Our Favourite Facts About The Eurovision Finalists

This week is all about Eurovision, with the grand final taking place in Malmö, Sweden tomorrow. To celebrate, we’ve picked our favourite fun facts about the 26 finalists. Plus we look at how Stikins are prepared for delivery to your door!

Our Favourite Facts About This Year’s Eurovision Finalists

To celebrate the finale, we’ve picked our favourite fun facts about each of the 26 finalists. Did you know that…

1. Sweden has the most islands of any country in the world. It is made up of 267,570 islands; around 24,000 are open to the public but fewer than a thousand are populated.
2. Ukraine is one of the top producers of sunflower seeds in the world. In the crop year from 2023-2024, they produced around 14.5 million metric tons of sunflower seeds.
3. Germany is home to the largest pet shop in the world. Filling a 130,000 square foot warehouse, Zoo Zajac houses over 250,000 animals from 3,000 different species. Tours are available and take 2-5 hours.
4. Since 1100, Luxembourg's oldest town (Echternach) has hosted a dancing procession called "Sprangpressessioun". The event honours Saint Willibrord and thousands of people perform hopping steps through the town accompanied by traditional folk music.
5. The Netherlands are home to more bikes than people. Recent estimates counted 23.9 million bikes for a population of 17.6 million (or around 1.3 bikes per person).
6. Jellyfish are a common sight off the coast of Israel in summer so it should come as no surprise that the first jellyfish repellent lotion was developed by an Israeli company.
7. Lithuania has more hot air balloons per person than any other country in the world. The capital, Vilnius, is the only European capital city where you can fly directly over the city in a hot air balloon.
8. Once a year year, Spain hosts La Tomatina – the world’s biggest food fight. 20,000 participants gather in the little town of Bunol to throw over one hundred metric tons of over-ripe tomatoes at each other!
9. Estonia is home to the pretty unique sport of Kiiking. Competitors are strapped into giant swing sets that allow for a 360 degree spin. Whoever completes a spin over the swing set to the greatest height wins!
10. Ireland's oldest fair is the Puck Fair held in Killorglin, County Kerry. A wild goat from the local mountains is crowned "King Puck" and remains king for three days when he is released back home.
11. Latvia is home to the widest waterfall in Europe at 249 metres wide. It also has over 12,500 rivers and over 2,200 lakes.
12. In Greece, name days are often considered more important than birthdays. In Greek Orthodox tradition, most days are dedicated to a saint; your name day is the day dedicated to the saint with whom you share your name.
13. The UK is the nineth largest island in the world but you are never more than 75 miles from the sea!
14. Colonel-in-Chief of the Norwegian King's Guard is a Scottish penguin called Nils Olav III. The King's Guard adopted the original Nils Olav as a mascot in 1961 after visiting the Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
15. Italy may be home to the world’s most haunted island. Poveglia was used as a quarantine zone for plague victims for hundreds of years and over 100,000 people died there. It is now illegal to visit the island.  
16. Serbia is home to the most expensive cheese in the world. Pule costs $600 - $1700 per pound (£450 - £1300) because it contains a special ingredient – milk from Balkan donkeys living in the Zasavica Special Nature Reserve.
17. Each year the UN produces a World Happiness Report, which ranks countries by national happiness. Finland has been named as the happiest country in the world for seven years in a row (2018-2024).
18. Portugal’s Praia do Norte beach is famous for its giant waves. Six of the ten biggest waves ever surfed occurred at this beach. This includes the current world record, which saw Sebastian Steudtner surf a 26.2m wave.
19. An Armenian cave is home to the earliest known winery (6100 years old) and the oldest known leather shoe (5,500 years old). Both are older than Stonehenge and the Pyramids of Giza!
20. Cyprus has more cats than people; recent estimates put the number of cats at 1.5 million compared to a population of 1.2 million people (that's 1 and a quarter cats per person!).
21. Switzerland has “quiet hours” (including the whole of Sunday) when noisy or disruptive activities are banned. This includes mowing the lawn, vacuuming, loud DIY, washing cars, or hanging out washing!
22. Slovenia is home to World Bee Day. It is celebrated on 20th May, which is the birth date of Anton Janša, who pioneered modern beekeeping methods. It has over 200,000 bee colonies and one in every 200 people is a beekeeper.
23. The world's smallest town, Hum, is located in Croatia. It is home to just 30 people, has two streets, and is just 100 metres long by 30 metres wide.
24. The official language of Georgia is Georgian. Georgian uses a completely unique alphabet known as Mkhedruli. The modern version contains 33 letters.
25. The most popular country in the world to visit is France! According to recent World Tourism rankings (2022), France receives over 79 million international tourists each year.
26. Austria is home to the largest ice cave in the world. The Eisriesenwelt ("World of the Ice Giants") is over 26 miles long (about the same as a marathon). Before it was first explored in 1879, locals believed it was an entrance to hell!

Despatch & Delivery Of Stikins ® Name Labels To Your Chosen Destination

Over the years, we’ve honed our packaging and delivery services to ensure that your name labels arrive safely and securely at your chosen delivery address as quickly as possible.

We pack each set of name labels into a storage bag with an information leaflet. We have pre-printed our instructions for use onto our bags so you'll always have them to hand. Our bags are designed to keep your labels safe during delivery and storage at home.

Your order also comes with a VAT receipt detailing the item(s) you have purchased and a VAT breakdown.

We pack most orders in a small C5 envelope. These envelopes have our brand name printed across the front in purple so you'll know when your name labels have arrived! If you order a large quantity of name labels, we will post your order in an A4 envelope or small box for extra protection. 

We use Royal Mail’s first class service as standard and delivery is free of charge. Royal Mail aim to deliver first class items on the next working day but their report for 2023/24 (released May 2024) indicates that only 74.5% of first class mail was delivered next day. We advise that orders may take up to seven working days to arrive. If you need your labels urgently, please contact our Customer Service Team for further assistance.