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. 2010 In 2010, the entire Eurovision Song Contest hung by a thread for a moment. That had everything to do with Iceland. Not with the contestant, Hera Björk. No, with a volcano: Eyjafjallajökull. It erupted. This resulted in an impenetrable ash cloud. Airspace in no fewer than 14 countries was closed on April 15. If it remained closed, the entire festival could not go ahead. Fortunately, everything ended without serious consequences. The song contest was held in Oslo. Erik Solbakken, Nadia Hasnaoui, and Haddy N’jie hosted the show. Georgia participated again, but Andorra, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Montenegro dropped out. The songs The female group Femminem, a previous participant for Bosnia and Herzegovina, now represented Croatia. 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April 22, 2026 No Comments
History
Martijn

70 years of Eurovision: from a volcano to a housewife

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. 2010 In 2010, the entire Eurovision Song Contest hung by a thread for a moment. That had everything to do with Iceland. Not with the contestant, Hera Björk. No, with a volcano: Eyjafjallajökull. It erupted. This resulted in an impenetrable ash cloud. Airspace in no fewer than 14 countries was closed on April 15. If it remained closed, the entire festival could not go ahead. Fortunately, everything ended without serious consequences. The song contest was held in Oslo. Erik Solbakken, Nadia Hasnaoui, and Haddy N’jie hosted the show. Georgia participated again, but Andorra, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Montenegro dropped out. The songs The female group Femminem, a previous participant for Bosnia and Herzegovina, now represented Croatia. Former winner Niamh Kavanagh made a new attempt for Ireland. Sweden chose a girl with a guitar: Anna Bergendahl. And what had never happened before (and would never happen again): Sweden did not make it to the final! Anna participated in Melodifestivalen several more times later on, but the Swedes still didn’t dare to send her again. The performance of the Spanish candidate Daniel Diges in the final was disrupted. Jimmy Jump, who often appears in places where he is not allowed to be, placed among the dancers. After he was removed from the stage, Diges was given the chance to sing his song again. Moldova made Eurovision history. Not because of the high score of Sunstroke Project, but because of the sax solo from the song. Over the years, it grew to mythical proportions. There is even a ten-hour compilation of just this sax solo to be found on YouTube. The saxophonist from the group was therefore given the nickname ‘epic sax guy’. Then there was Tom Dice from Belgium. He, too, was among the favorites. For a moment, it really seemed like he was going to finish in the top 3, but ultimately he ended up being a sixth place. The group Manga came second for Turkey. Fireworks weren’t enough for this group: a grinding tool was even used in the act.The Ukrainian entry was the third choice. The winner of the national final was deemed not good enough by the Ukrainian broadcaster. A new national final had to be held. But the song that won back then turned out to already exist and was disqualified. The winning singer, Alyosha, was now allowed to come up with an alternative. Duos Paula Seling and the Romanian-Norwegian (or Norwegian-Romanian?) Ovi, seated at the piano, had great success with their duet “Playing with fire”. The song came in an impressive third place! The two finished just above another duo: Chanée and N’Evergreen from Denmark. With “In A Moment Like This,” they confessed their love to each other. Love that didn’t actually exist; the two could have killed each other. But as is often the case, that very fact led to great success. Lena No one knew Lena Meyer-Landruth from Hanover. As a completely unknown German girl, she had entered Unser Star Für Oslo, the German national selection. Surprisingly, she emerged as the winner. With her distinctive English accent, she sang the song “Sattelite” to first place. Upon her return home, she was welcomed as a heroine. Hanover airport was packed. The producer of the program was Stefan Raab, who himself was on stage in a glitter suit back in 2000. At the winners’ press conference, he already suggested that Lena would defend her title in 2011. And so it happened. And so, after Lys Assia and Corrie Brokken, Lena was the third contestant to participate again immediately after her victory. 2011 Not Hanover, not Berlin, but Düsseldorf became the venue. Stefan Raab was the host, together with Anke Engelke and Judith Rakers. Four countries returned: Austria, San Marino, Hungary and, surprisingly enough, Italy. The lobbying by singer Raffaella Cara, among others, had worked. The songs As mentioned, Lena represented Germany and thereby defended her title. But the entry was not as successful as the previous one, with ‘just’ a tenth place. She was not the only former winner: Israel fielded Dana International. Her glory years were clearly over; it was not enough for a place in the final. The Bosnian Dino Merlin, who was also present in 1999, did better with a sixth place. San Marino came with Senit, an Italian of Eritrean descent. Nowadays she calls herself Senhit, and this year she will take the Eurovision stage again. The main eye-catchers were the twin brothers from Ireland: Jedward. With red suits and enormous quiffs, the two stood out quite a bit. Their song “Lipstick” was sung along to by everyone in Düsseldorf and the surrounding area. Jedward knew how to put on a show. Eric Saade performed for Sweden. He spent his time in Düsseldorf among other things arguing with the Russian Alexey Vorobyov, and vice versa. The British hit machine Blue represented the United Kingdom with an act featuring towering portraits of the four group members on stage. “I Can” did not become the success that was expected of it. The same thing happened to France. Amaury Vassili sang “Sognu,” a classic ballad, entirely in Corsican. He sang perfectly during all rehearsals, except when it really mattered. Amaury finished 15th. Singer Sjonni Brink was supposed to participate in the Icelandic national final but passed away unexpectedly just before it was held. As a tribute, a group of friends decided to sing the song “Coming Home” in his place. Of course, they won by a wide margin. During the winners press conference, there was joy at reaching the final, but traces of a very different emotion were clearly visible as well. Ell & Nikki As the rehearsal week progressed, it became increasingly clear that Azerbaijan stood a chance. Although

Read More »
April 22, 2026 No Comments
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