The Eurovision Song Contest is nearly here, with honour in the city already well underway.
The vast international event boasts unusual activities and experiences to enjoy. And for fans lucky enough to beat the extended TicketMaster queues, there are the semi-finals and previews next week before the massive Eurovision Song Contest final clasp on Saturday, May 13.
The witness is welcomed with a recap of Tuesday’s semi-final, mainly led by Ukraine’s Timur Miroshnychenko.
Once that swathe up, the voice of the late Spice Girl, Melanie C, has again managed to introduce tonight’s hostesses: Julia Sanina, Hannah Waddingham and Alesha Dixon. The three beauties are early on the prior period and make their way to the catwalk, where they are addressed with clapping.
While Alesha Dixon welcomes Europe, Hannah welcomes Australia, and in Ukrainian, Julia holds her own country, Ukraine. Still, on stage, the hostesses found the competition and stiffened a few notes that the public should know.
Before each of the 16 songs, we’ll discern a small “mail” while the stage is prepared for the next song.
Each of the 16 postcards features the same idea:
Being faithful to this year’s slogan – United by Music – the postcards signify unity. And for that, they utilize a trail-blazing 360-degree drone innovation from Ukraine to the United Kingdom and eventually to the country being presented—the locations were chosen to return a connecting theme. Each mail ends with a “small word” technique that transforms a super-wide sweeping view into a tiny planet the camera can fly in and out of.
We have a short segment for the viewers without commercials where Hannah Waddingham is once again near the critic’ boxes.
In it, she’s connected by Timur Miroshnychenko, the Ukrainian analyst, and by Graham Norton, the British analyst and part of the hosting group for this year’s Grand Final.
After song number 11 (Georgia), the second trade break takes place:
Hannah and Julia Institute actor Luke Evans who do an uplifting Spoken Word piece that will clutch us through nearly 70 years of Eurovision history. This is signified to symbolize the unity of Eurovision, which keeps Europe coming together despite contrast and division.
Once the voting is shut, Hannah is at the centre of the stage looking for her two co-hostesses and can’t find them. Instead, two drag queens are on the senior level of the stage, imitating both Alesha and Julia. Hannah trusts they underwent a refashioning and joins them, being “returned” by another drag queen.
This is the motto for the second interlude act, which reinforces the idea of Eurovision living as a place for everyone, a safe location where you can be who you are. The three drag queens are connected by a cast of eclectic dancers who constitute different types of people and execute a medley of pop songs, featuring Jessie Ware’s “Free Yourself” and En Vogue’s “Free Your Mind.”
In tonight’s show, 16 great acts from 16 countries will compete for just ten spots in Saturday’s grand final — where they’ll be one step closer to victorious the glorious Eurovision Crystal trophy. Hannah Waddingham, Alesha Dixon and Julia Sanina will attend the show live from Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena.
Amongst tonight’s contenders is a TikTok star from Denmark, an Austrian dance track about a 19th-century poet, and a quintet of rock gods from Australia. After the semi-finalists have executed, three of Saturday’s automatic entries— Spain, Ukraine, and hosts United Kingdom — will showcase a snippet of their performances.
Viewers are watching from tonight’s 16 play countries, and the UK, Spain and Ukraine tin vote in the semi-finals. The rest of the world can vote with a valid debit or praise card via the Eurovision app.
Tonight’s preamble is a cutesy teen-bop track with a splash of colour. TikTok celebrity Reiley is the first Faroese singer to constitute Denmark at Eurovision, and he’s doing his country proud. “Breaking My Heart” is about detain a relationship with trepidation, as Reiley anticipates his partner leaving him. Reiley aims to secure Denmark a mark in the final for the first time after 2019. Can he build it happen?
