Eurovision Grand Final Running Order Announced Written by
Ewan Spence on
May 22, 2015 | 8 Comments
Analysis to follow (it is rather late here), but let the discussions begin in the comments. Here is the running order for the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final, as detailed by Eurovision.tv:
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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Have Your Say
8 responses to “Eurovision Grand Final Running Order Announced”
What’s interesting is they’ve opted to end on a strong note, rather than mingle Italy, Russia, Spain, Azerbaijan and Georgia they’ve left them towards the end. This effectively means we are left with a no man’s land/death zone/world’s longest toilet break between songs 14 – 20.
Bottom line: It’s the 2011 final all over again. We don’t know how this will impact Sweden, there’s no precedent.
But it does come down to Sweden, Russia and Italy. One will fail, one will fall at the final hurdle and the last one standing should be our winner.
Looking at this I would have to say this is basically Russia’s for the taking. With Norway, Sweden and Australia so early on and Italy as the last, the “Million Voices” will probably make the greatest impact. I would hope that the “Magic of the Balkans” do come to the rescue and would see Montenegro Save the day or Something out of left field like Belgium or Latvia who are actually on a very good spot.(Two out of the winners the last 10 years came from Position 19)
This is a very interesting draw. If I were France, Albania and Italy I’d be upset–if I want any chance of a win (Italy) or top 10 (France and Albania) Will the curse of 26 be now the curse of 27 or both 26 and 27?
I think this shows that Belgium, Sweden, Australia, Russia and maybe the Azeris are in the hunt. Wildcard is Latvia methinks.
Now that we’re in the cold light of day and I’ve had some sleep, things are slightly clearer.
As per the bookies Russia, Sweden, Italy, Belgium and Estonia are in the running. My wildcard is Spain.
Estonia appears too far back in the running order to make an impact in a ballad heavy final. I’m ruling them out. Belgium too is good, but I do think it’s left of field to actually gather enough votes to win. But I’d expect to see them in the top 5, maybe 7 on a bad night.
Italy is too high brow and too late in the running order to win. It may still top the jury vote, but I’d expect at best 5th in the televote, leaving them around 3rd or 4th.
That leaves Russia and Sweden. My head says Sweden are strong enough to win from 10th. My heart says Russia is my favourite song and is really well positioned to pick up televotes.
This time around, I will post my TOP 14 prediction (left hand side of tomorrow’s scoreboard) of the 60th #Eurovision Song Contest grand final….before the jury-rehearsal. Smart? Not really. But hey, it’s also fun to see what happens ;-):
01. SWEDEN (gold)
02. BELGIUM (silver)
03. RUSSIA (bronze)
——————————————–
04. LATVIA (3rd runner-up)
05. AUSTRALIA (4th runner-up)
——————————————–
06. Estonia
07. Georgia
08. Norway
09. Israel
10. Italy
======================
11. Slovenia
12. Azerbaijan
13. Austria
14. Romania
After this prediction I will make no changes anymore. Perhaps only France and Cyprus can surprise for the TOP 14, but I’m not sure. This is it ;-)!
I’m almost certain its between Sweden, Russia and Italy for the win (which is where I came in in March) but I don’t know which. Will the Western nations not give Russia sufficient votes or will Russia’s friends hold firm while the Western vote is splintered? Is Italy too late in the order or is it just the kind of rousing finale the contest needs? Ewan, I need your Saturday podcast to help me make up my mind! For the other top 5 places Belgium and Australia looks most likely, with Latvia, Estonia, Norway and less certainly, Spain and Serbia completing the top 10. If I was to put money on the win I would still say Sweden, but its not looking so clear cut as it was a few weeks ago. For last place, it’s difficult to see beyond the dear old UK. (Yet more ‘proof’ for Messrs Wogan and Farage that these foreigners have got it in for us).
I wish the EBU would think of something to minimise ‘draw drag’, so that each song had an equal chance of it’s success regardless of its position on the final.
One step would be to have fewer finalists. It’s asking way too much (even for the juries) to expect everyone to make a reasoned decision after 27 consecutive performances.
What’s interesting is they’ve opted to end on a strong note, rather than mingle Italy, Russia, Spain, Azerbaijan and Georgia they’ve left them towards the end. This effectively means we are left with a no man’s land/death zone/world’s longest toilet break between songs 14 – 20.
Bottom line: It’s the 2011 final all over again. We don’t know how this will impact Sweden, there’s no precedent.
But it does come down to Sweden, Russia and Italy. One will fail, one will fall at the final hurdle and the last one standing should be our winner.
Looking at this I would have to say this is basically Russia’s for the taking. With Norway, Sweden and Australia so early on and Italy as the last, the “Million Voices” will probably make the greatest impact. I would hope that the “Magic of the Balkans” do come to the rescue and would see Montenegro Save the day or Something out of left field like Belgium or Latvia who are actually on a very good spot.(Two out of the winners the last 10 years came from Position 19)
Something in my gut tells me this is not a foregone conclusion for winner. I am starting to think and talk myself into a Belgian win.
This is a very interesting draw. If I were France, Albania and Italy I’d be upset–if I want any chance of a win (Italy) or top 10 (France and Albania) Will the curse of 26 be now the curse of 27 or both 26 and 27?
I think this shows that Belgium, Sweden, Australia, Russia and maybe the Azeris are in the hunt. Wildcard is Latvia methinks.
Now that we’re in the cold light of day and I’ve had some sleep, things are slightly clearer.
As per the bookies Russia, Sweden, Italy, Belgium and Estonia are in the running. My wildcard is Spain.
Estonia appears too far back in the running order to make an impact in a ballad heavy final. I’m ruling them out. Belgium too is good, but I do think it’s left of field to actually gather enough votes to win. But I’d expect to see them in the top 5, maybe 7 on a bad night.
Italy is too high brow and too late in the running order to win. It may still top the jury vote, but I’d expect at best 5th in the televote, leaving them around 3rd or 4th.
That leaves Russia and Sweden. My head says Sweden are strong enough to win from 10th. My heart says Russia is my favourite song and is really well positioned to pick up televotes.
This time around, I will post my TOP 14 prediction (left hand side of tomorrow’s scoreboard) of the 60th #Eurovision Song Contest grand final….before the jury-rehearsal. Smart? Not really. But hey, it’s also fun to see what happens ;-):
01. SWEDEN (gold)
02. BELGIUM (silver)
03. RUSSIA (bronze)
——————————————–
04. LATVIA (3rd runner-up)
05. AUSTRALIA (4th runner-up)
——————————————–
06. Estonia
07. Georgia
08. Norway
09. Israel
10. Italy
======================
11. Slovenia
12. Azerbaijan
13. Austria
14. Romania
After this prediction I will make no changes anymore. Perhaps only France and Cyprus can surprise for the TOP 14, but I’m not sure. This is it ;-)!
I’m almost certain its between Sweden, Russia and Italy for the win (which is where I came in in March) but I don’t know which. Will the Western nations not give Russia sufficient votes or will Russia’s friends hold firm while the Western vote is splintered? Is Italy too late in the order or is it just the kind of rousing finale the contest needs? Ewan, I need your Saturday podcast to help me make up my mind! For the other top 5 places Belgium and Australia looks most likely, with Latvia, Estonia, Norway and less certainly, Spain and Serbia completing the top 10. If I was to put money on the win I would still say Sweden, but its not looking so clear cut as it was a few weeks ago. For last place, it’s difficult to see beyond the dear old UK. (Yet more ‘proof’ for Messrs Wogan and Farage that these foreigners have got it in for us).
I wish the EBU would think of something to minimise ‘draw drag’, so that each song had an equal chance of it’s success regardless of its position on the final.
One step would be to have fewer finalists. It’s asking way too much (even for the juries) to expect everyone to make a reasoned decision after 27 consecutive performances.