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Eurovision 2023

Such a ridiculously strong semi final last night, pretty much what I expected to go through based on the new all-public vote. Switzerland was a bit of a surprise choice song wise to go through, but the performance probably edged it to qualifying. Bit of a shame for Ireland, actually thought their performance might have nudged them through last night. However, chuffed that one of my faves Portugal went through, especially on such bare bones staging - the reaction it got from the audience was huge though, and probably only behind Sweden and Finland in terms of reaction at the Eurovision Village.

Speaking of the village, spent the day there yesterday and absolutely loved it. Saw the English National Opera do Eurovision (twice, since they had a schools show on in the afternoon 😂), along with Greece's entry this year and Melovin (Ukraine's entry from 2018) belt out Under The Ladder and amazingly Verka's Dancing Lasha Tumbai from 2007. Cracking weather and a really fun atmosphere though, with some lovely sunburn for my troubles 😂.

Gut feeling is Loreen will still pip Finland to the win and he'll probably be nerfed by the jury vote somewhat. Wouldn't be disappointed with either winner though, the crowd during Finland's entry was absolutely LOVING it last night!

Regardless of the winner, can we have a Hannah Waddingham and Petra Mede team up next year please?
 
No real surprises with who qualified last night. Finland and Sweden in the first half of the final is going to cause some real headaches for the producers in determining the running order, but I’m very much looking forward to it all as per usual.

Also, shout-out to Hannah Waddingham, who was excellent.

Our spokesperson has been announced as well, and it is…Catherine Tate. No complaints from me.
 
Jonathan said:
Finland and Sweden in the first half of the final is going to cause some real headaches for the producers in determining the running order, but I’m very much looking forward to it all as per usual.
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Yup, definitely think they'd have rather seen both in the second half or one in each. Still, plenty of upbeat stuff to go into the second half with Norway, Moldova, UK and Germany there currently. SF2 is much weaker than last night, however still plenty of other stuff that could pad it out too such as Belgium and Austria.

Shout out to Moldova's performance last night as well. Really liked the song in the first place (pretty much always love their entries!), but that was another one that the crowd really enjoyed. Yeah the whole traditional instruments over dance beats is a bit tried and tested, but it really gets stuck in your head and the staging is very well done.
 
It took a while during the run-up for me to enjoy Moldova, but I really like it. Pasha’s an excellent performer , which definitely helps.
 
Great again to be in the city centre yesterday afternoon and evening. Just a great atmosphere. Was in The Cavern for another United By Music gig, this time it was The Lightning Seeds.

Heading in Friday afternoon to spend a good long afternoon in the fan village before heading to see Miles Kane, then hopefully back to the fan village.
 
Home from an amazing 36 hours in Liverpool. What a fabulous city, they have done an amazing job of celebrating Eurovision for Ukraine.

I never thought I would get the chance to see Eurovision held in the UK so wasn’t going to miss the opportunity of a trip even without tickets to the actual shows.

The Village kept us entertained for hours, got to see performances from Azerbaijan, Finland and Italy. Plus the Lightning Seeds and Girls Don’t Sync later in the evening.

The Finnish entry is just crazy and it just put a huge smile on my face. He got a great reaction from the crowd.

Cracking atmosphere across the city with a real welcoming feel. Great to see everyone coming out to celebrate.

Quite a few ‘faces’ wandering the city too, saw both Rylan and the Australian entry walking around.

Certainly a couple of days I won’t forget for a while and home just in time for semi final number two!

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Some great photos!

Made up how well it's gone and how well the city has presented itself.

I did say when the hosting selection started it would be difficult to top how iconic a set up Liverpool could put together with the arena and other venues right on the banks of the River Mersey.

Accidentally ended up in the city centre briefly tonight as my intended trip to the Knutsford fair got cancelled when I'd left Liverpool die to rain and the first train back was all the way back into Liverpool City Centre.

Great buzz again walking through the town back to the bus station.

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So President Zelenski has reportedly been refused a request to make a video appearance on Saturday.

Apparently due to the strict political impartialness of the competition.

Really ? It's the most politically motivated voting system on the planet !!



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shakey said:
So President Zelenski has reportedly been refused a request to make a video appearance on Saturday.

Apparently due to the strict political impartialness of the competition.

Really ? It's the most politically motivated voting system on the planet !!



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I actually agree with the decision. The contest's organisers the EBU have been fairly lenient in recent years of the contest in terms of songs that have a political meaning, songs such as this year's entries from Switzerland or Croatia have an obvious anti-war theme for example. While Ukraine/Jamala's winner 1944 referred to specific events - it was from a relatively long time ago in history. So references to anti-war are permitted in a general sense, but not when referencing recent specific events. And yes, there's an element of political voting in the contest, but again it's something that's an indirect thing rather than it being a platform for a country's views to be conveyed.

While the vast majority of people want the Ukraine/Russia conflict to end, and for Ukraine to at the very least have the territory back that it had previously, having their leader on what should be a politically neutral contest would set a concerning precedent. What if the contest went to Turkey and Erdogan (if he's still around) wanted to go on and talk about how amazing the country is despite the constant crackdown on those that oppose him? Or if the contest returned to Azerbaijan and President Aliyev went on TV to launch into a rant about Armenia?

There's more than enough things in this year's contest that indirectly refer to the ongoing conflict and the impact it's had on people. I don't think they need to go the full hog by turning it into a political broadcast from a world leader.
 
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Final visit for me today sadly, had a great couple of hours down at the Pier Head having a few beers and watching the acts. Got to see the likes of Katrina (from and the waves fame), and Conchita Wurst perform.
Headed off then to another United By Music gig seeing Miles Kane in the tiny Jacaranda club basement.
 
Poland for me. She was a bit tasty

Or Australia

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This was my first time watching Eurovision; it was so fun watching! Finland should have won (true winners as they won public vote). Loved France's song; surprised how low they were.
 
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