

Known as a looping artist, Netta studied music at the renowned Rimon School of Music in the Electronic Studies Department. This influence shines through in Toy and many of her other singles.

Elina Nechayeva

Elina Nechayeva represented Estonia at Eurovision 2018 with La Forza and finished in 8th place. The opera singer lit up the Lisbon stage with a dress that projects the story of the song in swirling colour.

Elina Nechayeva wrote the lyrics of La Forza alongside fellow soprano Ksenia Kuchukova. The music was composed by Mihkel Mattisen, a classically trained pianist and pop singer and composer, and Timo Vendt, a producer and multi-instrumentalist. Both Mattisen and Vendt have written previous Estonian Eurovision entries.

Elina performs in the Song-A-Long with Conchita Wurst. Elina explains: "It was a big scene with a lot of people involved so the recording took 3 days. In the morning we were prepared for the recording, make-up, hair, costume fitting and while waiting for the beginning of our scene we had the amazing opportunity to spend time together and have wonderful chats!"



The Eurovision artists did not only spend time together on set. "Our first breakfast in the hotel was quite funny. I didn't know who else was invited and when I met some singers I already knew we started a guessing game of who else in the breakfast room was going to play with us in the movie. I also had an amazing walk with Jamala around London and bought her son a cute teddy bear. We travelled over 20 kilometres by foot that day!"

John Lundvik

John Lundvik represented Sweden at Eurovision 2019 with his soulful pop ballad Too Late For Love. John, who finished 5th in the Grand Final, also takes part in the Song-A-Long performance as one of the opening singers.

In his performance of Too Late For Love, John is backed by The Mamas, a powerhouse group made up of Ash Haynes, Loulou Lamotte and Dinah Yonas Manna. In 2020, The Mamas won Melodifestivalen with the song Move, written by Melanie Wehbe, Patrik Jean and Herman Gardarfve, and were set to represent Sweden at Eurovision 2020 before its cancellation - the first in the Contest's 65-year history.

Bilal Hassani

Bilal Hassani represented France at Eurovision 2019 with Roi and finished in 16th place at the Grand Final in Tel Aviv. Bilal is a well-known singer, songwriter and social media star and takes part in the performance of Cher's Believe during the Song-A-Long.

Bilal's song, Roi, is one with a message of self-acceptance and hope. The entry was written with Madame Monsieur, the duo who represented France in 2018 in Lisbon.

Anna Odobescu

Anna Odobescu represented Moldova at Eurovision 2019 with her song Stay, but failed to reach the Grand Final. She took part in the Song-A-Long performance, grabbing centre-stage from John Lundvik during their performance of Cher's Believe.

During her performance of Stay, Anna shared the stage with acclaimed sand artist Ksenyia Simonova. Ksenyia was already known to the Eurovision world after performing alongside Ukranian delegate Mika Newton as she performed Angel on the Eurovision stage in 2011.

Jessy Matador

Last but certainly not least, Jessy Matador also took part in the Song-A-Long performance, performing Cher's Believe alongside Loreen. Jessy, a French-Congolese singer, represented France at Eurovision 2010 with his entry Allez Ola Olé and finished 12th in the Grand Final.

Jessy's summer hit Allez Ola Olé was written and composed by H. Ducamin & J. Ballue.

Have you seen the movie on Netflix? Let us know what you thought about it in the comments below!