One of the many striking things about following the whole Eurovision process from start to finish is the very real sense of forward momentum you start to pick up on as we enter the home stretch of this year’s contest. For the first week the press centre largely consists of dedicated fan bloggers and delegates. The event has the air of a convention mixed with a family reunion, as you catch up with familiar faces and engage in shamelessly nerdy punditry and microanalysis.
By the eve of the second semi final, national press have descended from all over the continent and everything feels a lot bigger, busier and more serious. Press conferences have gone from friendly, occasionally sparsely populated meet and greets to packed out and occasionally prickly interviews, as hardened journalists sniff out potential controversies and hunt for headlines (Swedish plagiarism! Russian homophobia! German voting scandals!)
One person who knows a thing or two about generating headlines is last year’s winner Conchita Wurst, and her press conference is possibly the biggest yet. Conchita has defied the generally short shelf life of Eurovision winners and emerged as a genuine star – spending the past 12 months gracing catwalks, meeting world leaders and preparing an autobiography and a debut album.
Conchita receives an Austrian platinum disc during her press conference.
Photo: Eurovision.tv
This year, she’s playing the role of green room hostess, with her evident warmth and star quality frequently overshadowing the main hosting team. She talks about the challenges of keeping conversation flowing with the contestants on a strict time limit and with producers shouting in her earpiece. She also discusses the bizarre experience of writing her memoirs at the tender age of 26. “There are a lot of pictures” she jokes.
Midway through the conference there’s an appearance by the Managing Director of Sony Music. “Am I fired?” she quips. Fortunately he’s actually here to present her with a Platinum disc for her debut album Conchita, which was released this week. Wherever her career may take her in the next 12 months and beyond, the eloquence and thoughtfulness she displays during this Q&A – fielding questions about personal criticism, Vladimir Putin and the responsibilities that come with global celebrity – are yet another reminder of why she’s made such an impact since her victory.
After Conchita, there’s just time to grab some food before racing into the arena for the main business of the day – the second semi final. Once again, I’ll save the analysis for my colleagues. Suffice to say, I was really saddened to see the Czech Republic knocked out – Marta & Václav have easily been the highlight of the season in terms of personality. Getting emotionally invested in the artists is an occupational hazard in this game, and I really hope they’re treated kindly by their local press, and that they’re not too heartbroken about tonight’s result.
For the ten successful artists, spirits are predictably high in the post-show press conference – and all eyes are on the four remaining slots in the second half of the grand final.
Monika & Vaidas from Lithuania are the first of tonight’s qualifiers to draw their position in the finals.
Photo: Eurovision.tv
Monika & Vaidas caused a stir during their performance when the backing dancers engaged in some same-sex tongue tennis onstage. It’s a funny moment, but one with a very serious message according to Vaidas. He wants their performance to demonstrate that Lithuania is stepping forwards towards equality for all. This may occasionally feel like a familiar sentiment at the contest, but for a post-Soviet nation it remains a powerful and important statement. They draw first half.
It’s clearly an emotional moment for Monika Kuszyńska, and for the highly passionate Polish fans, who are celebrating their first ever consecutive qualification. Monika says that the challenges she’s faced have changed her as an artist, and declares that the result tonight is a dream come true. She draws second half.
Maraaya from Slovenia are celebrating a fairly rare achievement – having composed a qualifying entry for their country last year, they’re now fronting another success story this year. They’re admirably unruffled by a slightly blunt suggestion by a Macedonian journalist that they “try to be less static” on stage. Marjetka takes responsibility for drawing their finals slot “so I only have to be mad at myself”. Which is probably just as well, as she promptly draws first half.
Måns Zelmerlöw from Sweden faces some hard questions about alleged similarities between his entry and a recent David Guetta hit.
Photo: Eurovision.tv
The overwhelming consensus is that Sweden have walked away with this semi final, and seem like an increasingly strong contender to take the whole thing. They’re not without their critics though, and the spectre of David Guetta’s similar-sounding ‘Lovers On The Sun’ is raised once again by a journo. Måns has doubtless prepared for this question, and delivers a typically smooth, diplomatic answer that acknowledges a superficial similarity but refutes any suggestion of plagiarism. Another first-half draw is the first major dent in the Swedish team’s momentum, but they’re still leading the pack at this point.
The Norwegians pay tribute to their fallen Nordic brethren from Iceland, Denmark and Finland, but promise to keep the Scandi flag flying alongside their Swedish neighbours. A journalist steals my totally original question about the terrible secret at the heart of the song, but Mørland still isn’t telling. They also draw first half.
With their second qualification in a row, Montenegro are on a real roll after several years of frustration as an independent nation. It’s clearly a huge relief for Knez, who describes it as the most important moment in his long career, and dedicates the performance to his daughter and his late father. He draws second half.
Montenegro celebrate their national independence day with a second Eurovision qualifier and a place in the second half of the grand finals.
Photo: Eurovision.tv
Cyprus draw first half with their gentle ballad, and dedicates his performance to the many Cypriots living abroad who may have been watching his performance. He also pays tribute to the seven artists who didn’t make the finals, admitting it’s an evening of mixed emotions after the friendships he’s forged with his colleagues in Vienna.
Azerbaijan have maintained their 100% qualification record, much to the delight of the many, many Azeri fans in the press room. Elnur Hüseynov politely declines a request to express his feelings about the evening through the medium of song for reasons that he claims his countrymen will understand (I can’t find any explanation for this online – any ideas readers?), and draws second half for the finals.
It’s been seven years since Latvia last qualified for the grand finals, and Aminata’s success is one of the real feelgood stories of this year’s contest. It’s very likely that their continued participation depended on the result tonight, and the singer credits the support she felt from the Latvian public for helping her to arrive at this moment. The good times continue as she draws the last spot in the second half.
It’s been a rough few years for Israel in the contest, and their fans are delighted to finally be back in the finals.
Photo: Eurovision.tv
If the Latvian fans are happy to be back in the finals, they’re practically muted compared to the unbridled joy of the Israeli press, who hijack Nadav’s Q&A with a raucous sing-along to Hava Nagila. The singer seems quite overwhelmed by the support, although at least he doesn’t have to worry too much about the draw – with just one ticket left, he’s already automatically in the first half.
After an eventful few hours, all that remains is to await the announcement of the final running order, with a great deal of debate about just how the producers are going to cope with what’s looking like a very front-loaded show – uptempo favourites Sweden, Australia, Slovenia, Israel and Belgium are all in the first half, with most of the big-hitting ballads looking set to be bunched together in the latter portion of the show. What did the ESCInsight team make of the final line-up? You’ll just have to check out today’s podcast to find out…