Just a quick post before the first semi-final tonight at 8pm UK time.
Watch out for a change in how the results are delivered at the end of the show, to see who has made it to the Grand Final. You will remember that in the past the ten countries were read out at random, and that was that. This year there will be split screen action, three countries at a time, with one selected as a finalist. They keep repeating this with the various combinations of countries until we have the magic 10. I like it when the EBU tweak the format – it keeps us on our toes and will make for better telly. I guess when it’s split screen we can shout at the screen which county we want to get through (like we have always done!).
Do you remember when the EBU changed the sequencing of the final public vote from least votes to most votes after the professional juries? It was all a bit weird the first time they did that, but looking at old Contests now, delivering the votes the old way is quite long winded.
Let’s see what we think of this change tonight…
No change at the top of the bookies betting odds. Sweden and Austria locked-in for first and second. Belgium on the rise, France falling back, Switzerland on the rise, the UK pretty static in twelfth place. It would be nice to be on the left hand side of the leaderboard in the final. Apparently the staging is a little underwhelming? We’ll see on Thursday when the UK take part in the second semi-final.
Geopolitcs is playing out on the fringes of the Contest, you’ll know why. Let’s hope for good vibes and good times for these semi-finals and, as is usually the case, we’ll have a cracking Grand Final on Saturday.
Tonight the broadcast will be straight down to business, so not too much faffing at the start of the broadcast. I always find the bloomin’ flag ceremony at the Grand Final a bit of a chore. There were promises last year that the producers were going to cut the airtime down. It still topped out at over four hours, which is far too long.
Anyhow, we’ve got two hours and twenty minutes of Eurovision to escape to tonight.
Brian and I had out first gin and Fanta when he arrived last night (a Eurovision tradition of ours as regular readers might remember). We’ll be pouring a g ‘n’ t soon, and I’ve got some spicy Nik Naks and sour cream and chive pretzels for us to nibble on. Here are the receipts from two years ago 😀 …
Get your house in order with snacks and beverages and enjoy the evening. I will be back on Wednesday with a review of ‘what the hell just happened’ (thanks Remember Monday!).
Until then, passe une bonne nuit!
😀
xx