Congratulations and Celebrations
As per usual, we start by looking at tonight’s qualifiers and their history, in order of their announcement:
- Latvia
- Latvia has now made it two on the trot after missing out on every final from 2009 through 2014.
- Georgia
- Tonight marked Georgia’s seventh qualification in nine attempts.
- Bulgaria
- We welcome Bulgaria back into the Finals for the first time since ‘Voda‘ in 2007. In ten attempts, this is only the country’s second time in the Final.
- Australia
- Australia have qualified for the final in their first attempt after last year’s fast-pass to Saturday night.
- Ukraine
- Ukraine continue their 100% qualification record following last year’s withdrawal.
- Serbia
- Tonight was Serbia’s sixth qualification in eight attempts.
- Poland
- After skipping 2012 and 2013, Poland have now qualified for their third consecutive Saturday. They are now 4 for 10 in qualification attempts overall.
- Israel
- Israel have made their second qualification in two years after missing out from 2011 to 2014. Their overall record is six out of twelve.
- Lithuania
- Out of twelve attempts, Lithuania has qualified seven times.
- Belgium
- This is Belgium’s fourth qualification since the semifinal system was put in place. The last time a Flemish Belgian contestant qualified for the Final was in 2010’s ‘Me and My Guitar’.
Order, Order!
Drawing a spot in the First Half are:
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Australia
- Israel
- Poland
Drawing a spot in the Second Half are:
- Georgia
- Ukraine
- Lithuania
- Serbia
- Latvia
Absent Friends
We sadly say goodbye to:
- Switzerland
- This is Switzerland’s second consecutive non-qualification. They are now holding a a record of 3 out of 12 attempts.
- Belarus
- Belarus has now not qualified since 2014, leaving them with a record of 4 out of 13.
- Ireland
- This is now Ireland’s third-consecutive non-qualification. Their current record is now out five of 11 attempts.
- Macedonia
- Macedonia has now failed to qualify every year since Kaliopi’s 2012 appearance. Their record is 5 out of 13.
- Slovenia
- This is Slovenia’s first miss since 2013, making their record 4 out of 13.
- Denmark
- Denmark has now missed out on two years in a row, which marks the first back-to-back contests without the Danes since their 1966-1977 withdrawal. In 11 attempts, they’ve qualified eight times.
- Norway
- This marks Norway’s first miss since 2011’s ‘Haba Haba’. Their record is now seven qualifications out of ten tries.
- Albania
- Albania’s record is now six out of twelve.
Other Tidbits of Information
And here are a few more statistics to keep your trivia-coffers filled this evening:
- Tonight, 5 of this year’s qualifiers were performed in the first half of the Semifinal, with the other 5 performed in the bottom half.
- Out of the three returnees performing in this semifinal, two qualified, with Macedonia not going through.
- There were two bands in this semifinal, and one (Georgia) qualified, with Denmark falling by the wayside.
- Out of the ten female soloists performing tonight, five qualified (Serbia, Australia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and Belgium), with five failing to make the Top Ten (Switzerland, Macedonia, Slovenia, Norway, and Albania).
- Out of the six male soloists tonight, two to qualify (Belarus, Ireland), and four (Latvia, Poland, Israel, Lithuania) continue on to Saturday.
- Songs utilizing other languages in some form faced a 33% elimination rate, as we lose Macedonia.
- Out of the Scandinavian and Nordic nations, only Sweden remains standing for the Final.
- Out of the nations of Former Yugoslavia, only Croatia and Serbia remain.
- Of the former Soviet States, only Moldova, Estonia, and Belarus have been eliminated, leaving seven other nations in the region.