Be Excellent To Each Other

Croatia

Giphy "mind blown":
https://media3.giphy.com/media/SbtWGvMSmJIaV8faS8/giphy-loop.mp4

UK

Fun, catchy tune with imaginative staging but just kind of stopped.

For me it's between Austria, France, Italy, and Finland.

Honourable mentions to Australia, Cyprus, and Moldova.

My guesses for the top finishing countries are
Norway
Sweden
Poland
UK
Spain
France
Finland

Finland are going to walk it.

Voting time. This is the best bit.

Sweden!
It's Cher.
I knew she looked familiar.

Sweden are going to walk it.

UK still on the wrong side of the screen. Go left or go home.

Iceland's announcer

Giphy "wtf":
https://media2.giphy.com/media/H4zeDO4ocDYqY/giphy-loop.mp4

UK was one of 5 dua lipa/ Ariana Grande type acts.

Israel was a better one.

Sweden was just The winner takes it all from abba. Which is good, but shouldn't be winning.

Iceland was amazing as an announcer

Wtf was georgia

We need a miracle. Space Jesus, where are you?

Up in space, man

There is no way the UK was the 2nd worse song

After last year, the Universe is correcting itself.

But yes, I was thinking lower left.

That's that for another year.

Sweden didn't do it for me but the people have spoken.

Thanks everyone for a fun live thread.

CHA CHA CHA

The winner takes it all

Well, I don’t think it will go down as a classic. Usually I feel I’d know who I would vote for, but I didn’t today. I don’t think we deserved second to last. Had a bit of a cry at the interval as my grandad used to sing me You’ll Never Walk Alone. Thought the rendition of Imagine was going to last all the way through to next year’s competition.

Hannah Waddingham was lovely. Makes such a break to see a female presenter not scared to use her full range of expression so that she doesn’t pull ‘awkward’ faces. Her face seem to react to every passing thought she has, and it’s wonderful to see that alongside her beauty. Also that she doesn’t try to make herself smaller. She is tall and stunning, and she holds herself commandingly when she’s next to a man smaller than her. So, what I’m saying is Hannah Waddingham won Eurovision.

Yep.

Indeed. She's spellbinding

I wrote that post late at night, and I want to clarify that ‘women scared to show any facial expression’ is not a criticism of women in media, but a criticism of a media that has taught women that their greatest asset is their face and figure, not their skill or brilliance. There’s a whole generation of Reel and Tiktok makers out there, beautiful young women, completely expressionless in their presentation in case their face creases or shows anything other than some kind of serene and almost sedated beauty.

Hmm... drinking most of a bottle of cheap cava last night might not have been the best idea.

Worth it though! Always fun watching along with you all. If only the dates aligned and there was a TV at the Cottage...

Yeah, but we beat Germany, just like WWII all over again.

"Interesting" fact - most people across Europe are watching adverts during those bits.

The German coverage I was watching was advert free but we bailed out before the end. I’d been up early for a day out so there was no chance I’d still be awake, especially as we were an hour ahead.

Aren’t the adverts in the bits they go to every half hour or so, when they interview one of the acts and Mel Gedreuijghsche churns her butter?

In between acts, in the forty second turnarounds, the digital stage went black and then shapes appeared on it with what should go where (there would be a square with "drum riser', or 'car') and a series of X for each person's starting point. And all the stuff came on from one side and off the other.

Solo by Blanka is underrated.

Only a month to go until the most fabulous week of the year...Croatia and Finland are my early favourites. The UK entry will be lucky to break 20 points.

Still stands.

You don't think Olly whatsit has the pulling power?

They wrote a perfectly serviceable song but then forgot to put a hook in it.

How on earth did Ireland get through? There's nothing there in the song and the poor girl is trying way too hard 'being spooky' (honestly I have found scarier things in my fridge). Still my two favourites are through and I have not changed my mind on the UK entry, poor old Olly is putting his heart into it but I just can't see it leaving the right hand column come the scoring...watch him win it now.

That Solvenia entry was... noteworthy

Not seen anything apart from our own dismal entry, want it all to be a nice surprise on Saturday

I'm the same. I don't like to listen to any of the songs before hand and would rather go in cold and take them all on their individual performances on the night.

For a moment I thought I saw GazChap at the end of tonight's show.

Gazchap, Mr Chris and MarkG

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-68996532

It’s all kicking off before it’s even kicked off.

Looks like Ade Edmonson

Off we go!

Off to a good start. Enjoying Sweden's Entry.

I thought it was ironically named.

Sweden:

Ant and Dec: the next generation