Eurovision 2023: Dress Rehearsal of the 1st Semi Final – Live Commentary! (Updated Live)

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Today is the first day of the Eurovision week! We can already feel “United by Music” all the way from M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool and it’s just a few days before we finally know the winner of the 67th Eurovision Song Contest!

The dress rehearsal of the Eurovision 2023 First Semi Final has just started. EurovisionFun will be watching all the shows live both at the on-site press centre in Liverpool and at the online press centre and will be commenting on the full performances of the 15 participating countries, as well as Germany, France and Italy.

This article gets updated in real-time, all you need to do is hit the refresh button on your browser!

So stay tuned to this article as we update it with all details, preparing you for what you will see in the Semi-Final tomorrow May 9th, at 21:00 CEST.

The Show

The show opens with a video of a young Liverpudlian boy traveling across the city telling his family, friends, neighbours (and some special guests!) that Eurovision is in Liverpool. The young boy dances yogether with a young girl on the Eurovision stage.

Julia Sanina performs “Mayak” by The Hardkiss. Translating from the Ukrainian for Lighthouse, the performance: “symbolises in many ways how the UK is United by Music with Ukraine through the hosting the 2023 Contest on behalf of the 2022 winners.”

Spice Girl Mel C‘ voice introduces to the stage the hosts of the contest to viewers across the globe. The hosts of the show are the female trio of superstars Julia Sanina of The Hardkiss, Hannah Waddingham, and Alesha Dixon.

The Competing Countries – LIVE COMMENTARY

Norway: Alessandra – Queen of Kings

Alessandra Mele kicks off the contest with loads of energy, performing her scandi-banger. The performance is very similar to the one from MGP, dark with intense strobing lights and some added orange led content near the ending. Vocally ok but not great, Alessandra will sail to the Grand Final.

Malta: The Busker – Dance (Our Own Party)

The Busker, performing in the unlucky 2nd position, give us a slightly updated version of their MESC performance, with almost identical camera cuts and transitions. A fun and colorful number that will probably struggle to make it to the Final.

Serbia: Luke Black – Samo Mi Se Spava

Another energetic performance from Luke Black, who also kept the staging from his National Final but significantly elevated it, making it look bigger and epic on the Eurovision stage. The added on-screen video game graphics really add to the unique performance, making it stand out. It would be a big surprise if Serbia didn’t manage to qualify for the Grand Final.

Latvia: Sudden Lights – Aijā

Sudden Lights are once again flawless performers. The performance is almost identical to their Supernova show, with some minor led content added. Beautiful performance and lightshow, but a low-key song that could easily get lost in this difficult semi-final. Sadly, it will e very difficult for Latvia to qualify.

First Break

Alesha Dixon chats with young local children and raps a small improvised song about Eurovision.

Portugal: Mimicat – Ai Coração

Mimicat is a charismatic performer but this feels like a downgrade from her FdC performance. She and her dancers give energy but the stage feels quite dark and empty, so viewers could be bored. Also this wasn’t one of her best vocal deliveries. On the other hand it stands out due to its unique style but Portugal’s qualification is not certain.

Ireland: Wild Youth – We Are One

Wild Youth have tried to improve their chances by making their performance as golden as possible. Unfortunately their lead singer is struggling vocally, as usual, and their generic song gets instantly forgotten. Ireland’s journey to Eurovision 2023 ends tomorrow.

Croatia: Let 3 – Mama ŠČ!

The unique and controversial Let 3 deliver a crazy performance, full of weird sounds, psychedelic leds and clever “SC” on screen graphics that definetely stands out. The fact that the results of the Semi Final are 100% televote should help them make it to the Grand Final.

Switzerland: Remo Forrer – Watergun

Switzerland gives us a professionally crafted performance with perfect vocals and interpretive dancing. In the beginning the dancers hold ribbons around Remo but he breaks free and in the end runs to the smaller stage. The show is full of red, black and white colors but I’m not sure if it’s memorable enough. It feels really borderline.

Israel: Noa Kirel – Unicorn

Noa starts her performance inside her rectangular prop and is then joined by her dancers. Vocally she sounds ok, maybe a little unstable (even though technical issues of the online press center can’t let us be certain). The final part of the performance remains as it was in the rehearsal snippet that was released, very energetic but maybe a bit dark. Israel is heading for the top-5 and maybe even top-3 of this Semi-Final but could do worse than expected in the Grand Final.

Moldova: Pasha Parfeni – Soarele şi Luna

Pasha delivers a great show, in orange and red colors with two backing singers – dancers, a dancing dwarf and two drummers, that massively stand out for its ethnic and techno elements. Vocally great and interesting to watch, Moldova should have no problems qualifying.

Second Break

Sweden: Loreen – Tattoo

The big favourite of Eurovision 2023 does not disappoint. Loreen, vocally amazing, had to down-scale her Melodifestivalen performance but this still looks cinematic and epic with great lighting. Some camera shots definetely need to be worked and maybe some added smoke could create a more mysterious atmosphere. Qualification isn’t even a question of course.

Azerbaijan: TuralTuranX – Tell Me More

A sweet performance, in red, blue and pink, by the Azeri twins, that reminds us of The Beatles tunes. An entry that could be supported by juries if they voted in the semi final, but qualification with 100% televoting seems impossible.

Czechia: Vesna – My Sister’s Crown

The girl-group Vesna have significantly improved from their previous performances but still sound a bit shaky vocally and the mixing needs work. The staging is very sleek and modern, but maybe a bit cold. The bridge of the song looks very impressive on stage as the lights go down and the girls stand in a circle singing in unison. Czechia will qualify but maybe not do that well in the Final.

Netherlands: Mia Nicolai & Dion Cooper – Burning Daylight

Another act that has improved a lot from their previous live performances. Still room to improve vocally but very decent. The atmospheric blue staging with strobes of “burning daylight” really fits the song, that really stands out as the only duet. Mia and Dion could surprise and make it to the Grand Final!

Finland: Käärijä – Cha Cha Cha

A fun and colorful performance from Finland that starts inside a wooden box (with some weird camera shots) that will definetely get the crowd going wild and easily qualify. In the beginning the leds are mainly green and towards the end they include all the colors of the rainbow. However, Käärijä sounded very weak vocally and the entire show could come off as rather kitsh. Finland will do well but won’t come anywhere near winning Eurovision this year.

Interval Act

Wordwide superstar Rita Ora performs a medley of her hits, as well as a world premiere of ‘Praising You’. Alyosha (Ukraine 2010) and Rebecca Fergusson perform together a cover of “Ordinary World”.

Certain Qualifiers

Sweden

Finland

Norway

Israel

Moldova

Serbia

Croatia

Czechia

Borderline Qualifiers

Netherlands

Switzerland

Portugal

Non Qualifiers

Malta

Latvia

Azerbaijan

Ireland

BIG 5 Performances

France: La Zarra – Évidemment

La Zarra stands on a huge platform that is covered by a sparkling dress. The dress falls and revelas that the top of the platform looks like a discoball, sending light everywhere in the arena. The performance has great camera cuts and vocals. Near the end, the French flag appears in the background lights and a huge curtain of fireworks falls from the ceiling.

Germany: Lord of The Lost – Blood & Glitter

Lord of the Lost deliver a professional show full of energy, very similar to their performance in the national final. The singer is vocally amazing and the song finishes with lots of pyro. Germany should avoid the last places in the Grand Final.

Italy: Marco Mengoni – Due Vite

Marco wears a sparkly shirt and leather pants. Two dancers are behind him on a staircase, falling on a trampoline, in front of the eclipsed moon. However throughout the performance the focus remains on him and his impreccable vocals. A very touching entry that could do better than expected.

The Results

Martin Osterdahl executive producer of Eurovision Song Contest 2022, declares that he is happy to see that we now have a valid result!

Here we have a big change, as the 15 competing acts stand on stage, without their delegations, waiting for the result. The camera shows them one by one, as the presenters announce the qualifiers. After the first 5 qualifiers are announced, Alesha interviews them backstage and then we learn the 5 remaining qualifiers.

The ten countries that (virtually) qualify to the finals for the purposes of the rehearsal were the following:

Sweden, Moldova, Switzerland, Azerbaijan, Norway, Finland, Latvia, Israel, Serbia and the Netherlands

Closing the televised show, we will get to watch a recap of the ten finalist songs.

Watch clips of the dress rehearsal from inside the arena:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxZjOnmr0-s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1nHGlCyD-U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7UWucPFidw

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Iceland: France and Italy win Alla leið 2023 Show Five!

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Just two days shy of the first semi-final of this year’s Eurovision, Italy and France were crowned the winners of the fifth show of the Icelandic preview show Alla leið.

The four-member jury ranked this year’s Big Five entries with the highest points being awarded to France and Italy.

The results of show four are:

  1. France – La Zarra – “Évidemment” – 12+12+10+8 – 42 points
  2. Italy – Marco Mengoni – “Due vite” – 12+12+8+10 – 42 points
  3. Ukraine – TVORCHI – “Heart of Steel” – 12+10+7+8 – 37 points
  4. Spain – Blanca Paloma – “Eaea” – 8+7+8+10 – 33 points
  5. United Kingdom – Mae Muller – “I Wrote a Song” – 8+6+10+8 – 32 points
  6. Germany – Lord of the Lost – “Blood and Glitter” – 4+7+8+6 – 25 points

The overall ranking of this year’s Alla leið looks like this:

  1. Iceland – Diljá – “Power” – 12+12+12+12 – 48 points
  2. France – La Zarra – “Évidemment” – 12+12+10+8 – 42 points
  3. Italy – Marco Mengoni – “Due vite” – 12+12+8+10 – 42 points
  4. Croatia – Let 3 – “Mama ŠČ!” – 12+8+12+10 – 42 points
  5. Switzerland – Remo Forrer – “Watergun” – 12+8+12+8 – 40 points
  6. Ukraine – TVORCHI – “Heart of Steel” – 12+10+7+8 – 37 points
  7. Czechia – Vesna – “My Sister’s Crown” – 10+6+10+10 – 36 points
  8. Belgium – Gustaph – “Because of You” – 10+10+5+10 – 35 points
  9. Australia – Voyager – “Promise” – 6+12+12+4 – 34 points
  10. Sweden – Loreen – “Tattoo” – 10+8+12+4 – 34 points
  11. Denmark – Reiley – “Breaking My Heart” – 6+10+10+8 – 34 points
  12. Finland – Käärijä – “Cha Cha Cha” – 12+8+12+1 – 33 points
  13. Armenia – Brunette – “Future Lover” – 7+6+8+12 – 33 points
  14. Spain – Blanca Paloma – “Eaea” – 8+7+8+10 – 33 points
  15. Austria – Teya & Salena – “Who The Hell is Edgar?” – 12+6+6+8 – 32 points
  16. United Kingdom – Mae Muller – “I Wrote a Song” – 8+6+10+8 – 32 points
  17. Moldova – Pasha Parfeni – “Soarele și luna” – 12+7+7+5 – 31 points
  18. Portugal – Mimicat – “Ai coração” – 8+7+6+8 – 31 points
  19. Cyprus – Andrew Lambrou – “Break a Broken Heart” – 3+8+12+5 – 28 points
  20. Azerbaijan – TuralTuranX – “Tell Me More” – 10+6+10+2 – 28 points
  21. Georgia – Iru – “Echo” – 6+5+7+10 – 28 points
  22. Norway – Alessandra – Queen of the Kings – 6+7+6+8 – 27 points
  23. Latvia – Sudden Lights – “Aijā” – 2+12+8+4 – 26 points
  24. Greece – Victor Vernicos – “What They Say” – 5+2+12+7 – 26 points
  25. Slovenia – Joker Out – “Carpe Diem” – 5+12+4+5 – 26 points
  26. Albania – Albina & Familija Kelmendi – “Duje” – 3+6+6+10 – 25 points
  27. Germany – Lord of the Lost – “Blood and Glitter” – 4+7+8+6 – 25 points
  28. Estonia – Alika – “Bridges” – 6+7+2+7 – 22 points
  29. Ireland – Wild Youth – “We Are One” – 6+4+5+7 – 22 points
  30. Malta – The Busker – “Dance (Our Own Party)” – 3+6+5+7 – 21 points
  31. Serbia – Luke Black – “Samo mi se spava” – 7+5+6+3 – 21 points
  32. Lithuania – Monika Linkyte – “Stay” – 5+4+6+4 – 19 points
  33. Poland – Blanka – “Solo” – 2+4+4+7 – 17 points
  34. Netherlands – Mia Nicolai & DIon Cooper – “Burning Daylight” – 7+3+5+1 – 16 points
  35. Israel – Noa Kirel – “Unicorn” – 7+1+1+3 – 12 points
  36. Romania – Theodor Andrei – “D.G.T (Off and On)” – 1+4+1+2 – 8 points
  37. San Marino – Piqued Jacks – “Like an Animal” – 1+2+1+1 – 5 points

Iceland is the show’s winner with France,Italy and Croatia all tying in the second place.

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Eurovision 2023: Turquoise Carpet takes place today!

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The time is here! This afternoon at 16:00 the Opening Ceremony of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, will take place in Liverpool!

Just a day after the completion of the rehearsals, the 37 delegations that take part in the 67th Eurovision Song Contest, are going to attend the opening ceremony of this year’s contest. The Turquoise Carpet will take place in Saint George’s Hall right in the middle of Liverpool!

The Turquoise Carpet will be hosted by the Ukrainian commentator Timur Miroshnychenko and Sam Quek.

The contestants of this year’s Eurovision will commence their walk from the Walker Art Gallery and head towards Saint George’s Hall, where the official Opening Ceremony of the contest will take place.

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Eurovision 2023: Watch video of the BIG 5 and Ukraine’s rehearsals!

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The preparations on Liverpool for the 67th Eurovision Song Contest are on fire and it’s now a wrap for the seventh and last day of the technical rehearsals. After their first technical rehearsals, the representatives of the BIG 5 and Ukraine took the stage of the M&S Bank Arena for their second rehearsals.

The second rehearsals gave the opportunity to the delegations to fix any mistakes spotted on the first rehearsals and help the artists feel more safe and familiar with the Eurovision big stage.

Because accredited journalists are not allowed to watch both the first and second rehearsals this year, we have very little information about what this year’s artists have prepared for the Eurovision stage. EBU has just uploaded through the official Eurovision channel in YouTube a recap of today’s rehearsals. More specifically, we will have the chance to watch exclusive TV footage of today’s rehearsals.

The countries that had their second rehearsals today were the following:

  1. Germany
  2. France
  3. Italy
  4. Spain
  5. Ukraine
  6. United Kingdom

You can watch the recap of today’s rehearsals below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zWiRonGCEA

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Italy: Marco Mengoni has filmed his postcard for Eurovision 2023!

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This year’s Italian representative in the Eurovision Song Contest, Marco Mengoni, has completed the shooting of his postcard. Each postcard is shown before the artist’s performance, in this case it will be shown before his performance in the Grand Final on 13 May.

You can watch footage from the postcard below:

The filming took place in the Italian capital, Rome. The postcard shows the artist on a motorcycle riding around the city, riding the vehicle and posing at various locations. This year’s postcards aim to show the artists participating in an activity in their country.

Italy is competing directly in the final on 13 May as a member of the Big Five. Today it will be announced which half of the final it will appear in.

The countries that have confirmed that they have completed the shooting of their postcards are:

Albania – Albina & Familija Kelmendi
Austria – Teya & Salena
Croatia – Leta 3
Cyprus – Andrew Lambrou
France – La Zarra
Germany – Lord of the Lost
Ireland – Wild Youth
Latvia – Sudden Lights
Lithuania – Monika Linkytė
Malta – The Busker
Moldova – Pasha Parfeni
Netherlands – Mia Nicolai & Dion Cooper
Poland – Blanka
Slovenia – Joker Out
Romania – Theodor Andrei
Belgium – Gustaph
Estonia – Alika
Greece – Victor Vernicos
Azerbaijan – TuralTuranx
Switzerland – Remo Forrer
San Marino – Piqued Jacks
Israel – Noa Kirel
Armenia – Brunette
Georgia – Iru
Finland – Käärija
Sweden – Loreen
Denmark – Reiley
Italy – Marco Mengoni

Below you can watch the reaction video of the EurovisionFun to Due Vite:

 

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Eurovision 2023: The running order allocation for the BIG 5 in the Grand Final!

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The Big 5 had their second rehearsals today, while immediately after during the “Tea with Timur”, the edition of this year’s press conference, the draw was held for their appearance in the Grand Final on Saturday (13/5). First in line was Germany and the draws ended with the host nation, the United Kingdom.

The article is being updated!

  • Germany with Lord of The Lost and “Blood and Glitter”, will appear in the 2nd half.

  • France, with La Zarra and “Évidemment”, will appear in the 1st half.

  • Italy, with Marco Mengoni and “Due Vite”, will appear in the 1st half.

  • Ukraine with TVORCHI and “Heart of Steel”, is already set to perform 19th.
  • Spain with Blanca Paloma and “Eaea”, will appear in the 1st half.

  • The United Kingdom with Mae Muller and “I Wrote A Song”, is already set to perform 26th.

The Grand Final allocation for the countries that will qualify through the Semi Finals is set to be conducted in the press conference after each Semi Final.

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Eurovision 2023: Italy’s second rehearsal!

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Time for Marco Mengoni and Italy to take the stage and rehearse for the second time his song “Due Vite”.

Who is Marco Mengoni?

Gaining fame by winning the third season of the Italian X-Factor in 2009, Marco Mengoni is one of the most popular singers in Italy.He has released seven studio albums, collectively achieving a remarkable 69-times platinum certification. With over 2.8 million records sold in Italy, Marco has consistently topped the Italian albums chart seven times in a row and secured fifteen entries in the Top 10 Italian Singles Chart. In addition, he won the Sanremo Festival twice, in 2013 and most recently this year, joining the ranks of a select few Italian artists who have achieved this feat twice in the festival’s history. As a result, he is not new to the Eurovision world. Following his initial Sanremo victory, he participated in the 2013 contest held in Malmö, where he finished 7th place with his entry “L’essenziale!”

The rehearsal

Unfortunately this year, accredited journalists don’t get the chance to watch the first and second rehearsals, so we only get the information and content that the organizers officially release to the public through eurovision.tv and the official social media accounts of the contest.

Sarah Louise Bennett / EBU

Marco is bringing a new outfit for his second rehearsal, a longer silver vest this time that is fading to black as an ombre effect. Sparkles are also added to one part of his trousers. We remind you that it was announced that he will have different outfits every time he gets to perform the song during Eurovision 2023. Two dancers and a staircase prop are behind him while we see a big moon displayed on the led wall. Once again, Italy delivers a high-quality performance which will most likely be on the left-hand side of the scoreboard.

Sarah Louise Bennett / EBU

Tonight, after the completion of all the second rehearsals of the Big 6, a recap video will be released with 30-second snippets of the performances, giving us a glimpse of how the acts will look on stage.

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Source: Eurovision.tv

Eurovision 2023: The Last Day’s rehearsal schedule!

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The big moment for all Eurofans has arrived. The wait has come to an end, as we are now in the most important days before the live shows. Rehearsals officially begun on Sunday for the 67th Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Liverpool, United Kingdom.

The rehearsals are divided into two phases; the first phase lasted three days, from Sunday 30/04 until Tuesday 02/05 and included the first rehearsals of all the countries taking part in the two semi-finals of the competition. The second phase will last from Wednesday 03/05 until today, Saturday 06/05 and includes the second rehearsals of the countries of the two semi-finals as well as the rehearsals of the countries competing directly in the Final, namely the Big 5 and last year’s winner Ukraine.

Last year’s changes in the way rehearsals are covered continue this year, as the Press Center opens on Monday after the first and second rehearsals, which means that the information we will have for the first week of the competition will come exclusively from the material to be provided by the EBU to the accredited journalists.

Program

The BIG 5 and last year’s Ukraine, will make their second appearance on stage at the M&S Bank Arena. These countries are:

  • Germany 11.30 – 11.50
  • France 11.55 – 12.15
  • Italy 12.20 – 12.40
  • Ukraine 12.45 – 13.05
  • Spain 13.10 – 13.30
  • United Kingdom 13.35 – 13.55

For everything new regarding these rehearsals, you will instantly be informed by Eurovisionfun!

From Monday 8/5, the press center opens normally for accredited journalists, who will have the opportunity to watch the general rehearsals before the live shows as was the case in previous years.

Eurovisionfun will of course be there to inform you about everything that happens at the M&S Bank Arena!

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Eurovision 2023: Italy’s First Rehearsal!

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Next Big 5 act to take the stage for his first rehearsal is Italy with Marco Mengoni, performing his song “Due Vite”!

Who is Marco Mengoni?

Marco Mengoni is an Italian singer-songwriter who rose to fame in 2009, after winning the third season of the Italian X Factor. Since then, Mengoni has managed to make a name for himself in Italy as well as abroad. At the time of writing, he’s released 7 studio albums that between them have gone 69-times platinum, has sold over 2.8 million records in Italy, has peaked the Italian albums chart seven consecutive times and entered the Top 10 Italian Singles Chart fifteen times. Marco has also won the Sanremo Festival twice, in 2013 and this year, becoming one of the few italian artists to have achieved two wins in the festival.

Marco is also not new to Eurovision, as he has previously taken part in the 2013 contest in Malmö after his first Sanremo win, managing to finish 7th with his entry L’essenziale!

The rehearsal

Marco is in leather trousers and a silver sparkly vest (for today – the Italian delegation has previously announced that he will be wearing a different outfit in each of his performances). He is backed by swirling clouds and a moon on the LED wall, as well as two male dancers and a staircase prop.

Sarah Louise Bennett / EBU

Corinne Cumming / EBU

Sarah Louise Bennett / EBU

You can watch the official snippet of Marco Mengoni’s first rehearsal on TikTok below:

@eurovision Magnificent Marco Mengoni returns to the Eurovision stage ✨🇮🇹 #Eurovision2023 #Eurovision @Marco Mengoni ♬ original sound – Eurovision


Marco himself also posted another snippet of his performance showing the two dancers and the staircase prop more clearly, as well as the moon on the LED wall. You can watch it below:

https://twitter.com/ESCdiscord/status/1654152979866439682?t=buS4NFVAoAgFBmouNSk7Og&s=19&fbclid=IwAR0zHh_DdsaGu5rjykApohcDinB57GT1h-J8x6Xu1H_HsajZP0f59RMtphE

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Source: eurovision.tv

Eurovision 2023: The bets after the fourth day of rehearsals!

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The favourite column of many of you is back, as the betting analysis for the 67th Eurovision Song Contest is back again.

With one week to go until the Eurovision 2023 semi-finals, we take a look at the betting companies’ odds regarding each country’s chances of winning this year’s contest.

Top 5

Largely unchanged remains the situation at the top of the betting tables, with Loreen and Sweden seen as the heavy favourites to win the 67th Eurovision Song Contest. Despite the fact that the rehearsal clips of the Swedish entry were flawed, especially compared to their Melodifestivalen performance, Sweden are still being played at odds of under 2.

Finland, who are one of the winners of the first days in Liverpool, have increased their chances of victory. Käärijä and “Cha Cha Cha” are steadily gaining ground, making them Loreen’s rival in this year’s contest. The lowest odds on the Finnish win are being played at 3.6, with most companies having dropped Finland’s odds below 3.

In third, fourth and fifth place the situation remains stable, with Ukraine, France and Spain rounding out the Top 5. As all three of them start their rehearsals at the Liverpool Arena today, we wait to see whether the view of the bookers who place them within the top five will change. Ukraine and France return up to 15 times the money of anyone who bets on them, while Spain return 17 times. In any case, the differences between them are infinitesimal.

Top 10

In the remaining five places in the top ten we find three countries that have already made their appearance on the stage of this year’s contest and two countries that are starting their rehearsals today ahead of the 67th Eurovision Song Contest.

In sixth place is Norway and in seventh place is Israel. Both are participating in the first semi-final, with their odds after yesterday’s release of the 30-second clip not particularly altering their odds of winning this year’s contest. Slightly worse odds for Norway who are now at 21, slightly better for Israel whose odds of victory for the explosive Noa Kirel have dropped to 26.

Stable remains Austria in eighth place, with their win odds having dropped at some companies, however Teya & Salina‘s win returns up to 41 times the stake at some companies. Ninth place goes to Italy and Marco Mengoni, with odds ranging between 26 and 51, while the top ten is completed by the UK at odds of 81.

First Semifinal

As part of this analysis, we will also take a first look at the odds of qualifying for the grand final. We start with the first semi-final, for which the participating countries have already finished their first two rehearsals on stage at the Liverpool Arena and will return on Monday for show rehearsals.

Six countries are considered a given to qualify, with Sweden, Finland, Norway, Israel, the Czech Republic and Moldova offered by bookers at odds of under 1.10. Significantly, the odds on the top four countries in particular return almost nothing to those who bet on them. For example, in the event that someone bets ten euros on their qualification, they will only make a profit of ten cents of a euro.

Serbia seems to be in a league of its own, being considered the seventh favourite to qualify for the grand final on 13 May. Luke Black’s qualification is offered at odds of around 1.30, with a clear distance between himself and both the leading and trailing countries.

A battle of four countries is expected for the remaining three spots leading to the grand final, according to betting companies. Croatia, Switzerland and Portugal appear to be in the best position, with the Netherlands currently seen as the eleventh favourite to qualify for the Eurovision 2023 grand final. Croatia is being played at 1.50, Switzerland at 1.53, Portugal at 1.57 and the Netherlands at 1.73. One understands that the differences between them are marginal and, therefore, qualification will be decided at the threshold.

The following countries, namely Malta, Latvia and Ireland, are considered less likely to qualify with their qualification odds being between 3 and 4, while Azerbaijan is by far in last place having the least chance of qualifying.

Second Semifinal

Regarding the second semi-final, things are even more difficult. Sixteen countries are participating in this semi-final, with twelve of them being played at odds of less than 2. It is understandable that bookers cannot easily come up with the top ten that will qualify for the final.

Austria, Australia, Cyprus and Armenia are seen by bookmakers as certain to qualify, with their qualification returning up to 1.1 times the stake. Largely similar is the case with Lithuania and Slovenia, who are being played at 1.20.

Seventh-placed Georgia is in a league of its own, with odds of between 1.25 and 1.29, with the possibility of qualification the most prevalent, while the same could be said for eighth-placed Belgium, which is being played at 1.35.

Rounding out the top ten are Poland and Denmark, who gained ground after the release of their first rehearsal snippet on TikTok. Both are being played at odds of less than 1.57.

Eleventh place Greece is being played at odds of between 1.40 and 1.83, though still within the top ten at some companies. Among the losers of the early rehearsals is Estonia, whose odds of qualifying for the grand final on 13 May have gone up. The maximum odds offered for qualification are the same as Greece’s, at 1.83.

Albania has a significant chance of qualifying, albeit less compared to the leading countries, and is one of the most Value for Money betting options for this semi-final. The only ethnic song in the semi-final is being played at odds between 2 and 2.63.

The bookies are also giving qualification odds to Iceland, which is being played at 3. On the other hand, the elimination of Romania and San Marino, whose qualification returns up to 8.5 times the stake, is almost taken for granted.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3vJfR81xO0

Do you think Loreen can make history in Liverpool in May, giving Sweden victory for the second time and equaling the historic record of the contest’s multiple winner, Ireland?