AdamAloud

Rylan won't be commentating tonight in the UK as he is unwell, taking his place... S5ELv2Zyxc4 RXxu4SWCkas

Romania, Ukraine and Malta all got second go's in tonight's jury due to technical issues.

So really, I can see a path to the final for all of these, some of them are very narrow paths, but I can't really rule anyone out as a definite non-qualifier in this selection. But for some predictions I'm going to say... 01. Lithuania: 'Discoteque' by The Roop 02. Slovenia: 'Amen' by Ana Soklič 03. Russia: 'Russian Woman' by Manizha 04. Sweden: 'Voices' by Tusse 05. Australia: 'Technicolour' by Montaigne 06. North Macedonia: 'Here I Stand' by Vasil 07. Ireland: 'Maps' by Lesley Roy 08. Cyprus: 'El Diablo' by Elena Tsagrinou 09. Norway: 'Fallen Angel' by TIX 10. Croatia: 'Tick-Tock' by Albina 11. Belgium: 'The Wrong Place' by Hooverphonic 12. Israel: 'Set Me Free' by Eden Alene 13. Romania: 'Amnesia' by Roxen 14. Azerbaijan: 'Mata Hari' by Efendi 15. Ukraine: 'Shum' by Go_A 16. Malta: 'Je me casse' by Destiny

It's been two years since Duncan Laurence took victory for The Netherlands with the now viral smash 'Arcade'. Nobody quite knew how the journey to Rotterdam would unfold on that night in May 2019. And whilst I'm sure the journey to the next host city, wherever that may be for 2022, will be filled with a similar shadow of uncertainty and irregularity, we can for one week only, pause and enjoy the wonderful delight and utter fabulousness that is the Eurovision Song Contest. Every year I feel we say this is the 'semi of death'. But really, this is the semi of DEATH! 16 countries are participating for 10 spots in Saturday's grand final. Australia, for reasons obvious to everyone, cannot be in Rotterdam so will be using the 'live on tape' back-up performance every participating country had to record back in February and March in the unfortunate event they were also not able to travel to The Netherlands. The other 15 countries will hopefully be performing live on stage in the Ahoy Arena. 01. Lithuania: 'Discoteque' by The Roop 02. Slovenia: 'Amen' by Ana Soklič 03. Russia: 'Russian Woman' by Manizha 04. Sweden: 'Voices' by Tusse 05. Australia: 'Technicolour' by Montaigne 06. North Macedonia: 'Here I Stand' by Vasil 07. Ireland: 'Maps' by Lesley Roy 08. Cyprus: 'El Diablo' by Elena Tsagrinou 09. Norway: 'Fallen Angel' by TIX 10. Croatia: 'Tick-Tock' by Albina 11. Belgium: 'The Wrong Place' by Hooverphonic 12. Israel: 'Set Me Free' by Eden Alene 13. Romania: 'Amnesia' by Roxen 14. Azerbaijan: 'Mata Hari' by Efendi 15. Ukraine: 'Shum' by Go_A 16. Malta: 'Je me casse' by Destiny p3H4FIP1z5s Use this thread in the run up to tomorrow night's live show, make your last minute predictions, what are the odds saying? And I know that you all will be, but just remember, the artists, delegations and organisers have done SO MUCH to make this possible, so whilst opinions and discussion are encouraged, be kind x

This carpet event... the mixing in such a small space, the lack of masks and distancing. EBU...

Romania and Malta are skipping the opening ceremony now as they are staying at the same hotel as Poland and Iceland. Honestly this turquoise carpet seems so unnecessary?

And now a member of the Icelandic delegation has tested positive.

I actually think the UK is going to do better on the usual Ireland/Malta/Australia televote than with the juries this year. I mean, if 'La Venda' could only get 1 measly jury point...

A member of the Polish delegation has tested positive for COVID-19, meaning Poland will miss the Turquoise Carpet tomorrow, and possibly have to use the back-up tape performance in the semi final.

BgjBc-6jJoU Welcome back to the top 10 Greece!

Russia topping the press poll on Day 1, Ukraine on Day 2. What a fabulous start!

Outstanding 01 / Russia: Manizha - Russian Woman 02 / Ukraine: Go_A - Shum What a song 'Russian Woman' is! Manizha is an incredible artist, possibly my favourite to be at Eurovision in a long time? I loved 'Shum' from the beginning but it did drop down a bit as more songs were released but after last weekend's Spanish pre-party, it's shot straight back up. I'm so fearful for both of these not qualifying because I can really see the juries tanking both of them. Amazing 03 / San Marino: Senhit - Adrenalina 04 / Serbia: Hurricane - Loco Loco 05 / Malta: Destiny - Je me casse 06 / Moldova: Natalia Gordienko - Sugar 07 / Croatia: Albina - Tick-Tock 08 / Germany: Jendrik - I Don't Feel Hate 09 / Lithuania: The Roop - Discoteque 10 / Cyprus: Elena Tsagrinou - El Diablo 11 / Czech Republic: Benny Cristo - Omaga 12 / Greece: Stefania - Last Dance 13 / Ireland: Lesley Roy - Maps BOP CENTRAL *.* This is like 2008/2009 levels of Eurotrash and I'm so here for it. Germany has dropped a bit, I think the novelty of it is starting to wear off for me a little, but I'm confident the live performance will make me love it all over again. Great 14 / Iceland: Daði og Gagnamagnið - 10 Years 15 / Australia: Montaigne - Technicolour 16 / Israel: Eden Alene - Set Me Free 17 / Azerbaijan: Efendi - Mata Hari 18 / Italy: Måneskin - Zitti e buoni 19 / Finland: Blind Channel - Dark Side 20 / Albania: Anxhela Peristeri - Karma 21 / The Netherlands: Jeangu Macrooy - Birth Of A New Age 22 / Belgium: Hooverphonic - The Wrong Place All brilliant entries, I just find myself going back to my top 13 a little more often. Decent 23 / Estonia: Uku Suviste - The Lucky One 24 / United Kingdom: James Newman - Embers 25 / Poland: Rafał - The Ride 26 / Denmark: Fyr og Flamme - Øve os på hinanden Perfectly fine, I don't expect any of them to be on the left side of the board though, unless they can pull off a spectacular performance. But in studio form, they're cute. OK/Wrong Year 27 / Spain: Blas Cantó - Voy a quedarme 28 / Romania: Roxen - Amensia 29 / Switzerland: Gjon's Tears - Tout l'univers 30 / Sweden: Tusse - Voices 31 / Norway: TIX - Fallen Angel 32 / Latvia: Samanta Tīna - The Moon Is Rising 33 / France: Barbara Pravi - Voilà 34 / Bulgaria: VICTORIA - growing up is getting old This is a mixed bag for me. A couple of these I really feel I'd be all over in other years, especially Switzerland. But I'm just not really here for ballads this year. When one of Switzerland, France or Bulgaria come on in a playlist in a couple of years time they'll probably hit me and become some of my post-favourites from the year. But in the here and now, I'm not actively seeking them out to listen to. Definitely not this year 35 / Slovenia: Ana Soklič - Amen 36 / Austria: Vincent Bueno - Amen 37 / Portugal: The Black Mamba - Love Is On My Side 38 / North Macedonia: Vasil - Here I Stand 39 / Georgia: Tornike Kipiani - You All very competent artists but yeah, there are far better ballads to put through to give the final some 'rise and fall' shall we say in the running order than any of these.

What a list! *.* Fully backing an Ulrikke victory here!

h3Eg2PyByBQ I'm SO glad Little Big didn't get an automatic pass, this song and her are everything *.*

Still Breathing, what a moment that was *.*

MtYzTJnczyI It seems incredibly naive of the EBU looking back that they thought Lebanon and Israel could take part in the same contest together.

In my humble opinion the running orders seem kinda shit on first glance.

jHlrR-4Ga4U All the live on tape performances will be shown in the Eurovision Song Celebration on the 29th May AND Krista Siegfrids is hosting a behind the scenes show on YouTube!

Amazing 01 / Russia: Manizha - Russian Woman 02 / Germany: Jendrik - I Don't Feel Hate 03 / Malta: Destiny - Je me casse 04 / San Marino: Senhit - Adrenalina 05 / Croatia: Albina - Tick-Tock 06 / Serbia: Hurricane - Loco Loco 07 / Moldova: Natalia Gordienko - Sugar 08 / Lithuania: The Roop - Discoteque 09 / Ukraine: Go_A - Shum 10 / Czech Republic: Benny Cristo - Omaga 11 / Greece: Stefania - Last Dance 12 / The Netherlands: Jeangu Macrooy - Birth Of A New Age 13 / Switzerland: Gjon's Tears - Tout l'univers 14 / Albania: Anxhela Peristeri - Karma 15 / Finland: Blind Channel - Dark Side 16 / Italy: Måneskin - Zitti e buoni 17 / Ireland: Lesley Roy - Maps Great 18 / Sweden: Tusse - Voices 19 / Belgium: Hooverphonic - The Wrong Place 20 / Cyprus: Elena Tsagrinou - El Diablo 21 / Israel: Eden Alene - Set Me Free 22 / Azerbaijan: Efendi - Mata Hari 23 / United Kingdom: James Newman - Embers 24 / Iceland: Daði og Gagnamagnið - 10 Years 25 / Australia: Montaigne - Technicolour Good 26 / Spain: Blas Cantó - Voy a quedarme 27 / Romania: Roxen - Amensia 28 / Estonia: Uku Suviste - The Lucky One 29 / Norway: TIX - Fallen Angel 30 / Poland: Rafał - The Ride 31 / Denmark: Fyr og Flamme - Øve os på hinanden OK 32 / Latvia: Samanta Tīna - The Moon Is Rising 33 / Slovenia: Ana Soklič - Amen 34 / Austria: Vincent Bueno - Amen 35 / Bulgaria: VICTORIA - growing up is getting old Meh 36 / France: Barbara Pravi - Voilà 37 / Portugal: The Black Mamba - Love Is On My Side 38 / North Macedonia: Vasil - Here I Stand 39 / Georgia: Tornike Kipiani - You What a year! *.*

FFS Belarus, Manizha just lost 24 crucial points!!!

I definitely think it's more likely to go through than not, although Tamta only came 9th in the semi and with Greece in semi 2 they're down 24 points before they start so I can see an, albeit unlikely, scenario where it turns out to be the fan fave flop of the year.

Semi 1 01. Malta 02. Lithuania 03. Sweden 04. Belgium 05. Russia 06. Ireland 07. Romania 08. Cyprus 09. Norway 10. Ukraine 11. Azerbaijan 12. Croatia 13. Slovenia 14. Australia 15. North Macedonia 16. Israel None of these feel dead on arrival? Eden is a fierce live performer so it seems ridiculous to have her last but like Lex said, it could be a case of accidental last. But with the revamp coming it could also quite easily knock Croatia/Azerbaijan/Cyprus down to accidental last. On the flip side I'm only confident of my top 3 qualifying at the moment, such a close semi! Semi 2 01. Switzerland 02. Iceland 03. San Marino 04. Finland 05. Bulgaria 06. Czech Republic 07. Greece 08. Moldova 09. Estonia 10. Albania 11. Denmark 12. Poland 13. Serbia 14. Austria 15. Portugal 16. Georgia 17. Latvia I think the bottom 3 I've put here will need a miracle to get to Saturday night, Vincent has the advantage of being the sole ballad in a VERY uptempo first half so perhaps he could do it especially if the juries go for it but I'm yet to be convinced. I'm already preparing for a Hurricane DNQ, they've got very few neighbours to help them through. The top 8 I'm pretty certain on making it through at the moment.

I think we're in for another 2011 in that the 12's will be flying all over the place and an entry that can sneak those 6/7/8's consistently will swoop in and take it. So, Sweden? I don't see it for Bulgaria at ALL. Everybody I showed 'Tears Getting Sober' too last year hated it and 'Growing Up Is Getting Old' isn't as good as that!

ALBANIA: Karma (Anxhela Peristeri) AUSTRALIA: Technicolour (Montaigne) AUSTRIA: Alive (Vincent Bueno) AZERBAIJAN: Cleopatra (Efendi) BELARUS: Da vidna (VAL) BELGIUM: The Wrong Place (Hooverphonic) BULGARIA: Tears Getting Sober (Victoria) CROATIA: Tick-Tock (Albina) - Really close as I loved Damir last year. CYPRUS: El Diablo (Elena Tsagrinou) CZECH REPUBLIC: Omaga (Benny Cristo) DENMARK: Yes (Ben & Tan) ESTONIA: The Lucky One (Uku Suviste) FINLAND: Dark Side (Blind Channel) FRANCE: Voilà (Barbara Pravi) GEORGIA: Take Me as I Am (Tornike Kipiani) GERMANY: I Don't Feel Hate (Jendrik) - SORRY! GREECE: Last Dance (Stefania) ICELAND: 10 Years (Daði og Gagnamagnið) IRELAND: Maps (Lesley Roy) ISRAEL: Feker libi (Eden Alene) ITALY: Fai rumore (Diodato) LATVIA: Still Breathing (Samanta Tīna) LITHUANIA: Discoteque (The Roop) MALTA: Je Me Casse (Destiny) MOLDOVA: Sugar (Natalia Gordienko) NETHERLANDS: Birth of a New Age (Jeangu Macrooy) NORTH MACEDONIA: You (Vasil) - Not mad on either tbh. NORWAY: Attention (Ulrikke) - I'm not mad at Tix winning, but I'm gutted for Ulrikke, 'Falling Apart' would've made a great entry. POLAND: Empires (Alicja) PORTUGAL: Medo de sentir (Elisa) ROMANIA: Amnesia (Roxen) RUSSIA: Russian Woman (Manizha) - The closest one, but this is challening Jendrik for my favourite entry of the year atm. SAN MARINO: Adrenalina (Senhit ft. Flo Rida) SERBIA: Hasta La Vista (Hurricane) - Loco Loco is fabulous, just missed out by a whisker to Hasta la Vista. SLOVENIA: Voda (Ana Soklič) SPAIN: Universo (Blas Cantó) SWEDEN: Move (The Mamas) SWITZERLAND: Tout l'Univers (Gjon's Tears) UKRAINE: Shum (Go_A) UNITED KINGDOM: Embers (James Newman) 2020: 17 2021: 23

For semi 1, Belarus can go 2nd if they end up competing. 01. Australia - Montaigne - Technicolour 02. North Macedonia - Vasil - Here I Stand 03. Ireland - Lesley Roy - Maps 04. Lithuania - The Roop - Discoteque 05. Slovenia - Ana Soklic - Amen 06. Russia - Manizha - Russian Woman 07. Sweden - Tusse - Voices 08. Cyprus - Elena Tsagrinou - El Diablo 09. Belgium - Hooverphonic - The Wrong Place 10. Israel - Eden Alene - Set Me Free 11. Romania - Roxen - Amnesia 12. Croatia - Albina - Tick Tock 13. Norway - Tix - Fallen Angel 14. Azerbaijan - Efendi - Mata Hari 15. Ukraine - Go_A - Shum 16. Malta - Destiny - Je me casse