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: she won, they won

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. 2023 Because Ukraine could not safely host the Eurovision Song Contest, the United Kingdom stepped in as the runner-up from 2022. Liverpool was chosen as the host city, and the M&S Bank Arena became the stage. Hannah Waddingham, Julia Sanina, Alesha Dixon, and Graham Norton presented the event. The city embraced the occasion wholeheartedly, decorating itself in Ukrainian blue and yellow throughout contest week. It was one of the most warmly received editions in recent memory. The songs Marco Mengoni represented Italy for the second time. He secured a respectable fourth place. Moldova’s contestant was no newcomer either. Pasha Parfeni already participated in 2012. Teya and Salena from Austria wondered: “Who The Hell Is Edgar?” Together with Joëlle Ursull in 1990, they were the second to mention Edgar Allan Poe in their song. Although the two did well with the bookmakers, they still finished in 15th place. The Polish contestant Blanka was controversial. She had been promoted in advance by the Polish broadcaster. And she was said to know the son of jury chairwoman Edyta Górniak quite well. TVP was also accused of homophobia because the favorite Jann received very few points. The Canadian singer La Zarra represented France but failed to live up to expectations. When the televote for France was announced, she put her middle finger on the camera. The Belgian contestant Gustaph repeated what Laura Tesoro did in 2016. No one had confidence in the entry, but from the moment the stage act was revealed, Gustaph’s odds rose. Ultimately, he exceeded all expectations with a seventh-place finish. Striking, but unpopular with the jury, was Let 3 from Croatia. Featuring, among other things, a pink version of a German army uniform, Let 3’s act looked more like a fever dream. As mentioned, the jury did not appreciate it, but the televoters did. Mae Muller represented the host country, the United Kingdom. During all the rehearsals, she sang so terribly badly that the men feared the worst. And although the singing was better during the broadcast, a 25th place was the best she could achieve. Käärijä, crowd favorite Both the people in the audience and the televoters at home had a clear preference for the Finn Käärijä. With a unique act, charisma, and a neon-green bolero, he managed to capture everyone’s full attention. He therefore won comfortably with the televoter with his “Cha-Cha-Cha”. The jury was slightly less charmed by it, which resulted in a result deemed unnecessary by the audience. The entire hall chanted “Käärijä! Käärijä! Käärijä!”. Loreen In the end, the professional jury vote was decisive. Loreen won convincingly among the national juries, while Käärijä took the public televote by storm. When the final scores were combined, Loreen came out ahead. She became the second artist in Eurovision history to win the contest twice, the first being Johnny Logan of Ireland, who won in 1980 and 1987. Sweden claimed its seventh Eurovision title. The result was controversial among fans, many of whom felt Käärijä deserved the victory. The debate about the balance between jury and public vote flared up again with renewed intensity. Regardless, Loreen’s vocal performance on the night was flawless, and “Tattoo” became one of the most-streamed Eurovision winners in the contest’s history. 2024 Sweden hosted for the seventh time. The Malmö Arena welcomed the contest, and (of course) Petra Mede and Malin Åkerman presented the event. Malmö had hosted before, in 1992 and 2013. The contest, however, took place in a charged political atmosphere. Israel’s participation was the subject of intense debate, given the ongoing conflict in Gaza. Protests took place outside the arena throughout the week. Inside, the contest carried on. Several calls to exclude Israel were made by broadcasters and artists alike. The EBU held firm: Israel would participate. Eden Golan represented the country with “Hurricane,” a song whose original lyrics had been altered at the EBU’s request. Despite, or perhaps because of, the controversy, Golan finished fifth. Romania withdrew from the contest. On the other hand, there was also good news: Luxembourg returned to Eurovision for the first time since 1993.  The songs Hera Björk from Iceland participated for the second time. However, the success she achieved in 2010 was not present this time. Natalia Barbu from Moldova also failed to reach the final. Fortunately, the rule that applied to her in 2007 (if you do not reach the final, you pay the costs yourself) was not in effect this time. Alyona Alyona and Jerry Heil represented Ukraine. The latter had already participated in the national final several times. The entry impressed so much that Ukraine could count on a third place. Although Spain did not finish very high, the entry, “Zorra”, was hugely popular. Ireland came with the first non-binary participant, Bambie Thug. They performed their entry “Doomsday Blues” in a very unique way: seated in a sort of witches’ circle, Bambie Thug defeated their demons. The act was very popular with some, while others found it too scary for a family program. Bambie Thug finished sixth. Olly Alexander represented the United Kingdom. His act took place in a somewhat dingy dressing room. The entry was not a success. Windows95man finished low in the final. During the national final, he was wearing a shirt with the Windows 95 logo. This had to be blurred during the live broadcast. The French entry was very popular. Singer Slimane was certainly not qutie unknown in his own country either. His song “Mon Amour” ultimately finished fourth. The Croatian Baby Lasagna was very popular and was even seen as a potential winner. His song about leaving home and hearth resonated with the audience. Joost Klein “Europapa”, the Dutch entry by Joost Klein, did the same. He participated in the festival

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April 28, 2026 No Comments
History
Martijn

70 years of Eurovision: she won, they won

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. 2023 Because Ukraine could not safely host the Eurovision Song Contest, the United Kingdom stepped in as the runner-up from 2022. Liverpool was chosen as the host city, and the M&S Bank Arena became the stage. Hannah Waddingham, Julia Sanina, Alesha Dixon, and Graham Norton presented the event. The city embraced the occasion wholeheartedly, decorating itself in Ukrainian blue and yellow throughout contest week. It was one of the most warmly received editions in recent memory. The songs Marco Mengoni represented Italy for the second time. He secured a respectable fourth place. Moldova’s contestant was no newcomer either. Pasha Parfeni already participated in 2012. Teya and Salena from Austria wondered: “Who The Hell Is Edgar?” Together with Joëlle Ursull in 1990, they were the second to mention Edgar Allan Poe in their song. Although the two did well with the bookmakers, they still finished in 15th place. The Polish contestant Blanka was controversial. She had been promoted in advance by the Polish broadcaster. And she was said to know the son of jury chairwoman Edyta Górniak quite well. TVP was also accused of homophobia because the favorite Jann received very few points. The Canadian singer La Zarra represented France but failed to live up to expectations. When the televote for France was announced, she put her middle finger on the camera. The Belgian contestant Gustaph repeated what Laura Tesoro did in 2016. No one had confidence in the entry, but from the moment the stage act was revealed, Gustaph’s odds rose. Ultimately, he exceeded all expectations with a seventh-place finish. Striking, but unpopular with the jury, was Let 3 from Croatia. Featuring, among other things, a pink version of a German army uniform, Let 3’s act looked more like a fever dream. As mentioned, the jury did not appreciate it, but the televoters did. Mae Muller represented the host country, the United Kingdom. During all the rehearsals, she sang so terribly badly that the men feared the worst. And although the singing was better during the broadcast, a 25th place was the best she could achieve. Käärijä, crowd favorite Both the people in the audience and the televoters at home had a clear preference for the Finn Käärijä. With a unique act, charisma, and a neon-green bolero, he managed to capture everyone’s full attention. He therefore won comfortably with the televoter with his “Cha-Cha-Cha”. The jury was slightly less charmed by it, which resulted in a result deemed unnecessary by the audience. The entire hall chanted “Käärijä! Käärijä! Käärijä!”. Loreen In the end, the professional jury vote was decisive. Loreen won convincingly among the national juries, while Käärijä took the public televote by storm. When the final scores were combined, Loreen came out ahead. She became the second artist in Eurovision history to win the contest twice, the first being Johnny Logan of Ireland, who won in 1980 and 1987. Sweden claimed its seventh Eurovision title. The result was controversial among fans, many of whom felt Käärijä deserved the victory. The debate about the balance between jury and public vote flared up again with renewed intensity. Regardless, Loreen’s vocal performance on the night was flawless, and “Tattoo” became one of the most-streamed Eurovision winners in the contest’s history. 2024 Sweden hosted for the seventh time. The Malmö Arena welcomed the contest, and (of course) Petra Mede and Malin Åkerman presented the event. Malmö had hosted before, in 1992 and 2013. The contest, however, took place in a charged political atmosphere. Israel’s participation was the subject of intense debate, given the ongoing conflict in Gaza. Protests took place outside the arena throughout the week. Inside, the contest carried on. Several calls to exclude Israel were made by broadcasters and artists alike. The EBU held firm: Israel would participate. Eden Golan represented the country with “Hurricane,” a song whose original lyrics had been altered at the EBU’s request. Despite, or perhaps because of, the controversy, Golan finished fifth. Romania withdrew from the contest. On the other hand, there was also good news: Luxembourg returned to Eurovision for the first time since 1993.  The songs Hera Björk from Iceland participated for the second time. However, the success she achieved in 2010 was not present this time. Natalia Barbu from Moldova also failed to reach the final. Fortunately, the rule that applied to her in 2007 (if you do not reach the final, you pay the costs yourself) was not in effect this time. Alyona Alyona and Jerry Heil represented Ukraine. The latter had already participated in the national final several times. The entry impressed so much that Ukraine could count on a third place. Although Spain did not finish very high, the entry, “Zorra”, was hugely popular. Ireland came with the first non-binary participant, Bambie Thug. They performed their entry “Doomsday Blues” in a very unique way: seated in a sort of witches’ circle, Bambie Thug defeated their demons. The act was very popular with some, while others found it too scary for a family program. Bambie Thug finished sixth. Olly Alexander represented the United Kingdom. His act took place in a somewhat dingy dressing room. The entry was not a success. Windows95man finished low in the final. During the national final, he was wearing a shirt with the Windows 95 logo. This had to be blurred during the live broadcast. The French entry was very popular. Singer Slimane was certainly not qutie unknown in his own country either. His song “Mon Amour” ultimately finished fourth. The Croatian Baby Lasagna was very popular and was even seen as a potential winner. His song about leaving home and hearth resonated with the audience. Joost Klein “Europapa”, the Dutch entry by Joost Klein, did the same. He participated in the festival

Read More »
April 28, 2026 No Comments
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