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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70 years of Eurovision: social media and an operatic voice

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. 2025 Switzerland hosted the Eurovision Song Contest for the third time. The venue was the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, and the contest was presented by Michelle Hunziker, Hazel Brugger, and Sandra Studer. The latter having represented Switzerland at Eurovision herself in 1991. Basel put on a polished, well-organised show. Montenegro returned. Moldova withdrew on the very last moment. The songs Montenegro sent Nina Žižić. She had already accompanied the two ‘astronauts’ who represented that country back in 2013. Justyna Steczkowska participated for Poland. She had also done so in 1995. In doing so, she achieved a record: the only contestant ever to participate twice with a gap of 30 years. Belgium took the lead in the odds at an early stage, but once the entry was announced, the country dropped down the rankings somewhat. However, it remained surprising that the contestant, Red Sebastian, did not make it to the final at all. Against all expectations, the Australian Go-Jo also failed to reach the final. The final The one who did make it was Kyle Alessandro. With his song “Lighter”, but especially with his social media videos and his charisma, he went a long way. In those videos, he was invariably in the company of JJ (Austria), Sissal (Denmark), and Miriana Conte (Malta). The latter attracted attention with her lyrics: “I’m serving Kant”, which stood for the Maltese word for singing. But it also sounded very much like an English word that was not allowed to be used on television at the BBC. The lyrics had to be adjusted and became “I’m serving….”. Tommy Cash, a friend of Joost Klein and Käärijä, participated for Estonia. In a kind of fake Italian, he sang “Espresso Macchiato”. With this, he incurred the wrath of a number of Italians, but became very popular among other groups of Italians. Cash finished third with it. Væb was the duo that participated for Iceland. A kind of reincarnation of Jedward. The boys were constantly at the bottom of the bookmakers’ odds and turned that into a whole show on social media. It resulted in a place in the final. Less unexpectedly, Erika Vikman from Finland also managed to do the same. Seated on a giant microphone and ending as if she was cumming, she drew attention to herself. Lucio Corsi from Italy did something special: he played his harmonica live. It was the first time since 1998 that instruments were played live. And then there were the favorites, from Finland but for Sweden. No one had expected that the three gentlemen in a sauna setting would win the Swedish preliminary round against Måns Zelmerlöw. When that did happen, they were immediately the favorites. Everyone was singing “Bara Bada Bastu” at the top of their lungs. Yet, in the end, it was not enough. The group KAJ finished fourth. The French singer Louane also failed to live up to expectations with her song “Maman.” During the act, she doused herself with sand that was actually not sand, but cork. It didn’t help. Israel What no one had counted on almost happened. Israel threatened to win the Eurovision Song Contest. Yuval Raphael had no singing career, but he did have a story as a victim of the attacks on October 7, 2023. Calls were made to vote for Israel as much as possible, and instructions were given on how to do so. Although the maximum number of televotes was 20, many who hadn’t even seen the broadcast managed to vote 80 times. Everyone waited in suspense when only Yuval and the Austrian JJ were still in the race. Many were relieved when it turned out that not Israel, but Austria won. JJ Austria’s JJ had been a favourite throughout the week, and the final confirmed what the rehearsals had suggested. His performance of “Wasted Love” was one of the most technically accomplished on the night. The professional juries placed him first, and the public gave him enough support to seal the victory.  The win was warmly received. JJ had brought something genuinely different to the contest: a voice that belonged to the operatic world, applied to a contemporary pop song without compromise. Basel had delivered a memorable host year, and the 2025 contest closed the anniversary decade on a high note, just in time for Eurovision to look ahead to its next seventy years.  

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April 29, 2026 No Comments
History
Martijn

70 years of Eurovision: social media and an operatic voice

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. 2025 Switzerland hosted the Eurovision Song Contest for the third time. The venue was the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, and the contest was presented by Michelle Hunziker, Hazel Brugger, and Sandra Studer. The latter having represented Switzerland at Eurovision herself in 1991. Basel put on a polished, well-organised show. Montenegro returned. Moldova withdrew on the very last moment. The songs Montenegro sent Nina Žižić. She had already accompanied the two ‘astronauts’ who represented that country back in 2013. Justyna Steczkowska participated for Poland. She had also done so in 1995. In doing so, she achieved a record: the only contestant ever to participate twice with a gap of 30 years. Belgium took the lead in the odds at an early stage, but once the entry was announced, the country dropped down the rankings somewhat. However, it remained surprising that the contestant, Red Sebastian, did not make it to the final at all. Against all expectations, the Australian Go-Jo also failed to reach the final. The final The one who did make it was Kyle Alessandro. With his song “Lighter”, but especially with his social media videos and his charisma, he went a long way. In those videos, he was invariably in the company of JJ (Austria), Sissal (Denmark), and Miriana Conte (Malta). The latter attracted attention with her lyrics: “I’m serving Kant”, which stood for the Maltese word for singing. But it also sounded very much like an English word that was not allowed to be used on television at the BBC. The lyrics had to be adjusted and became “I’m serving….”. Tommy Cash, a friend of Joost Klein and Käärijä, participated for Estonia. In a kind of fake Italian, he sang “Espresso Macchiato”. With this, he incurred the wrath of a number of Italians, but became very popular among other groups of Italians. Cash finished third with it. Væb was the duo that participated for Iceland. A kind of reincarnation of Jedward. The boys were constantly at the bottom of the bookmakers’ odds and turned that into a whole show on social media. It resulted in a place in the final. Less unexpectedly, Erika Vikman from Finland also managed to do the same. Seated on a giant microphone and ending as if she was cumming, she drew attention to herself. Lucio Corsi from Italy did something special: he played his harmonica live. It was the first time since 1998 that instruments were played live. And then there were the favorites, from Finland but for Sweden. No one had expected that the three gentlemen in a sauna setting would win the Swedish preliminary round against Måns Zelmerlöw. When that did happen, they were immediately the favorites. Everyone was singing “Bara Bada Bastu” at the top of their lungs. Yet, in the end, it was not enough. The group KAJ finished fourth. The French singer Louane also failed to live up to expectations with her song “Maman.” During the act, she doused herself with sand that was actually not sand, but cork. It didn’t help. Israel What no one had counted on almost happened. Israel threatened to win the Eurovision Song Contest. Yuval Raphael had no singing career, but he did have a story as a victim of the attacks on October 7, 2023. Calls were made to vote for Israel as much as possible, and instructions were given on how to do so. Although the maximum number of televotes was 20, many who hadn’t even seen the broadcast managed to vote 80 times. Everyone waited in suspense when only Yuval and the Austrian JJ were still in the race. Many were relieved when it turned out that not Israel, but Austria won. JJ Austria’s JJ had been a favourite throughout the week, and the final confirmed what the rehearsals had suggested. His performance of “Wasted Love” was one of the most technically accomplished on the night. The professional juries placed him first, and the public gave him enough support to seal the victory.  The win was warmly received. JJ had brought something genuinely different to the contest: a voice that belonged to the operatic world, applied to a contemporary pop song without compromise. Basel had delivered a memorable host year, and the 2025 contest closed the anniversary decade on a high note, just in time for Eurovision to look ahead to its next seventy years.  

Read More »
April 29, 2026 No Comments
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