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: a child and a double

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. 1986 For the first time, Norway was allowed to host the Eurovision Song Contest. Former contestant Åse Kleveland hosted the event at the Grieg Hallen in Bergen. Greece withdrew at a late stage, and Italy was not included either. However, the Netherlands and Yugoslavia were back, and Iceland made its debut! Elpida, who participated for Greece in 1979, entered the stage for Cyprus. The ladies of the French group Cocktail-Chic had performed in backing choirs many times but had never participated solo. Debuting Iceland had selected a solo singer for the national final, but internationally he was flanked by two colleagues. Together they formed the group Icy. For Turkey, the group Klips Ve Onlar performed a song about Halley’s Comet. Once again, Dutchman Peter Schön was asked to arrange the music. For the first time, Turkey finished in the top half of the rankings with a respectable 9th place. Also striking was the ballad from Switzerland, a song that might well have won effortlessly in another year: “Pas pour moi”, sung by Daniela Simons. And certainly striking was the Swedish entry “E’ de’ det här du källar kärlek”. Duo partners Lasse Holm and Monica Törnell were already making it a party, but when the delegation leader appeared on stage shirtless, the spectacle was complete. Sandra Kim However, no one could match Belgium. Sandra Kim sang that she was 15, said she was 14, and only admitted ten years later that she was actually 13 when she won the song contest. Sandra had already released a single before. With “J’aime la vie”, she effortlessly won the national final and later the Eurovision Song Contest. The question was no longer whether she would win or not, but by how many points she would do so. Immediately after she won, presenter Åse Kleveland promised her a giant ice cream. In the turmoil following the victory, it took a while before she actually received it. Sandra Kim is still a well-known singer in Belgium. A few years ago, she won the Belgian version of “The Masked Singer”.   1987 In Belgium, the agreement was that the Flemish and Walloon broadcasters would organize the contest in case of a victory. Given the political sensitivity of the time, this went disastrously wrong. Ultimately, it was the Walloon broadcaster that organized the contest. Viktor Lazlo presented the Eurovision Song Contest at the Palace on the Heysel in Brussels. She garnered much praise for this.  Gary Lux participated for Austria for the third time. The group Wind, finishing second two years earlier, performed for Germany. We saw one of the group members, Rob Pilatus, shortly afterwards as half of the duo Milli Vanilli. The two scored a number of big hits before it came out that they didn’t sing a single note themselves. Alexia was once part of the first group to participate for Cyprus, but now she was alone on stage. She performed the swinging “Aspro mavro”. And then, of course, there was Johnny Logan. For the second time, he was on the Eurovision stage as a singer. He was immediately the big favorite. Big stars Umberto Tozzi and Raff participated for Italy. Their song, “Gente Di Mare”, came third. People were outraged that the two did not appear in tuxedos, but they certainly had a gigantic hit with the song. By now, we can consider “Gente Di Mare” a Eurovision classic. Also noteworthy were Anne Catherine Herdorff and her backing band Bandjo. Their “En lille melodi” was frequently compared to “Ein bißchen Frieden”. And then there was Novi Fosili, the group that participated for Yugoslavia. Singer Sanja Doležal celebrated her birthday that day, although presenter Viktor Lazlo did not allow you to tell anyone. For group member Rajko Dujmić and his colleague Stevo Cvikić, it was the first entry they wrote, but certainly not the last. Johnny Logan The Irishman Johnny Logan, whose real name was Sean Sherrard, won the Eurovision Song Contest back in 1980. After that, just about everything went against him. As an inexperienced artist, he was ripped off by producers and managers. As a result, he took to drinking and ran into financial trouble. The years that followed his Eurovision win were not pleasant for Logan. But the Irishman fought his way back. And when things improved for him, he wanted to go to the Eurovision Song Contest one more time, if only to prove that it *can* be done in a pleasant way. And he did it. Johnny Logan was the overwhelming favorite for the final victory. When it finally came to that, Logan was so emotional that he could barely manage to sing the reprise. He had to stop halfway through, and the final note didn’t come out very cleanly. But that didn’t spoil the fun. Johnny Logan never disappeared from the scene. As a composer, he would even win the Eurovision Song Contest one more time. And anyone who is a loyal visitor to the annual Het Grote Songfestivalfeest in Amsterdam can still see him live every year.

Read More »
April 10, 2026 No Comments
History
Martijn

70 years of Eurovision: a child and a double

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. 1986 For the first time, Norway was allowed to host the Eurovision Song Contest. Former contestant Åse Kleveland hosted the event at the Grieg Hallen in Bergen. Greece withdrew at a late stage, and Italy was not included either. However, the Netherlands and Yugoslavia were back, and Iceland made its debut! Elpida, who participated for Greece in 1979, entered the stage for Cyprus. The ladies of the French group Cocktail-Chic had performed in backing choirs many times but had never participated solo. Debuting Iceland had selected a solo singer for the national final, but internationally he was flanked by two colleagues. Together they formed the group Icy. For Turkey, the group Klips Ve Onlar performed a song about Halley’s Comet. Once again, Dutchman Peter Schön was asked to arrange the music. For the first time, Turkey finished in the top half of the rankings with a respectable 9th place. Also striking was the ballad from Switzerland, a song that might well have won effortlessly in another year: “Pas pour moi”, sung by Daniela Simons. And certainly striking was the Swedish entry “E’ de’ det här du källar kärlek”. Duo partners Lasse Holm and Monica Törnell were already making it a party, but when the delegation leader appeared on stage shirtless, the spectacle was complete. Sandra Kim However, no one could match Belgium. Sandra Kim sang that she was 15, said she was 14, and only admitted ten years later that she was actually 13 when she won the song contest. Sandra had already released a single before. With “J’aime la vie”, she effortlessly won the national final and later the Eurovision Song Contest. The question was no longer whether she would win or not, but by how many points she would do so. Immediately after she won, presenter Åse Kleveland promised her a giant ice cream. In the turmoil following the victory, it took a while before she actually received it. Sandra Kim is still a well-known singer in Belgium. A few years ago, she won the Belgian version of “The Masked Singer”.   1987 In Belgium, the agreement was that the Flemish and Walloon broadcasters would organize the contest in case of a victory. Given the political sensitivity of the time, this went disastrously wrong. Ultimately, it was the Walloon broadcaster that organized the contest. Viktor Lazlo presented the Eurovision Song Contest at the Palace on the Heysel in Brussels. She garnered much praise for this.  Gary Lux participated for Austria for the third time. The group Wind, finishing second two years earlier, performed for Germany. We saw one of the group members, Rob Pilatus, shortly afterwards as half of the duo Milli Vanilli. The two scored a number of big hits before it came out that they didn’t sing a single note themselves. Alexia was once part of the first group to participate for Cyprus, but now she was alone on stage. She performed the swinging “Aspro mavro”. And then, of course, there was Johnny Logan. For the second time, he was on the Eurovision stage as a singer. He was immediately the big favorite. Big stars Umberto Tozzi and Raff participated for Italy. Their song, “Gente Di Mare”, came third. People were outraged that the two did not appear in tuxedos, but they certainly had a gigantic hit with the song. By now, we can consider “Gente Di Mare” a Eurovision classic. Also noteworthy were Anne Catherine Herdorff and her backing band Bandjo. Their “En lille melodi” was frequently compared to “Ein bißchen Frieden”. And then there was Novi Fosili, the group that participated for Yugoslavia. Singer Sanja Doležal celebrated her birthday that day, although presenter Viktor Lazlo did not allow you to tell anyone. For group member Rajko Dujmić and his colleague Stevo Cvikić, it was the first entry they wrote, but certainly not the last. Johnny Logan The Irishman Johnny Logan, whose real name was Sean Sherrard, won the Eurovision Song Contest back in 1980. After that, just about everything went against him. As an inexperienced artist, he was ripped off by producers and managers. As a result, he took to drinking and ran into financial trouble. The years that followed his Eurovision win were not pleasant for Logan. But the Irishman fought his way back. And when things improved for him, he wanted to go to the Eurovision Song Contest one more time, if only to prove that it *can* be done in a pleasant way. And he did it. Johnny Logan was the overwhelming favorite for the final victory. When it finally came to that, Logan was so emotional that he could barely manage to sing the reprise. He had to stop halfway through, and the final note didn’t come out very cleanly. But that didn’t spoil the fun. Johnny Logan never disappeared from the scene. As a composer, he would even win the Eurovision Song Contest one more time. And anyone who is a loyal visitor to the annual Het Grote Songfestivalfeest in Amsterdam can still see him live every year.

Read More »
April 10, 2026 No Comments
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