The history books have closed on this year’s Eurovision Semifinals, and we’ve got our line-up for Saturday Night.
The Winners are:
Austria, Belarus, Finland, Greece, Malta, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, and Switzerland.
And the Draw:
First Half: Austria, Belarus, Greece, Norway, Poland, Romania
Second Half: Finland, Malta, Slovenia, Switzerland
The official running order will be announced a few hours after the Winner’s Press Conference. Here are a few of the other observations noted by the ESC Insight crew tonight during the Second Semifinal:
The Winners were Somewhat Evenly Split Among the Running Order
In a 15-song contest, four songs came from the first 7 while six came from the back 8.
Upbeat and Midtempo Songs Rule
Seven of tonight’s winners could be considered upbeat (Belarus, Finland, Greece, Malta, Poland, Romania, and Switzerland), while only three tended towards a slower tempo (Austria, Norway, and Slovenia). The remaining songs were primarily uptempo.
The 100% Qualifiers continue their Streak
Romania and Greece, the only nations in this semifinal with a flawless qualification record, will continue their streaks for another year.
I’m so upset for Israel at the moment. Mei was stunning on stage and totally deserved to qualify. 🙁
And I have no idea how Romania got through. That was an absolutely shocking mess of a performance, yet people still voted for it?
Israel was my shock non-qualifier this time – I picked 9 out of 10 though!
It was a surprise to see Israel not qualify, but I actually think it was deserved. I was not impressed with the performance at all, and the singing seemed too deep for me. I don’t know if it was supposed to sound like this, but it didn’t sound good to me.
I got 8/10, which is better than my first semi picks (only 7/10). But I’m never really good at the prediction game. 😉
Peter, I’m sorry to say that the draw answers both your questions. Second spot is never good, last always is. The EBU need to to more to iron out the advantages and disadvantages of the running order. Easier said than done I know.
I listened to the lovely Hersi, noted Sam’s (lexically ordered) example, reviewed the performances, and hashed out every consideration I could think of.
I think the underdogs worked out as they should have, but that it was very close at the cutoff.
@Mark:
I agree, 2nd was never going to work against Israel, especially being stuck between Malta and Norway! A place in the last 4 in the running order instead of Slovenia or Romania would have been ideal. Ah well. It wouldn’t be Eurovision without all the what ifs, buts and maybes!
But as you say, fixing the running order problems is always going to be difficult, and would require a strong leader to identify and push those changes through, someone who isn’t going to bend over backwards to accommodate Christer, someone who isn’t happy to let the broadcasters and delegations degrade the contest on a whim…
@Peter
Do you think that DR has bent over backwards to accommodate Christer now? (It’s not an image I want to think about for too long!) They’ve put Sweden after a break, if today’s first rehearsal is an accurate template for tomorrow.
The EBU bent over backwards to accomodate Christer Björkman last year, letting him (or officially SVT) decide the running order himself. DR are just using the possibilities someone else has given them – Björkman was the one who got what he wanted. If it backfires on Sweden a little now … tough luck.