The Dishonesty of Zara Larsson’s “Eurosummer” in 2026 (and Beyond)

Just as the meme that goes something to the effect of, “I know this isn’t the USA Miley was trying to party in” kept circulating after a certain Orange Creature’s second term, the same can be said of Zara Larsson’s “Eurosummer.” As in, “I know this isn’t the Europe Zara was saying ‘this feels like Eurosummer’ about.” Because if the summer of 2026 has told us anything about what the “new” Eurosummer feels like, it isn’t the kind of thing that evokes the carefree sound of Larsson’s song of the same name. That sound very much channeling Vika Jigulina and Edward Maya’s 2009 hit, “Stereo Love.” And yes, when that single came out in 2009 (the same year, incidentally, as “Party in the U.S.A.”), it was actually a period when “Eurosummer,” as Larsson intends it, still existed. Evoking a feeling that fell under the blissed-out category of getting “drunk on a beach, barely/Gettin’ no sleep, tell me/How good is this life?”

Well, to answer that question in the Europe of 2026, the answer is, for a great many: “Not very.” First and foremost being because of, you guessed it, the oppressive heat. With France in particular standing out in the early summer month of June for shattering any previously recorded temperature high. Paris in particular felt the heat at 105.6 °F. So call it 106 at that point. The UK, Germany, Spain and Italy also suffered plenty as well. The latter two being countries being better known for embodying the “Eurosummer” spirit that Larsson seeks to capture on her song. One that conveys the light-heartedness associated with the bygone Europe of the 90s and 2000s as Larsson speaks on the “fling energy” that’s supposed to go hand in hand with a trip to Europe—especially for Americans. And yet, that trope in and of itself doesn’t apply quite as much as it did before, what with European-American relations more strained than they’ve ever been (at least since joining more metaphorical forces in the post-World War II era).

Indeed, most Europeans want nary a thing to do with the “average” American—you know, the one that voted for a certain Orange Creature that’s fucked up the entire world order. And, as part of fucking it up, the Orange Creature withdrew U.S. support from a number of significant climate agreements, including, most notably, the Paris Agreement (this done during both of his terms, with Joe Biden reinstating U.S. participation during his “in-between” term). The effects of which are certainly not helping with the notion of ever again having what Larsson envisions to be a “Eurosummer”—though the rich always seem to find a way. Bypassing the hotter and more fiery areas with their money.

Though, as the media was sure to report on a little too heavily, even George and Amal Clooney weren’t immune to losing their home in the Brignoles wildfire. Though they are immune to the same kind of aftermath that most other people will experience as a result of the wildfires that have swept across not only France (including in the areas of Bordeaux and Gironde), but also large swathes of the UK, Germany, Spain, Greece and Italy. The wreckage is all part and parcel of what increasing temperatures will mean as the summers go on in Europe (a victim of that by now notorious “heat dome” phenomenon that makes it extra Hades-like), hardly embodying the “everything’s easy-breezy” picture that Larsson seeks to paint with lyrics like, “Is it real love?/Maybe/One more EasyJet [this little line being another prime indicator of how having so much fun jetting off “easily” and “cheaply”—but now paying an entirely higher price for it—from one country to another has led Europe to get as hot as it is]/Got my lips sangria red/Smoking skinny cigarettes/Let me live until I’m dead.” A death that might come sooner than expected or desired for some, thanks to these unlivable heatwaves. Of the sort that countries like France and the UK aren’t at all equipped to deal with, not least of which is because the housing in those countries was built to trap in heat for cold winters rather than dispel it for inferno-like summers.

So when Larsson says, “Naked and never sober/This feels like Euro summer,” she’s leaving out the part where the reason one needs to (not wants to) be naked is because it feels like, as Rob Thomas once sang, “seven inches from the midday sun.” All the time. So it is that being “never sober” (although ill-advised because of how important hydration is in extreme heat) isn’t about wanting to have fun and good times, but kind of just wanting to black out in general to ignore how insufferable the temperature is. Which, in turn, affects everything. Not just one’s body—for there are a whole host of heat-related ailments that can arise in ninety-degree-plus (never mind a hundred-degree-plus) weather—but also one’s ability to have any fun whatsoever. Even if their body does manage to “be fine” in extreme heat. Because, for the most part, the “fun in the sun” activities that summer was once so associated with in Europe have now become too dangerous and, of course, too much of a liability. And that’s what Eurosummer feels like now.

Not, as Larsson by way of Shakira on the remix version of “Eurosummer” (from Midnight Sun: Girls Trip) would have one believe, something you would characterize with, “Don’t want this to be over.” Because, in truth, all any European has wanted since summer started is just that: for it to be over. And even Shakira can’t evade mentioning the phrase, “Hot under the sun,” perhaps a testament to how much the temperature already spiked in the small amount of time between the releases of Midnight Sun and Midnight Sun: Girls Trip. Alas, that’s the only touch of “realism” added to the remixed song, with Shakira elsewhere interpreting Larsson’s description of things as Ibiza-centric (and yes, it kind of is), shouting out the island’s name after also mentioning Amalfi (the Italian coast that has turned into its own kind of hellscape thanks to the ever-increasing amounts of tourists that funnel in by the busload and boatload during the summer months).

The Ibiza connection was probably also gleaned by Shakira as a result of Larsson portraying herself as a summer fling (e.g., “I’ll be your girl for two months/You tell your friends I’m too fun”). And, although talking about “summer lovin’” (as Sandy Olsson) when she says, “Nothing lasts forever” (whereas Charli XCX would go on to say “No One Lasts Forever”), it has an ominousness to it when framed against the Eurosummer of ‘26. To drive that point home, just envision this song as the soundtrack to the wildfire and drought time lapse footage from most European countries this year. And, speaking of framing, Larsson also urges at another point, “Frame me, picture in your memory.”

Just as one ought to mentally frame the Europe of the past and picture it only in memory as well (as Larsson seems to be doing with this song). For the present state of things is but a taste of the hell to come, particularly as no one seems keen to make the necessary and swift changes that would adhere to the core tenet of the Paris Agreement: “to limit global warming to well below 2°C, and preferably to 1.5°C, compared to pre-industrial levels.” To paraphrase Larsson, “This feels like a crock of shit.”