The most exciting week of the year for all Eurofans around the world, the Eurovision week, has officially begun!
The preparations are heated in Malmö Arena so that everything will be set for the Live Shows: The First Semi-Final on May 7th, the Second Semi-Final on May 9th and the Grand Final on May 11th, at 9:00pm CET! EurovisionFun will be watching the rehearsals from both the on-site and the online Press Center to give you a taste of what to expect on the upcoming live shows.
Ensuing the Dress Rehearsal of the First Semi-Final which occurred earlier today, it is time for the Jury Show, where the 15 competing acts, plus –for the first time- the United Kingdom, Germany and Sweden will take the stage! It is noteworthy that, although the finalists are determined by 100% televote, the national juries are casting their votes tonight as well. This happens in case technical issues arise tomorrow during the live show and a country cannot produce a valid televote result.
This article gets real-time updated, therefore in order to view the commentary, all you need to do is simply refresh the page!
The show
And the show begins! We see a video of previous winners, from ABBA to Duncan Laurence. Then, the stage is revealed as Eleni Foureira (Cyprus 2018) is bringing her fuego and is performing a slightly different, more oriental version of her Eurovision entry. Up next, it is Eric Saade (Sweden 2011), singing a different version of his song “Popular”. Lastly, Chanel from Spain is taking the stage and is performing her “SloMo”, once again with minor changes. What a start!
Our hosts appear: Petra Mede, who is no stranger to the Eurovision Song Contest as she has hosted the Contest in 2013 and in 2016 as well and Malin Åkerman, a renowned Swedish actress, dressed in neon orange and pink respectively, matching with the background colours.
They are explaining the voting rules and process and we hear the long-awaited “Let the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 begin”!
The competing countries- LIVE COMMENTARY
01. Cyprus: Silia Kapsis – Liar
The semi final opens with the most dynamic way possible! In the beginning, the background is black, which makes great contrast with Silia’s white outfit. During the performance, we see teal water/smoke-like patterns on the floor and on the back screen and in the end, the lights turn red. Silia’s vocals are stable and full of confidence, despite her dancing for three minutes straight. What an opener for the competitive part of the Contest!
02. Serbia: Teya Dora – Ramonda
We set the tones down now with Serbia. One of the most powerful ballads this year and definitely one of the most haunting voices. An atmospheric setting in gray lighting, with the big rock in the middle. There are some rapid changes with the lights and lightning strikes as the song builds up and in the end, some purple emerges. Such a classy entry.
03. Lithuania: Silvester Belt – Luktelk
Not much has changed for Lithuania staging-wise. But why change something that already works? A very 2024 performance, with the lights turning red and blue and these colours blend in during the dance break. A solid, polished entry and Silvester seems to truly live the moments on stage!
04. Ireland: Bambie Thug – Doomsday Blue
This is how you stage such a song! The beginning is dark, with Bambie sitting down and being surrounded by candles and on the floor LED, there is a pentagram. They are accompanied by a dancer. During the “singing” part, the background is changing and is showing a moon in baby blue and pink colours. In the middle, there is an outfit change as well, from black to blue and pink. During the bridge, the lighting is red and in the end, there’s lot of fire!
Break
United Kingdom: Olly Alexander – Dizzy (not competing)
The first of the Big5 that will perform tonight! At the start, Olly is upside down, accompanied by 4 male dancers. The camera is tilting during the chorus and as the bridge kicks in, the light turns red. It feels as if we are watching a video clip on stage! At the last chorus, they get out of the “box” and there is lots of pyro and smoke. A very sensual performance I must say.
05. Ukraine: alyona alyona & Jerry Heil – Teresa & Maria
At the start, the lighting has a golden hue and on the floor there is a water visual. Jerry Heil begins to climb on the prop and there is wind, which makes the atmosphere even more haunting. As Alyona begins to rap, the colours turn to black and white. Then, it is golden again and in the end, both are laying on the ground, with the LED floor showing a picture of many women. It is like a Renaissance painting!
06. Poland: Luna – The Tower
Typical Polish extravaganza when it comes to staging. There’s a moon on the background, there are towers on stage, a red horse, a dancer dressed in white, another one in red and lastly, one in black. I find the vocals a bit weak to be honest. In the end we see some pyro. This performance definitely has everything!
07. Croatia: Baby Lasagna – Rim Tim Tagi Dim
A burst of colours! Neon pink, green, smoke, pyro, flames, every possible element in use and they all make sense! Vocally, he has definitely improved and he seems fully confident. During the last chorus, we could hear the audience screaming “OHH”! So much “wow” factor in a performance!
08. Iceland: Hera Björk – Scared Of Heights
Hera is back! Such a charismatic performer, she is shining in her golden outfit, similar colours prevail on her overall staging. After the first chorus, she gets down her stairs and on the background we see shadows of her dancing. During the bridge the light turns red and she is elevated on her stairs again. She is definitely not scared of heights!
Break
Germany: ISAAK – Always On The Run (not competing)
Isaak is sitting down on a chair with fire close to him. And flames commence as they are all around him. Vocals-wise, he is of course very solid, with a slight raspiness, adding some dynamic to his performance. The flames are put out after the bridge, which turns the viewer’s attentions from the staging to Isaak.
09. Slovenia: Raiven – Veronika
Raiven is sitting on the floor, with a dark blue backdrop and smoke. Then the dancers appear, dancing very close to her and wearing outfits which give off the impression that they are naked. In the end, the floor turns blue as well. Vocally, she is strong.
10. Finland: Windows95man – No Rules!
The infamous egg is the first thing we witness on stage, with the singer standing on it and after the first chorus, he comes down. Much smoke on stage in the beginning. After the bridge, there is jean shorts coming down from the ceiling, where there is pyro coming from during the last chorus. A memorable performance, especially if we take into account Windows95man’s outfit, before he puts on the shorts…
11. Moldova: Natalia Barbu – In The Middle
Natalia is wearing a white gown and vocally, she is great. The colours of the LEDs are beautiful: purple and blue hues as we see behind her white birds flying, a purple tree and butterflies on the cubes. During the violin bridge, wings appear on the background and after that, the stage turns golden with aesthetically pleasing patterns.
Sweden: Marcus & Martinus – Unforgettable (not competing)
The last of tonight’s automatic qualifiers to perform, the host country Sweden! It is pretty much the same as their national final performance, which is aptly translated on the big Eurovision stage. In the beginning, the twins are alone and as the chorus is kicking in, the dancers appear. There are some visuals on the cubes as well. Overall, a very well-curated performance by the host country!
12. Azerbaijan: Fahree feat. Ilkin Dovlatov – Özünlə apar
What we see in the beginning is a beautiful landscape with mountains and water in gray. From the water there is a person emerging, very futuristic-like. There are some purple hues every here and there. Their outfits have something futuristic as well, almost sci-fi. As the song comes to an end, both of the singers stand in between of the huge hands on the stage.
13. Australia: Electric Fields – One Mikali (One Blood)
A celestial backdrop, nova-like, full of colours! At some point, the dancers appear and accompany Zaachariaha, whose voice is so lively. We also see Electric Fields on the LED screen, before they merge into a nova-like visual as well. The traditional elements of the song are enriched with someone who is playing didgeridoo.
14. Portugal: Iolanda – Grito
A total white performance, serving class in Portuguese. Iolanda, who is amazing vocally, is accompanied by 5 masked singers in completely white fits as well. When we say total whiteness, we mean that even the cubes are white!
15. Luxembourg: Tali – Fighter
After 31 years of absence, Luxembourg is back with Tali and her signature braids! In the beginning, she is standing under a frame along with her 4 dancers. Even from the very first chorus there are fires on stage. There are tigers, smoke during the bridge, the light is switching from bright purple to orange. Close to the end, a big “Fighter” appears on the LED screen. Welcome back Luxembourg! A strong ending to the competitive part!
Interval acts
After a first recap of the competing acts, Petra Mede introduces Johnny Logan, the first two-time winner of the Eurovision Song Contest as a singer and one-time winner as a composer, who is performing his own unique version of Euphoria. It is so moving seeing a Eurovision legend singing the winning entry of another Eurovision legend!
Petra is now in the Green Room, where all the artists are gathered and she is having a conversation with Luxembourg’s Tali.
After that, we are watching a brief video wrap-up of the Turquoise Carpet which took place yesterday, Sunday 5th of May.
Then a second recap follows.
The voting lines have now closed and we see a brief presentation of the acts of the Second Semi Final.
A video medley of iconic Eurovision entries is now on our screens, from Diggi-Loo Diggi-ley and Dschinghis Khan to Rhythm Inside and El Diablo! How many memorable songs in such a short video!
The second artist who is performing as an interval act is Benjamin Ingrosso, the Swedish representative from Eurovision 2018! He is singing a mixture of tracks from his discography.
One more video is shown, in order to highlight the wide variety of cultures and genres that come together in Eurovision!
Given what I watched tonight, I will attempt to predict the certain qualifiers, the borderline and the non-qualifiers.
Certain qualifiers
Cyprus
Lithuania
Ireland
Ukraine
Croatia
Finland
Portugal
Luxembourg
Borderline qualifiers
Serbia
Poland
Slovenia
Azerbaijan
Non-qualifiers
Iceland
Moldova
Australia
The results
Obviously, these are not the official results, but virtual in order to serve the rehearsal’s purposes.
The executive supervisor Martin Österdahl confirms that the results are valid and “we are good to go”!
The 10 countries that virtually go to the Final are:
Serbia
Portugal
Slovenia
Cyprus
Azerbaijan
Australia
Ireland
Lithuania
Moldova
Croatia
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