Felix (13:30)

Good morning Europe! Another sunny day arrived in Malmö, and while my roommate just crawled out of bed, I’m sitting here thinking about the semi-final results and the reactions they caused, if “caused” is the correct word there.

First things first, how is it logically possible, that the number of “same countries” is “increasing”?

I don’t wanna go into a full analysis here, but just want to let some facts speak for themselves.

The Netherlands qualified for the first time since 2004.

Macedonia once was such a “same” country (that qualified with whatever they sent), as was Armenia and Turkey. All of them failed to qualify at least once now. Before “Boom Boom” missed the final, Armenia had a 100% qualification record as well. Even Russia had a bad result in the final, in that very same year.

And my main point being: Instead of criticizing, why don’t the complaining fans suggest what they would think are better rules? What about constructive, profound suggestions instead of mourning?  And what’s “better” according to them anyway? Better for who, their own favourites? Eurovision has 39 participants this year, 33 of which have to go through semis. Only a handful of these countries can probably send whatever they want, but that’s not enough to raise doubts about the fairness of the rules. Israel is a great song that would have deserved to be in the final, but let’s be honest: It’s not an instantly lovable song for the wider audience. So it’s sad, but not a big surprise if you consider that the ones with the voting power have heard it for the first time, yesterday.

“The perfect rules” don’t exist and will never do so, as – whatever you’d change about the rules – some countries will have an advantage, others a disatvantage, but a disadvantage does not mean that it’s hopeless to participate.

Ever since Finland won this contest, anything can happen, if you only send a song good enough for the rest (i.e. the majority) of Europe.

Martin (18:20)

I was going to write something about last night’s qualifiers, but I think Felix has already summed it up perfectly – so let’s just say I was the happiest I’ve been this season when the first envelope was opened and Hungary’s name popped out. I’ve been riding the “Kedvesem”  bandwagon ever since ByeAlex first appeared in his A Dal semi-final, and I’m delighted that my non-fan friends will be able to experience his low-key charms on Saturday night!

So let’s have a quick look at the other piece of news that came our way overnight: the producer-determined “draw” for the final.

There weren’t all that many surprises, all things considered. France as an opener is a slightly uncommercial choice, but seeing it in the dress rehearsal today, it kind of made sense. The show kicks off “properly” with Moldova and Finland, leaving Spain stranded somewhat and back in danger of a last-place finish, I’d say. There’s a bit of a lull between songs 7 and 10, which is good news for Germany (and arguably Armenia too).

Based on today’s rehearsal, we now know that the commercial break will fall between songs 12 and 13, i.e. before the Netherlands. A bit of a surprising choice, since the post-break slot is considered to be a little disadvantageous, but Anouk’s performing experience means that she could easily captivate the distracted audience all the same. For me, one of the big losers of the running order is the United Kingdom – Bonnie Tyler’s “Believe In Me” comes across as pedestrian and plodding between the over-the-top performances from Romania and Sweden.

And after Sweden, crikey, things really get going. The run of songs that is Hungary, Denmark, Iceland, Azerbaijan, Greece, Ukraine, Italy, Norway and Georgia is incredibly strong – you could imagine all of those songs ending up in the top 10, but where would be the room for anyone else? In any case, that makes last-positioned Ireland fall a bit flat by comparison, although Ryan Dolan has a lot of press momentum in Scandinavia so there might still be top 10 potential for him too. Who knows?

Whatever the accusations and criticisms of the producer-determined running order – and there’s no denying that bookmakers’ favourite Denmark has been given a hugely beneficial draw here – what tomorrow night will see is a varied and high-quality show, and one where many of the main considerations in terms of the final results will remain right up in the air until the voting begins. It’s going to be a fun one, folks!

For completeness, here is the full running order for the final: