Tonight, the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 will be held! Once again, 18 entries will compete for the privilege of ending up in one of the 10 envelopes for the final. As in semi 1, nine envelopes will be digital (as they have been in recent...

Tonight saw the first semi-final of the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest in Baku, Azerbaijan. There were arguably no great surprises among the qualifiers, with Hungary and Albania representing perhaps the closest thing to a bookmakers' nightmare. Meanwhile, the EBU...

Tonight, the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 will be held! 18 entries will compete for the privilege of ending up in one of the 10 envelopes for the final. As we learned yesterday, 9 envelopes will be digital (as they  have been in recent years),...

Can you believe we're here already? It hardly feels like a moment since Rambo Amadeus christened the Baku stage with a massive cardboard donkey last weekend, and now we've reached the end of the technical rehearsals for the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest. At a personal...

So we got to the end of the first week, and today saw a few highlights: The Big 5 + the host country were rehearsing for the first time, and thanks to our editor Danny, we had our first ever interview on esc-chat.com - in which the Slovenian entrant Eva Boto spoke...

How is it day 6 already? Anyway, it's been the first day for esc-chat.com in Baku, meaning, our new editor Danny began his work in the press centre today. He also started his daily diary blog. He will have a new post for each day, which will get updated every now and...

Day 5 in Baku, and today saw the start of what you might call the "hard work" phase of the rehearsal fortnight. If the first rehearsals are all about getting the initial camerawork and technicalities right, and the dress rehearsals are there for fine-tuning, then it's...

Hello again peeps! I’m heading off to Baku tomorrow morning, (yay!) but before I do, here’s my rundown of the first rehearsals from Semi Final 2, and my predictions for who will qualify. These are based on one watch only, and as before, are subject to drastic changes!...

Day 4 in Baku, and today's rehearsal schedule included easily the most hotly-awaited performance from the runaway favourite with fans and bookmakers alike. But more about Donny Montell later. First, we take a look at the nine songs that preceded his appearance on the...

Good evening! Today has seen the third sequence of rehearsals this year, including surprises and disappointments. After Martin's efforts yesterday, it's my turn again to review the videos of the day and give my comments, based on my personal opinion. Two things have...

Before I arrive in Baku, I’ve done a quick detour to Dubai to visit my friend Michael, who will be accompanying me to Azerbaijan later this week. Since it’s 42 degrees outside at the moment, I thought I’d come in to cool for a bit, and what better way to pass the time...

Evening all! It's my turn to take the reins and comment on today's rehearsals for the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest. It was another interesting day in Baku; indeed, one might suggest that the second half of the first semi-final is the most exciting stretch of songs we...

The first ESC 2012 week has finally arrived in Baku! Today, the press centre at the Crystal Hall opened, and the first rehearsals and press conferences took place. esc-chat.com will do coverage from Baku from Friday on (as reported earlier). This week, Martin and...