What can we expect and who will win tomorrow?

After a film with, again, beautiful images of the Netherlands, and yes, a role for Duncan Laurence, we go to the flag parade. DJ Pieter Gabriel accompanies the artists musically with his own adaptation of the worldwide hit “Venus” by Shocking Blue, also a hit from Dutch soil. Presenters Edsilia Rombley, Jan Smit and Chantal Janzen sing the song.

We open with Cyprus; often an uptempo pop song is chosen to open, this year too. Albania takes the cursed second place. However, Albania is not one of the potential winners anyway, so the second place remains where it is. Israel follows; she once bursted out in tears when the Eurovision song contest was canceled, but now Eden Alene is in the final, followed by Belgium. Hopefully Hooverphonic will remain in peoples memories in the beginning of the broadcast. The advantage is that the song may stand out even more after an uptempo song. However, Russia follows with a striking act and then Malta. What that does to Malta’s chances is a big question mark, but it is not favorable. Certainly not because Portugal will follow after Malta; they are the surprise of the contest. We wouldn’t even be surprised if Portugal ends up very high; The Black Mamba isn’t Salvador Sobral, but still. The end of the first block is formed by Serbia; The fact that the three ladies are through to the final was no surprise, but it will probably not be much more there. Or is Serbia lucky that all other countries of the former Yugoslavia are not there?

While advertisements are watched in some countries, the rest of Europe sees Nikkie Tutorials showcasing three winners of the #Eurovisionchallenge. Valentina, who won the junior Eurovision this year, will also say something. Emmelie De Forrest, Jamala and Duncan Laurence talk about their trophy. After that, Chantal Janzen and Jan Smit will make an appeal to share your photo of how you watch the Eurovision song contest.

The second block is opened by the United Kingdom. That is usually not something to be happy about. People are still refilling the glasses or sitting on the toilet. By the way, yesterday in the Dutch tv-show Op1 you could see how British journalists are already busy putting the blame for a low score apart from themselves, even before the contest is over. However, the UK entry is completely insignificant to Greece that performes next. Greenscreen is certainly not new, but it is smart to use it. In quality, however, the Greek entry is far surpassed by that of Switzerland. According to many, one of the strongest voices of the festival. Still, the song may soumd a little too much like “Arcade” to be a winner. Also a top song, possibly even a winner, is Iceland. Would it give Daði og Gagnamagnið sympathy votes that they are not allowed to be present live? The Icelandics are in any case followed by the not too strong entry from Spain, although, to be honest, it must be said that the singing of Blas Cantó improves with each rehearsal. Moldova will then take office. But it is still doubtful whether the name of Filipp Kirkorov (composer) will be good for a high score. Germany is a “love it or hate it” entry that can go in any direction. And after a song about a middle finger, the director has chosen to put the other middle finger song right after it. The song from Finland turned out to have a lot of fans yesterday. Whether it helps them on the scoreboard? We’ll know tomorrow night.

And then we see Edsilia Rombley at the top of the comment booths to chitchat with various commentators. Chantal Janzen and Jan Smit refer to the time when there was still a live orchestra. They promise an orchestra with a top DJ.

In the meantime, Bulgaria is ready with Victoria on her rock. Another strong entry. Then we see Lithuania again. At the bookies, the yellow-clad men have fallen somewhat; not because they are not good, perhaps because a large number of countries have an even stronger entry.

And then Chantal Janzen announces Duncan Laurence, who speaks to the viewer in a video. Why so soon? Well, it gives the crew time to prepare the scenery of Ukraine.

A trip, as Dutch commentator Sander Lantinga called the entry. of Ukraine We can imagine why. It would not surprise anyone if Ukraine ends up in the top of the rankings. Immediately after that, another top favorite follows: France. Take a good look, because this could well be the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2021. To be honest, the entry from Azerbaijan is fairly insignificant. Anyway, the King’s Commissioner in Friesland Arno Brok and Mayor of Leeuwarden Sybrand Buma give a voting advice: stim Azerbaijan (vote Azerbaijan, but in Frisian language). It doesn’t seem to be a coincidence, but after Azerbaijan, Norway will perform. All week, something seems to be going on between the Azerbaijani Efendi and the Norwegian TIX. It is very worthy to lsearch for #efentix.

Then NikkieTutorials and Edsilia Rombley take the floor and announce some entre-acts and… the entry of the Netherlands. Jeangu Macrooy is praised for his cast-iron voice. He seems to slightly do better among bookmakers. But after the Netherlands, another top favorite (there are quite a lot this year) follows: Italy. Would the glam rock-leaning group win the Eurovision song contest? We do not consider it impossible. Sweden is not one of this year’s top favorites. The entry is just not strong enough for a top score. Finally we see San Marino. And then the rule of applies: world stars do NOT win the Eurovision song contest. Whether it’s Cliff Richard, t.A.T.u., DJ Bobo or Bonnie Tyler, it doesn’t work. A high position is definitely not impossible, San Marino will break its own record for sure.

Then a spectacular entre act:follows: a classical orchestra of toung people and Afrojack accompany Wulf and Glennis Grace while they sing under the title “Music binds us”. We see images of people in Rotterdam, but the song and music come from the Erasmus Bridge.

NikkieTutorials comes again with a section of Eurovision Tutorials about the voting. Then she shows us images of how the festival in Ahoy is structured and how it works behind the scenes. Edsilia Rombley then meets several Eurovision winners, a film that was already shot before the Corona crisis. That is why Edsilia explicitly announces that she is hugging the former winners and not keeping a one and a half meter distance. Then we see a video in which Chantal Janzen explains how the audience has changed over the years.

And then we’re going to look at Teach In, Lenny Kuhr, Måns Zelmerlöw and Lordi. They sing from different rooftops in Rotterdam. Duncan Laurence then sings his hit “Arcade” and a new song. Not live, because he is at home with Corona, but a previously recorded rehearsal of his performance. And then…. The producers have even turned the countdown moment into something beautiful with dancers. The voting goes pretty smoothly. Of course something can go wrong, but there is no useless waiting. The scoreboard, with a lot of white, is easy to read. Edsilia and Nikkie are present in the greenroom while Jan and Chantal do the voting. Who is going to win remains uncertain for a long time, longer than ever. The bookmakers do not state a clear winner.

However, team Eurovision Universe has tried to predict the top 10. In a little more than 24 hours we know how right (or wrong) we are:

1.France
2.Italy
3.Malta
4.Switzerland
5.Ukraine
6.Bulgaria
7.Iceland
8.Portugal
9.Norway
10.Finland

photo credits: EBU

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The Eurovision Song Contest is celebrating its 70th anniversary. That is a wonderful milestone. We at Eurovision Universe love diving into the history of the contest. That is why we are taking a closer look at the contests of the past 70 years. 2021 After the cancellation of Eurovision 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Song Contest finally returned in 2021. The host city was Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The city that had been ready to welcome Europe a year earlier. Edselia Rombley, Chantal Janzen, Jan Smit, and Nikkie de Jager presented the event. Strict COVID measures were in place, but the organisation managed to fill the Rotterdam Ahoy arena with a live audience during all three shows. A true feat. Belarus was excluded by the EBU due to political circumstances following the disputed presidential election and the violent crackdown on protesters. 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Ukraine participated, and the contest quickly took on an emotional and political dimension that was impossible to ignore. The songs Mahmood, who had previously finished second, performed as half of a duo for host country Italy. Together with Blanco, he sang “Brividi”. It sounded good on the record, but live it didn’t. For the third time, the group Zdob și Zdub represented Moldova. The band finished seventh with a song about a train journey

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April 27, 2026 No Comments
History
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70 years of Eurovision: from squeezed legs to politics

The Eurovision Song Contest is celebrating its 70th anniversary. That is a wonderful milestone. We at Eurovision Universe love diving into the history of the contest. That is why we are taking a closer look at the contests of the past 70 years. 2021 After the cancellation of Eurovision 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Song Contest finally returned in 2021. The host city was Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The city that had been ready to welcome Europe a year earlier. Edselia Rombley, Chantal Janzen, Jan Smit, and Nikkie de Jager presented the event. Strict COVID measures were in place, but the organisation managed to fill the Rotterdam Ahoy arena with a live audience during all three shows. A true feat. Belarus was excluded by the EBU due to political circumstances following the disputed presidential election and the violent crackdown on protesters. Armenia withdrew because of its involvement in the Nagorno-Karabakh war.  The songs Many of the artists who were supposed to participate in 2020 were given the chance to try their luck in 2021 after all. It would be too much to name them all. However, the Estonian Uku Suviste is worth mentioning. He had not been given carte blanche, but managed to win the national final. Natalia Gordienko had already competed for Moldova in 2006. Composer Philipp Kirkorov incurred the wrath of the entire fan community during the presentation of Natalia’s song “Sugar” by saying about Conchita Wurst: “IT can sing”. And then there was Senhit: unsuccessful for San Marino in 2011, she did reach the final this time, but not alone. Rapper Flo Rida accompanied her on stage. We will see Senhit again this year, now with another global star: Boy George. Due to the strict COVID-19 rules, Australian singer Montaigne was not allowed to travel to Rotterdam. During one of the press conferences, this became too much for her and she burst into tears. The final A big name represented Belgium: Hooverphonic. Unfortunately, their song “The Wrong Place” did not finish very high. Maltese singer Destiny, a former winner of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, was considered one of the favorites. She won the semi-final, but finished seventh in the final. Not bad, but a disappointment given the expectations. Daði & Gagnamagnið performed for Iceland, or rather, they didn’t. The year before, they were the top favorites; their “10 Years” was well-received, but not as the expected winner. One of the group members tested positive for Corona, meaning the group was not allowed to perform and a video of one of the rehearsals was shown instead. Then there was Jendrik from Germany. His entry was seen as having no chance. But the act did stand out, with a large walking middle finger on stage. The Roop for Lithuania did well. But it was the Ukrainian group Go-A that made the biggest impression. Both the music, which was very modern, and the act featuring an entire cardboard forest on stage ensured the group finished fifth. The Norwegian Tix also stood out. Not so much because of his enormous fur coat and his angel wings, but rather because of his story: Tix suffered from Gilles de la Tourette syndrome and had tics (Tix, that is). At the end of the performance, he took off his sunglasses, revealing his tics. Final Showdown It was the Swiss Gjon’s Tears who won the jury vote. With the high-pitched vocals in his “Tout l’univers,” he effortlessly received the highest number of points. Ultimately, he finished third. Because he mattered so much in the final showdown, poor Gjon couldn’t go to the toilet. With his legs squeezed together, he followed the scoring, pretending to relax every time the camera was focused on him. Barbara Pravi from France was also a favorite for the final victory. Although her “Voila”, more French than French, narrowly missed winning the Eurovision Song Contest, Pravi managed to turn her song into a true Eurovision classic in a short time. It is one of the most covered Eurovision songs of recent years. Måneskin The Roman rock band Måneskin had won Sanremo. When the results at Eurovision came in, it quickly became clear that the televoters were wild about them. Frontman Damiano David was accused of drug use after the final. Cameras had caught a suspicious movement near the table in the green room. He denied everything, offered to take a drug test, and was cleared. The controversy only seemed to boost the band’s profile. For Måneskin, it was just the beginning. Within months, they were performing sold-out shows across the United States. “Zitti e buoni” and especially “Beggin’”, an older track, became global streaming hits. Eurovision had rarely produced a winner with this kind of international commercial trajectory. 2022 For the first time since 1991, Italy hosted the Eurovision Song Contest. The Pala Olimpico arena in Turin was the venue. Laura Pausini, Alessandro Cattelan, and Mika hosted the event. Laura Pausini caught attention by suddenly disappearing during the final. Just as suddenly, she came back. Pausini didn’t feel well. To be honest, the organization was a mess. The large sun in the middle of the stage, in particular, drew attention. Not because it was so beautiful, but because it didn’t work. The context of the 2022 contest was dominated by one event: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The EBU expelled Russia from the contest shortly after the invasion began. There was also a debate about whether Belarus should be expelled as well, given its role in the conflict. It had already been excluded in 2021. Ukraine participated, and the contest quickly took on an emotional and political dimension that was impossible to ignore. The songs Mahmood, who had previously finished second, performed as half of a duo for host country Italy. Together with Blanco, he sang “Brividi”. It sounded good on the record, but live it didn’t. For the third time, the group Zdob și Zdub represented Moldova. The band finished seventh with a song about a train journey

Read More »
April 27, 2026 No Comments
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