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: of monsters and prayers

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. 2006 Sakis Rouvas, together with Maria Manonous, hosted the Eurovision Song Contest from the O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall in Athens. Austria and Hungary decided not to participate. Serbia & Montenegro was going to participate, but a dispute broke out. During the national final, the Serbian jury members voted for Montenegrin artists, but the reverse did not happen, or barely so. The same thing happened the year before. For the second consecutive time, the Montenegrin group No Name won. The Serbian audience (the national final was held in Belgrade) became so angry that the band members did not perform an encore, just for their own safety. Ultimately, Serbia & Montenegro withdrew completely. Fortunately, there was also a debuting country: Armenia. That brought the total number of countries to 37. And because Serbia & Montenegro were automatically in the final, another country was now allowed to advance: Croatia. The songs There were many returning artists. Anna Vissi participated for the third time. Vissi had by then become a major star in a large part of Europe. Former winner Carola was no stranger either. She was given another chance for Sweden. Ich Troje participated for the second time for Poland; the singer had green hair by then. The group did not reach the final this time. Fabrizio Faniello made a repeat appearance for Malta. And then there was Hari Mata Hari. In 1999, disqualified for Bosnia and Herzegovina, but this time the group participated and even became 3rd. There were big stars as well. The Belgian Kate Ryan had also had a hit abroad before. Expectations were high for “Je t’adore”, but a nervous Kate did not make the final. Arsenium was among those participating for Moldova. 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It was said that it was something in Mongolian. That was incorrect. But “Lasha Tumbai” was very easy to confuse with “Russia

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April 20, 2026 No Comments
History
Martijn

70 years of Eurovision: of monsters and prayers

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. 2006 Sakis Rouvas, together with Maria Manonous, hosted the Eurovision Song Contest from the O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall in Athens. Austria and Hungary decided not to participate. Serbia & Montenegro was going to participate, but a dispute broke out. During the national final, the Serbian jury members voted for Montenegrin artists, but the reverse did not happen, or barely so. The same thing happened the year before. For the second consecutive time, the Montenegrin group No Name won. The Serbian audience (the national final was held in Belgrade) became so angry that the band members did not perform an encore, just for their own safety. Ultimately, Serbia & Montenegro withdrew completely. Fortunately, there was also a debuting country: Armenia. That brought the total number of countries to 37. And because Serbia & Montenegro were automatically in the final, another country was now allowed to advance: Croatia. The songs There were many returning artists. Anna Vissi participated for the third time. Vissi had by then become a major star in a large part of Europe. Former winner Carola was no stranger either. She was given another chance for Sweden. Ich Troje participated for the second time for Poland; the singer had green hair by then. The group did not reach the final this time. Fabrizio Faniello made a repeat appearance for Malta. And then there was Hari Mata Hari. In 1999, disqualified for Bosnia and Herzegovina, but this time the group participated and even became 3rd. There were big stars as well. The Belgian Kate Ryan had also had a hit abroad before. Expectations were high for “Je t’adore”, but a nervous Kate did not make the final. Arsenium was among those participating for Moldova. He had scored a worldwide hit a year before as a member of the group O-Zone: “Dragostea din tei”. The Spanish group Las Ketchup was, of course, known for “The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)”. However, they were not very successful with their “Bloody Mary”. Iceland sent Silvia Night. This was a fictional, satirical character from an Icelandic TV series. She walked around Athens giggling and making insulting remarks. When she failed to reach the final, she threatened to jump off a bridge. Fortunately, it was all just a show; a show that was not taken in by the public. A show that *was* taken in, however, was that of the Russian Dima Bilan. He became second. The fact that a whole series of pornographic photos of Bilan went viral on the internet shortly after the announcement of his participation certainly didn’t bother him. For Lithuania, the group LT United performed: a group that had come up with lyrics to a teasing tune: “We Are the Winners of Eurovision,” the group sang. They did not win. For Croatia, Severina sang a cheerful song about high heels: “Moja štikla.” What stuck with us from that song to this day was the cry “Afrika Paprika!”. Lordi Candidates could stand out as much as they wanted, but no one surpassed Lordi in that regard. Lordi is a band that has always performed dressed as monsters. So, they did so again now. Their disguise was not specifically for Eurovision. However, with “Hardrock Hallelujah,” they appealed to a large portion of the televoters. And so, the country that had been waiting in vain for a victory since 1961 finally finished at the top. Soon after the victory, photos leaked showing what the members of Lordi really looked like. Nevertheless, they adhered to the rule of never appearing in public without a disguise. And in Finland, they certainly celebrated! 2007 A record 42 countries participated in the Eurovision Song Contest. Although Monaco dropped out, Austria and Hungary returned. Serbia and Montenegro returned, but now independently of each other. Georgia and the Czech Republic also made their debut. The Eurovision Song Contest was held in the Hartwall Arena in Helsinki. Jaana Pelkonen and Mikko Leppilampi hosted the event. The songs Evridiki (Cyprus) participated for the third time. Eiríkur Hauksson did too; he had previously participated for both Iceland and Norway. Edsilia Rombley (the Netherlands) was there for the second time. None of the three artists reached the final. The Macedonian Karolina Goceva had more luck with her second participation: she did make it to the final. Switzerland had managed to convince DJ Bobo to represent the country. However, with his “Vampires Are Alive,” he didn’t make it either. Reason for him to grumble loudly: “If Turkey lays a flag on the stage for three minutes, they’ll still make the final.” Drag queen DQ also failed to reach the final with her “Drama Queen.” Belarus surprised with Dimi Koldun. His “Work Your Magic” not only reached the final with ease but also finished very high there, securing sixth place. The Russian female trio Serebro, which later scored several international hits, also performed well with a third place. It was their first song. Because no good title had been conceived, the song was called “Song #1”. Very striking, but unfortunately not scoring high, was the jazzy German entry by Roger Ciccero: “Frauen regier’n die Welt”, which meant: women rule the world. According to Ciccero, it was not an ode to the (female) Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel. The United Kingdom continued to search in vain for tongue-in-cheek entries. Dressed as stewards and stewardesses, the group Scooch sang “Flyin’ the Flag” to the bottom ranks. How different it was for Ukraine. Drag queen Verka Serduchka managed to get the crowd clapping with the rousing entry “Dancing Lasha Tumbai”. Dressed entirely in silver, Verka sang, but what did that “Lasha Tumbai” actually mean? It was said that it was something in Mongolian. That was incorrect. But “Lasha Tumbai” was very easy to confuse with “Russia

Read More »
April 20, 2026 No Comments
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