The time has come, the shows are about to start. The news keeps coming, and we are giving you some of the best headlines from the last 24 hours in the world of Eurovision
30 years of Australian Eurovision coverage
Whilst everyone is watching this years first semi final, you may be lucky enough to see a little skit regarding Australias’ love for Eurovision. It will be featuring in the ad break, so depending on your local TV station you could see this or may have to wait till the DVD release. Meanwhile, on Australian soil, fans will be able to place their own votes and tweet throughout the contest when it is broadcast on delay this coming Friday. The Australian broadcaster is leading the way in the connection between contest and social media, something many of the European TV stations could learn from in how to better engage their Eurovision audiences.
See what Australia has planned at Tech World
Party for everybody
The show is about to start – in 24 hours we will know our lucky qualifiers and will send 6 acts home from the first semi final. Whilst its not the ‘big show’, there will still be some parties around Europe, many alcoholic drinks consumed and some fingers crossed for the best results for the own home or adopted country. In order to get the party started, events planner to the stars, Steve Duggan, is offering some handy Eurovision Party planning tips.
Read all about how to plan your celebrations with Yahoo UK
And the winner is…
Whilst we have examined a lot of statistics regarding the running order affecting results, ESC Insight have not examined the stats behind the voting patterns. Fortunately we do not need to – pure mathematian Martin O’Leary has done all the hard work for us. This is the first of a series of posts looking at the history of voting for the countries of semi final 1. He also predicts a win for Azerbaijan.
See who is set to qualify from semi 1 here.
Money Money Money
And following on from O’Learys prediction article, we suggest popping over now to lay your bets for Eurovision. Denmark remains the favourite at 2.5/1, but the odds are fast shortening for Russia and Azerbaijan who are currently 4th and 5th behind Ukraine and Norway. Odds are drifting for Italy after yesterdays rehearsal, and whilst Malta is well outside the odds it is a firming as a good outside each way. Meanwhile, our Sharleen is hoping for a new Macbook Air if Germany or Georgia can come through with the goods.
See the latest betting for the contest at Oddschecker