After a week of rehearsals, technical snafus, and building anticipation, Eurovision kicked off tonight at the Pala Alpitour arena in Turin! In all, 17 acts performed, competing for 10 slots in Saturday’s Grand Final. They were:
- 🇦🇱 ALBANIA – Ronela Hajati – Sekret
- 🇱🇻 LATVIA – Citi Zēni – Eat Your Salad
- 🇱🇹 LITHUANIA – Monika Liu – Sentimentai
- 🇨🇭 SWITZERLAND – Marius Bear – Boys Do Cry
- 🇸🇮 SLOVENIA – LPS – Disko
- 🇺🇦 UKRAINE – Kalush Orchestra – Stefania
- 🇧🇬 BULGARIA – Intelligent Music Project – Intention
- 🇳🇱 NETHERLANDS – S10 – De Dipte
- 🇲🇩 MOLDOVA – Zdob și Zdub and Frații Advahov – Trenulețul
- 🇵🇹 PORTUGAL – MARO – Saudade, Saudade
- 🇭🇷 CROATIA – Mia Dimšić – Guilty Pleasure
- 🇩🇰 DENMARK – REDDI – The Show
- 🇦🇹 AUSTRIA – LUM!X ft. Pia Maria – Halo
- 🇮🇸 ICELAND – Systur – Með hækkandi sól
- 🇬🇷 GREECE – Amanda Georgiadi Tenfjord – Die Together
- 🇳🇴 NORWAY – Subwoolfer – Give That Wolf a Banana
- 🇦🇲 ARMENIA – Rosa Linn – Snap
Once jurors and the European voting public had their say, hosts Mika, Laura Passini, and Alessandro Cattelan announced the 10 songs that had won a slot. They were, in announcement order;
- 🇨🇭 SWITZERLAND – Marius Bear – Boys Do Cry
- 🇦🇲 ARMENIA – Rosa Linn – Snap
- 🇮🇸 ICELAND – Systur – Með hækkandi sól
- 🇱🇹 LITHUANIA – Monika Liu – Sentimentai
- 🇵🇹 PORTUGAL – MARO – Saudade, Saudade
- 🇳🇴 NORWAY – Subwoolfer – Give That Wolf a Banana
- 🇬🇷 GREECE – Amanda Georgiadi Tenfjord – Die Together
- 🇺🇦 UKRAINE – Kalush Orchestra – Stefania
- 🇲🇩 MOLDOVA – Zdob și Zdub and Frații Advahov – Trenulețul
- 🇳🇱 NETHERLANDS – S10 – De Dipte
Tonight’s interval was full of performances and special guests. Both Alvan & Ahez of France and Mahmood & Blanco of Italy appeared on stage to tease their Grand Final performances, and reigning Armenian Junior Eurovision champion Maléna dropped by for another stop on her victory tour. Most poignantly, Diodato appeared on stage with a large dance troupe to perform “Fai Rumore”, the song he was meant to represent Italy with before the contest was cancelled in 2020.
Earlier this week, ESC United readers voted for who #YOU thought would make it into Saturday’s Grand Final from this batch of songs. #YOU went eight out of 10 in your predictions, with Albania and Latvia in instead of Iceland and Switzerland.
Thursday night’s second semi-final will see 18 more acts competing for the 10 remaining slots in the Grand Final. Among them are favorites Cornelia Jakobs of Sweden and Konstrakta of Serbia. Until then, stay tuned to ESC United’s YouTube channel for our coverage on the ground in Turin.
Did #YOU enjoy tonight’s show? Which song were #YOU most sad to see be left behind? How distracting did #YOU REALLY find the black sun? Sound off in the comments below, in our forum, or on social media @ESCUnited
