Facts: The starting field in the semi-finals
1. Norway: Alessandra – “Queen of kings“
2. Malta: The Busker – “Dance (our own party)“
3. Serbia: Luke Black – “Samo mi se spava“
4. Latvia: Sudden Lights – “Aijā“
5. Portugal: Mimic “Ai coração“
6. Ireland: Wild Youth – “We are one“
7. Croatia: Let 3 – “Mama ŠČ!”
8. Switzerland: Remo Forrer – “Watergun“
9. Israel: Noa Kirel – “Unicorn“
10. Moldova: Pasha Parfeni – “Soarele şi luna“
11. Sweden: Loreen – “Tattoo”
12. Azerbaijan: Tural Turan X – “Tell me more“
13. Czech Republic: Vesna – “My sister’s crown“
14. Netherlands: Mia Nicolai & Dion Cooper – “Burning daylight“
15. Finland: Käärijä – “Cha Cha Cha“
The three presenters Alesha Dixon, Hannah Waddingham and Julia Sanina welcome viewers from across Europe – and Australia – to Liverpool and the 67th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest.
— Buckle up, because it’s going to be a wild ride, says Hannah Waddingham.
This year Great Britain, who came second in last year’s ESC, is co-hosting the event with Ukraine. This is evident, among other things, in the fact that a British boy and a Ukrainian girl dance together on stage in the opening ceremony, and in the presenter Julia Sanina singing in Ukrainian.
Loreen’s contribution “Tattoo” has been the favorite ever since she won the Swedish Melodifestivalen at the beginning of March and most expect her to walk straight to the final on Saturday.
The interest in the Swedish artist has been massive from the European press. However, Loreen has had to shrink her stage construction, which in the Swedish Melodifestivalen weighed 1.8 tons, to a significantly smaller version in the ESC.
In tonight’s semi-final, she faces the two other favourites, Finland’s Käärijäs “cha cha cha” and Norway’s Alessandras “Queen of kings”.
Käärijä’s mix of metal and rap in Finnish is seen as the real contender for the victory in the competition, but the artist’s nerves have caused it during the rehearsals: during the genre rehearsal on Monday, he had trouble hitting the notes.
France favorite
In the waves after the Nordic top battle, acts such as Croatian anti-Putin song “Mama ŠČ!”, Czech feminist song “My sister’s crown” and Israel’s spiritual “Unicorn” are tipped to make it to the finals.
Countries from the “big five”, i.e. Great Britain, Italy, France, Germany and Spain, do not have to qualify via the semi-finals.
Italy, France and Germany can be seen in tonight’s broadcast, where French La Zarra’s Edith Piaf-scented “Évidemment” is currently third among the betting companies to take home the entire ESC – after Loreen and Käärijä, who are first and second.