It so happens that the Eurovison grand finale takes place during a holiday weekend in the U.S. This would be great, except I’m spending the weekend in a hotel with a mediocre Internet connection. I am uncertain of my ability to watch the finale live, which disappoints me. I was also inflight during the second semi-final and have only just caught up with watching the performances.
These are the ten countries who made it into the grand finale. They are listed in the order they were announced, but this does not reflect the number of votes, which remains unknown.
- Lithuania
- Bosnia & Herzegovina
- Serbia
- Ukraine
- Sweden
- Macedonia
- Norway
- Estonia
- Malta
- Turkey
I am very pleased that all the second semi-finalists in my top ten list made it through: Sweden, Malta and Estonia. I wasn’t so pleased about Turkey. One of my least favorite songs. I don’t know how that one squeaked by. I’m pretty much fine with the rest of the list, though I wish Donny Montell of Lithuania would lose the bling blindfold. It looks so cheesy.
For me, there were three standout performances of the show.
Kurt Calleja, representing Malta with This Is The Night
Great energy. Loved his stage presence. He sounded great and the band was tight, even with their dance movements.
Tooji, representing Norway with Stay
Another energetic performance. He and the dancers looked like they were having a great time up there. Very entertaining.
Gaitana, represending Ukraine with Be My Guest
I didn’t love the wreath of roses in her hair. Other than that, she sounded great. This song was an early favorite of mine. I particularly liked the dancers on the screens in the background. Nice choreography.
Loreen from Sweden and Ott Lepland from Estonia remain in my top three. Ott’s seemed nervous, so I’m hoping he shakes off those nerves and wows us in the finale. Loreen looked and sounded great, but nothing I haven’t seen from her before. I’m hoping she does something different for the finale.
The grand finale will air today, May 25, at 21:00 CET (Central Europe Time). If you can’t watch it on TV, you can stream it online at Eurovision TV.
12 points to Sweden! I believe “Euphoria” will win the night. However, I’ll still be pleased if Nina Zilli of Italy or Ott Lepland of Estonia win instead.
If Jedward wins… well, at least Ireland won’t be sending them back again. Or will they?
Enjoy the show!
Lori Writer 