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Snap Thoughts on Semi Final 2 Written by on May 12, 2011 | 3 Comments

So, what do we make of the Thursday show? To be honest it was a bit bland. The songs that we expected to go through did go through and the failures decided it would be a good night to fail.

The main “shock” or at least the headlines will be the loss of Dana International, now the only returning lead artist to have failed to qualify out of the modern semi-finals and get to the Saturday night show. Expect a post-mortem of diva like proportions in the Israeli delegation. Maybe attending all your press conferences next year would be a good idea?

And Sweden can put down Anna Bergendahl as an aberration, and stop the rot with Eric Saade delivering on the promises made by the Manboy last year.

The Qualifiers and Running Order

  • Bosnia (slot of death, running second)
  • Denmark (running 3rd)
  • Ireland (running 6th)
  • Sweden (running 7th)
  • Estonia (running 8th)
  • Moldova (running 15th)
  • Romania (running 17th)
  • Austria (running 18th)
  • Slovenia (running 20th)
  • Ukraine (running 23rd)

We’ve bounced around the full running order here with the ESC Insight team and all we can come up with is the more powerful songs are running early, and the songs that needed a boost from a late running position are all running late. To be honest this is such a balanced draw that we’re struggling to spot any clear winners.

But to give some punditry, Slovenia are probably the best placed from these qualifiers, Ukraine is going to be a wildcard and depend a lot on ho Mika manages to sing, and Ireland have a tough call. the last time a country won from 6th?

1957.

About The Author: Ewan Spence

British Academy (BAFTA) nominated broadcaster and writer Ewan Spence is the voice behind The Unofficial Eurovision Song Contest Podcast and one of the driving forces behind ESC Insight. Having had an online presence since 1994, he is a noted commentator around the intersection of the media, internet, technology, mobility and how it affects us all. Based in Edinburgh, Scotland, his work has appeared on the BBC, The Stage, STV, and The Times. You can follow Ewan on Twitter (@ewan) and Facebook (facebook.com/ewanspence).

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3 responses to “Snap Thoughts on Semi Final 2”

  1. Daniel Wright says:

    Thank you Ewan for calming my anger at Ireland qualifying by letting me know the last 6th place winner was in the 2nd contest…phew!
    Preferably i would want them to end up on the right side of the scoreboard below Blue.
    As for the when the semi results are revealed i want them to be number 8 or 9 of qualifiers or as close to relegation as possible.

  2. Zolan says:

    Relieved that Austria got through.
    Moldova is a nice bonus, too.
    I won’t begrudge Ukraine recognition for bringing a genuinely new element into the performance.

    Mysterious Stranger got 7/10.
    It seems that many pundits have been let down by their own pessimism this year. I think everyone has had at least one pleasant surprise.

    Another good result for Eurovision, overall.

  3. Matthias says:

    For me Azerbaijan is the winner of the draw.
    Out of the favs to win they have the best spot.

    I really love the trashline
    Hungary-jedward- sweden-Estonia
    they propably kill each other and will split the votes

    France draw got better IMO, because the most other favs
    are between 1-10
    german draw got better by having filler song around
    (someone has to end up between 15-25)

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