Eurovision 2013 - Malmö (Sweden) - the final

(This blog is now being UPDATED as the various countries sing - the introductory 'spiel' from the Swedish TV presenter - and comedienne - is really quite good this year. There will be a final UPDATE near the end once the competition is over, but I will summarise the results immediately below)

The results of Eurovision Song Contest for 2013

Denmark is FIRST with 281 points
Azerbaijan is SECOND with 234 points
Ukraine is THIRD with 214 points
- a very convincing victory for Denmark; although I did not cast my vote for them (I gave them 7 ¼ to 7 ½, my 7th equal vote more or less) it is still a pretty good song and Denmark will make for a nice location for Eurovision next year.

You can see the full voting details in the Eurovision website here.

Congratulations to Denmark on their win and see you next year in Copenhagen, or whichever Danish city is chosen to host it. Here's the winning song:


Below are my comments during the evening:

So, tonight is the night - the final of the Eurovision Song Contest for 2013! There are 26 contestants tonight, 20 qualifiers from the first and second semi-finals, plus the 'big 5' who pre-qualify for the final by virtue of their major financial support for the EBU and finally the winner of last year's contest and this year's host nation which also pre-qualifies for the final - the 6 nations in all that this applies to are high-lighted below.

The final will begin at 9pm (Spanish time - or 8pm in the UK) and runs for 3+ hours. The full order in which the entries will be performed is in the Eurovision website here and the page has links to view video-clips of all the competing entries.

I'll be updating the list below (in performance order) as the show progresses with my comments on each performance (updated comments for the 20 qualifiers from the semi-finals). Apart from having watched a video-clip of the United Kingdom entry once only, I had not seen any of the entries until the two semi-finals and still have not seen recordings of the entries for Sweden, France, Germany, Italy and Spain and do not plan to watch them before the performances on Saturday evening so that the whole evening will be as 'fresh' as possible for me.


1 – France: Amandine Bourgeois - L'enfer Et Moi Pre-qualified for final.
It seems superfluous to remark that htis is being sung in French - she's performing well a sort of rock ballad. She is quite a pretty blond, with a 'rounded' figure, good to see. The song is quite good, but probably not a a winner, sadly.

2 - Lithuania: Andrius Pojavis - Something
[My reaction during 1st semi-final - Good-looking man singing in English. Good if not perfect voice and is a pleasant boppy pop effort. Probably not a winner I suspect - a few "off" notes in his voice.]
Catchy tune, but his voice is still a little 'off' occasionally. Easy on the eye though.

3 - Moldova: Aliona Moon - O Mie
[My reaction during 1st semi-final - Pretty red-haired lady with long ball-gown dress. Good voice, singing not in English (good). Nice ballad, but hardly a winner, in my opinion. Quite dramatic & pleasant to listen to though.]
Another very creditable performance - she's doing her best (which is a good best) with the material she has to perform, but unfortunately the song ain't that great, not that it's that bad either.

4 – Finland: Krista Siegfrids - Marry Me
[My reaction during 2nd semi-final - Blond lady (this is Finland after all) singing in English a very cheery boppy song - typical Europop - might easily do well & she is certainly performing it with great gusto, supported by male dancers wearing masks & backing female singers. Not bad at all, I'd say it should get to final.]
Another good performance, perhaps not quite the winner though, but certainly deserves to get quite a high point score.

5 – Spain: ESDM - Contigo Hasta El Final (With You Until The End) Pre-qualified for final.
Spanish bag-pipe introduction. She's a rather attractive Iberian beauty, but unfortunately so far her voice is rather weak - hope she recovers later in performance. As I'm in Spain now I can't vote for this, even if I wished to, which sadly would be unlikely in any case. The song ain't bad though, but her voice is not really up to it in my opinion. He voice didn't recover, by the way.

6 - Belgium: Roberto Bellarosa - Love Kills
[My reaction during 1st semi-final - Young pleasant-looking man with longish straight brown hair, quite young. Good voice, singing in English a pretty nice ballad. Might do quite well in a fair world (i.e. probably not Eurovision). I like it.]
This is a really nice song and again he's doing it proud - should get a decent level of votes if there's any justice.

7 - Estonia: Birgit - Et Uus Saaks Alguse
[My reaction during 1st semi-final - Very attractive dark-daired lady, singing presumably in Estonian. Nice ballad and she has a good voice. It's good, but whether it will appeal to wider audience I doubt, probably too high quality for Eurovision.]
Excellent ballad and she has a very good voice. Will it get many votes, though? If I had to eat my words I wouldn't mind.

8 - Belarus: Alyona Lanskaya - Solayoh
[My reaction during 1st semi-final - Beautiful blond lady singing in English. Voice is good, a lively bit of Europop, backing dancers & singers. Not bad at all & quite well performed. A winner though?]
Another good performance of this lively song, perhaps not a winner, but it certainly deserves a few votes.

9 – Malta: Gianluca - Tomorrow
[My reaction during 2nd semi-final - Nice-looking young man singing in English - a good voice, with male/female backing music & singers. The words are amusing and tell a stroy and it is being performed pretty well, but I wonder if non-English speakers will wonder what it's all about. But it is so nice, surely no-one could not like this? I do like it a great deal.]
Another very attractive performance and he has a very 'smiley' face which is engaging. I like this a great deal - might switch my allegiance to it I suspect from what I did in 2nd semi.

10 - Russia: Dina Garipova - What If
[My reaction during 1st semi-final - Pretty female, long straight black hair, excellent powerful and true voice and it's a nice ballad. Sung in English. It's actually quite catchy and the words are good. Might do well I suspect.]
Her voice is excellent, no doubt about that & the song is very nice and optimistic.

11 – Germany: Cascada - Glorious Pre-qualified for final.
Blond pretty but slightly 'round' lady singing in English - her voice is OK, but not perfect, and the song ain't that great in my opinion - it's a lively boppy number, but I can't say I like it much.

12 – Armenia: Dorians - Lonely Planet
[My reaction during 2nd semi-final - Young nice-looking man (long hair, goatee & moustache) - good voice, but with some off-notes I'm afraid. Singing ballad with rock overtones in English with backing group - like this at first, but off-notes are putting me off. No - I don't think so, sorry.]
I think his performance is a little better tonight than in the 2nd semi- but there are still a few off-notes I think. Not a bad song, but I'd be really surprised if this ended up winning.

13 - The Netherlands: Anouk - Birds
[My reaction during 1st semi-final - Pretty lady, long auburn hair, has an excellent voice and it's a good if slightly unusual song, but I like it quite a lot and it's sung in English. A quality song, but perhaps not quite right for Eurovision, but the kind of song that could last.]
A classy song and she has an excellent voice. It's a proper, intelligent song and deserves to do well, even if I suspect (sadly) it is too good for a competition like this.

14 – Romania: Cezar - It's My Life
[My reaction during 2nd semi-final - Started with a deep voice, but now is singing falsetto, amazing voice. His voice is powerful and excellent - he is singing in English & song is pretty amazing. Should definitely get to final, if only for novelty, but it will certainly merit it.]
I can only repeat that this is pretty amazing. Could we be in Bucharest next year? Perhaps not, but it is undoubtedly a contender.

15 – United Kingdom: Bonnie Tyler - Believe In Me Pre-qualified for final.
Her voice is good, but I wonder if she's not having an off-night - ah, now she is recovering, thank goodness. It's a good song, but trying to be objective it ain't a patch on Malta or Romania. As I'm in Spain I could vote for this, but I don't think I necessarily will - sorry.

16 – Sweden: Robin Stjernberg - You Pre-qualified for final.
A nice-looking blond man, with a good voice and it's being performed quite well, in a way similar to some of the Netherlands song, but not as good I think.

17 – Hungary: ByeAlex - Kedvesem (Zoohacker Remix)
[My reaction during 2nd semi-final - Male singing in Hungarian with male guitarist and female singing backing. Tuneful and not unpleasant too listen to, it has an attractive beat - he has a good voice & it is different. Might at least get to final, I suspect.]
Another good performance of a catchy and quite attractive song. Probably not the winner, but certainly not a 'dud'.

18 - Denmark: Emmelie de Forest - Only Teardrops
[My reaction during 1st semi-final - A classy song - lead female singer - long blond hair & male group and musicians. Sung in English - nice song & should do pretty well in a fair world.]
Yes, its a nice song and they're performing it well again.

19 – Iceland: Eythor Ingi - Ég Á Líf
[My reaction during 2nd semi-final - A long-haired blond young man singing in Icelandic. He has a superb voice and it seems to be a nice ballad - I rather like it, his voice is so good, the fact I don't understand the words really doesn't matter to me. This is quality, even if unlikely to win.]
Yes, he has a lovely voice and this is a quality song, even if highly-unlikely to win.

20 – Azerbaijan: Farid Mammadov - Hold Me
[My reaction during 2nd semi-final - Good-looking young man simply and nicely dressed, singing in English (he has a good voice). Song is mainly a ballad & I like the choreography with a similar 'mirror image' in a glass box. Yes, I like this - it should get to final I think.]
Another classy performance of this fine song, deserves to get a fair number of votes.

21 – Greece: Koza Mostra feat. Agathon Iakovidis - Alcohol Is Free
[My reaction during 2nd semi-final - Mixed-age male group singing a very Greek-sounding ditty. Very cheerful and lively. Younger ones all very good-looking of course. Fun to listen to, but surely this can't get through to the final even with its 'subversive' title.]
What can I say? Why this got to the final is a mystery to l'il ol' me, perhaps it's a sympathy vote for the mess the country is in?

22 - Ukraine: Zlata Ognevich - Gravity
[My reaction during 1st semi-final - Beautiful lady in tight white long dress, singing pretty well, although the song is not perhaps my cup of tea, although it is quite catchy, sung in English. Her voice is well capable of handling this pretty difficult song, though - really not bad at all.]
Another good performance. It's a good song, but I doubt it's the winner (but I've been wrong before).

23 – Italy: Marco Mengoni - L'Essenziale Pre-qualified for final.
Italian is a very 'sexy' language and he's a sexy-looking guy in a nicely-fitted suit. A romantic ballad sung pretty well in Italian - very romantic, but I'll be rather surprised if it gets a high number votes, far less is the winner.

24 – Norway: Margaret Berger - I Feed You My Love
[My reaction during 2nd semi-final - Blond female beauty in tight white long dress, singing in English. It's a lively, sexy rocky ballad and the male drummer backing is banging away. Think this could easily make the final (& at least Norway has plenty of money to stage next year's show if they win). Yes, I quite like this & should at the very least get to the final if there is any justice.]
One of the three or four songs (the others are Malta and Romania, possibly even Belgium or Azerbaijan) that could win tonight, I think. This should certainly do very well, whatever happens.

25 – Georgia: Nodi Tatishvili & Sophie Gelovani - Waterfall
[My reaction during 2nd semi-final - Both the female and male singers are beauties, with good voices singing in English. It's a nice ballad and should certainly make the final. Perhaps not a winner, but it deserves a place on Saturday I think.]
I think this will be in the top tier, it's a very pleasant tuneful ballad, although I tend to doubt it is the winner.

26 - Ireland: Ryan Dolan - Only Love Survives
[My reaction during 1st semi-final - Good-looking and clad in tight leather suit - very easy on the eye. Good voice, and nice song. Voice good, but not perfect, but he is VERY good-looking so might do well. Topless male backing, leather trousers - wow!]
Yes, he is certainly very easy on the eye, this young man! Another very decent performance of this lively #Europop - should get a fair few votes.

UPDATE (23.02 CET) Well, the singing is now over, I've narrowed it down to 2 to vote for - Malta or Romania, I think Norway is just eclipsed by these 2. I think I have now made my choice and am going to vote for Malta as it is the best of the 2 or 3 really nice songs.

(23.40 et seq)
I'm going to list the top vote (12 points) from each country (out of the 39 who vote) and for whom that vote was given:
1 - San Marino goes to Greece
2 - Sweden goes to Norway
3 - Albania goes to Italy
4 - The Netherlands goes to Belgium
5 - Austria goes to Azerbaijan
6 - United Kingdom goes to Denmark
7 - Israel goes to Azerbaijan
8 - Serbia goes to Denmark
9 - Ukraine goes to Belarus
10 - Hungary goes to Azerbaijan
11 - Romania goes to Moldova
12 - Moldova goes to Ukraine
13 - Azerbaijan goes to Ukraine
14 - Norway goes to Sweden
15 - Armenia goes to Ukraine
16 - Italy goes to Denmark
17 - Finland goes to Norway
18 - Spain goes to Italy
19 - Belarus goes to Ukraine
20 - Latvia goes to Russia
21 - Bulgaria goes to Azerbaijan
22 - Belgium goes to The Netherlands
23 - Russia goes to Azerbaijan
24 - Malta goes to Azerbaijan
25 - Estonia goes to Russia
26 - Germany goes to Hungary
27 - Iceland goes to Denmark
28 - France goes to Denmark
29 - Greece goes to Azerbaijan
30 - Ireland goes to Denmark
31 - Denmark goes to Norway
32 - Montenegro goes to Azerbaijan
33 - Slovenia goes to Denmark
34 - Georgia goes to Azerbaijan
35 - FYR Macedonia goes to Denmark
36 - Cyprus goes to Greece
37 - Croatia goes to Ukraine
38 - Switzerland goes to Italy
39 - Lithuania goes to Azerbaijan

Final UPDATE
- the winner is Denmark with 281 points
- second is Azerbaijan with 234 points
- third is Ukraine with 214 points

You can read my articles about the semi-finals here:
Eurovision 2013 - 1st semi-final - 14th May
Eurovision 2013 - 2nd semi-final - 16th May

Eurovision 2013 - Malmö (Sweden) - second semi-final

(Please see UPDATE at end)

Tonight the second semi-final is being held and will comprise the next 17 competitors, singing in the following order (I'll UPDATE this post as each song is performed) and of these a further 10 will go Through to the final on Saturday, with the remaining 7 being Eliminated from the contest:

1 – Latvia: PeR – Here We Go Eliminated
(21.13) Boy-band wearing, tight, glittery, grey or black suits, singing in English quite a pleasant ditty, if this wins I will be amazed. Not a bad song at all mind you for a party

2 - San Marino: Valentine Monetta – Crisalide (Vola) Eliminated
(21.16) A pretty blond singing in Italian what sounds like a romantic ballad. She has a good voice & it is very pleasant to listen too, but may be too 'niche' for Eurovision, but I wouldn't mind having this on my music player

3 - F.Y.R. Macedonia: Esma & Lozano - Pred Da Se Razdeni Eliminated
(21.19) Good-looking man in dark suit with white t-shirt, singing a nice ballad in a language other than English, unfortunately mixed with some fat, red-dressed lady singing much more discordant sections. Maybe this is 'sophisticated' FYROM music, but the effect is not good for me - I'd prefer him on his own in all sorts of ways; apart from anything else he has a very good voice. "Nul points" overall.

4 – Azerbaijan: Farid Mammadov - Hold Me Through
(21.22) Good-looking young man simply and nicely dressed, singing in English (he has a good voice). Song is mainly a ballad & I like the choreography with a similar 'mirror image' in a glass box. Yes, I like this - it should get to final I think.

5 – Finland: Krista Siegfrids - Marry Me Through
(21.26) Blond lady (this is Finland after all) singing in English a very cheery boppy song - typical Europop - might easily do well & she is certainly performing it with great gusto, supported by male dancers wearing masks & backing female singers. Not bad at all, I'd say it should get to final.

6 – Malta: Gianluca - Tomorrow Through
(21.34) Nice-looking young man singing in English - a good voice, with male/female backing music & singers. The words are amusing and tell a stroy and it is being performed pretty well, but I wonder if non-English speakers will wonder what it's all about. But it is so nice, surely no-one could not like this? I do like it a great deal.

7 – Bulgaria: Elitsa Todorova, Stoyan Yankulov - Samo Shampioni (Only Champions) Eliminated
(21.37) Dramatic-looking and quite beautiful young lady singing in Bulgarian, with musical backing & a sort of pirate character playing pipe type instrument. It's quite lively and not unpleasant to listen to - has middle-eastern overtones. Not really my thing though, but she has a good voice.

8 – Iceland: Eythor Ingi - Ég Á Líf Through
(21.41) A long-haired blond young man singing in Icelandic. He has a superb voice and it seems to be a nice ballad - I rather like it, his voice is so good, the fact I don't understand the words really doesn't matter to me. This is quality, even if unlikely to win.

9 – Greece: Koza Mostra feat. Agathon Iakovidis - Alcohol Is Free Through
(21.45) Mixed-age male group singing a very Greek-sounding ditty. Very cheerful and lively. Younger ones all very good-looking of course. Fun to listen to, but surely this can't get through to the final even with its 'subversive' title.

10 – Israel: Moran Mazor - Rak Bishvilo Eliminated
(21.49) Nice, interesting looking young lady singing a ballad in Hebrew with male singing ballad, she has a good voice and I quite like the song, but unlikely to get to final perhaps, a bit too 'niche' perhaps.

11 – Armenia: Dorians - Lonely Planet Through
(21.54) Young nice-looking man (long hair, goatee & moustache) - good voice, but with some off-notes I'm afraid. Singing ballad with rock overtones in English with backing group - like this at first, but off-notes are putting me off. No - I don't think so, sorry.

12 – Hungary: ByeAlex - Kedvesem (Zoohacker Remix) Through
(21.57) Male singing in Hungarian with male guitarist and female singing backing. Tuneful and not unpleasant too listen to, it has an attractive beat - he has a good voice & it is different. Might at least get to final, I suspect.

13 – Norway: Margaret Berger - I Feed You My Love Through
(22.02) Blond female beauty in tight white long dress, singing in English. It's a lively, sexy rocky ballad and the male drummer backing is banging away. Think this could easily make the final (& at least Norway has plenty of money to stage next year's show if they win). Yes, I quite like this & should at the very least get to the final if there is any justice.

14 – Albania: Adrian Lulgjuraj & Bledar Sejko - Identitet Eliminated
(22.09) Male long-haired singers with drummer & guitar backing singing a noisy rocky ditty with Balkan overtones in Albanian. Not bad I suppose - at least it's more or less in tune despite the noise.

15 – Georgia: Nodi Tatishvili & Sophie Gelovani - Waterfall Through
(21.12) Both the female and male singers are beauties, with good voices singing in English. It's a nice ballad and should certainly make the final. Perhaps not a winner, but it deserves a place on Saturday I think.

16 – Switzerland: Takasa - You And Me Eliminated
(22.17) Trendy young and old singing and instrumental group singing in English, singing a very lively ditty, classic Europop with a nice beat, should get to final.

17 – Romania: Cezar - It's My Life Through
(22.21) Started with a deep voice, but now is singing falsetto, amazing voice. His voice is powerful and excellent - he is singing in English & song is pretty amazing. Should definitely get to final, if only for novelty, but it will certainly merit it.

UPDATE
(22.25) For me it is a choice between Malta, Norway and Romania (all with 7 3/4), then next tier down Azerbaijan, Iceland and Georgia. I voted for Norway.
(23.01) All results in and updated above against each country. The 10 countries going through tonight are (re-arranged in alphabetical order):
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Finland
Georgia
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Malta
Norway
Romania

To re-cap from my article about the first semi-final held on Tuesday 14th May, the following 10 countries were voted through to the final this coming Saturday (re-arranged in alphabetical order) :
Belarus
Belgium
Denmark
Estonia
Ireland
Lithuania
Moldova
The Netherlands
Russia
Ukraine
- they will be joined in the final by the 5 countries which have pre-qualified automatically, the so-called "big 5" who pay most of the running costs (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom) and by last year's winner and this year's host nation (Sweden) who together with those selected to go through this evening will comprise the 26 finalists.

UPDATE
My article covering the Final on Saturday 18th May 2013 is here. Denamrk won with a score of 281 points, next came Azerbaijan with 234 points and in third position was Ukraine with 214 points. Denmark were worthy winners; next year the contest will be held there, presumably in Copenhagen - 'see' you then.

Eurovision 2013 - Malmö (Sweden) - first semi-final

(See UPDATES at end)

Tonight the first semi-final of Eurovision 2013 is being held in Malmö and I will be commenting in this article (and via Twitter) as the evening progresses.

Tonight the viewers in the 16 competing countries, plus those in Sweden, Italy and the United Kingdom will be able to vote. As viewers in Spain are not able to vote tonight, the programme is not actually being shown on Spanish television, although the programme can be followed on-line here (I'll be watching it on BBC3 from the UK). Spanish viewers will however be able to vote in the 2nd semi-final on Thursday (along with viewers in France and Germany) and this programme will be televised here (on TVE - La 2). The Final is on Saturday 18th May. All 3 programmes begin at 9pm in Spain (8pm in UK) and last for about 3 hours.

1 - Austria: Natália Kelly - Shine Eliminated
(21.13)Quite a pretty lady, long dark curly hair - good strong and true voice - singing in English - nice tuneful song and she's performing it very well; 4-person backing group (2f, 2m). Pretty good & impressive I'd say.

2 - Estonia: Birgit - Et Uus Saaks Alguse Through
(21.17) - Very attractive dark-daired lady, singing presumably in Estonian. Nice ballad and she has a good voice. It's good, but whether it will appeal to wider audience I doubt, probably too high quality for Eurovision.

3 - Slovenia: Hannah - Straight Into Love Eliminated
(21.21) An American apparently, singing in English - she has a nice voice, but not entirely true I'd say, it's a lively song, but I doubt very it's a winner. Her voice is good, but not strong or true enough. Not a great song, in my view.

4 - Croatia: Klapa s mora - Mižerja Eliminated
(21.25) All male group singing in a language that is not English (good for them) & it's a tuneful song, a ballad with boppy chorus. Voices are good and powerful. Not a winner, unless Balkan voters all go for it.

5 - Denmark: Emmelie de Forest - Only Teardrops Through
(21.29) A classy song - lead female singer - long blond hair & male group and musicians. Sung in English - nice song & should do pretty well in a fair world.

6 - Russia: Dina Garipova - What If Through
(21.36) Pretty female, long straight black hair, excellent powerful and true voice and it's a nice ballad. Sung in English. It's actually quite catchy and the words are good. Might do well I suspect.

7 - Ukraine: Zlata Ognevich - Gravity Through
(21.40) Beautiful lady in tight white long dress, singing pretty well, although the song is not perhaps my cup of tea, although it is quite catchy, sung in English. Her voice is well capable of handling this pretty difficult song, though - really not bad at all.

8 - The Netherlands: Anouk - Birds Through
(21.44) Pretty lady, long auburn hair, has an excellent voice and it's a good if slightly unusual song, but I like it quite a lot and it's sung in English. A quality song, but perhaps not quite right for Eurovision, but the kind of song that could last.

9 - Montenegro: Who See - Igranka Eliminated
(21.47) Golly - 2 men dressed in space-suits! It's a saort of rap sung in 'not English. Lead female singer is good, no idea what it's about. Not a bad song and at least it's different. A winner though?

10 - Lithuania: Andrius Pojavis - Something Through
(21.51) Good-looking man singing in English. Good if not perfect voice and is a pleasant boppy pop effort. Probably not a winner I suspect - a few "off" notes in his voice.

11 - Belarus: Alyona Lanskaya - Solayoh Through
(21.55) Beautiful blond lady singing in English. Voice is good, a lively bit of Europop, backing dancers & singers. Not bad at all & quite well performed. A winner though?

12 - Moldova: Aliona Moon - O Mie Through
(21.59) Pretty red-haired lady with long ball-gown dress. Good voice, singing not in English (good). Nice ballad, but hardly a winner, in my opinion. Quite dramatic & pleasant to listen to though.

13 - Ireland: Ryan Dolan - Only Love Survives Through
(22.03) Good-looking and clad in tight leather suit - very easy on the eye. Good voice, and nice song. Voice good, but not perfect, but he is VERY good-looking so might do well. Topless male backing, leather trousers - wow!

14 - Cyprus: Despina Olympiou - An Me Thimasai Eliminated
(22.10) Rather beautiful lady with long auburn hair, singing in Greek. She has a good voice & song is rather nice. Hardly a winner though, but at least she'll get 12 points from Greece I imagine.

15 - Belgium: Roberto Bellarosa - Love Kills Through
(22.14)Young pleasant-looking man with longish straight brown hair, quite young. Good voice, singing in English a pretty nice ballad. Might do quite well in a fair world (i.e. probably not Eurovision). I like it.

16 - Serbia: Moje 3 - Ljubav Je Svuda Eliminated
(22.19) Pretty female singers dressed very strangely, like dolls really with very short dresses. Singing in another language, a boppy song, but I'm afraid I don't like it and although voices fairly good, not perfect & the whole thing is very strange. Surely this won't get to final?

I've deliberately not watched video-clips of any of the competing entries this year so it will all be fresh for me when I see them, although I think I may have seen the UK entry when it was selected, but as regular readers of this blog will know from previous years I do not apply 'favouritism' to the UK entry, however good/bad it is, even though I could actually vote for it in the final on Saturday as I am currently in Spain (so I obviously won't be able to vote for the Spanish entry), but as usual I shall vote for what I consider to be the best song and performance on the evening, irrespective of where it comes from.

My top scores tonight (7 1/2) were for Russia and Belgium. Next best score (7 1/4) went to Denmark, Netherlands, and Ireland. Apart from Serbia, which I did not like at all, there were no bad songs.

UPDATE: Once the results come through, I will mark them either Through (10) or Eliminated (6). It has been a pretty good evening overall. All former "Soviet bloc" countries got through, although no former Yugoslavian country did (they were all pretty poor songs, though). The only one I'm surprised and a bit disappointed didn't make it is Austria.

2nd UPDATE:
Here are my articles covering the:
- 2nd Semi-Final (16th May 2013)
- The Final (18th May 2013)

Eurovision 2013 - Malmö (Sweden) - this coming week

(Please see UPDATE at end)

As in recent previous years Eurovision is a 3-part affair with two semi-finals on Tuesday 14th and Thursday 16th, with the final being held on Saturday 18th May. I hope to be able to watch both semi-finals (or at least a part of them) plus of course the final next Saturday. This will be 58th Eurovision Song Contest.

Sweden won last year's contest in Baku (Azerbaijan) very convincingly - I wrote about it here.

You can find out more about this year's contest by visiting the Eurovision website here. There are 16 countries competing in the first semi-final and 17 in the second semi-final, with 10 countries from each semi-final qualifying for the final. The final will include the 5 "big countries" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom), plus Sweden as the winning country in last year's contest, giving 26 countries in all competing in the final on Saturday 18th May 2013.

The running order for the two semi-finals will be as follows:

First semi-final - Tuesday 14th May 2013>
1 - Austria
2 - Estonia
3 - Slovenia
4 - Croatia
5 - Denmark
6 - Russia
7 - Ukraine
8 - The Netherlands
9 - Montenegro
10 - Lithuania
11 - Belarus
12 - Moldova
13 - Ireland
14 - Cyprus
15 - Belgium
16 - Serbia

Second semi-final - Thursday 16th May 2013>
1 - Latvia
2 - San Marino
3 - F.Y.R. Macedonia
4 - Azerbaijan
5 - Finland
6 - Malta
7 - Bulgaria
8 - Iceland
9 - Greece
10 - Israel
11 - Armenia
12 - Hungary
13 - Norway
14 - Albania
15 - Georgia
16 - Switzerland
17 - Romania

It is probably no secret to most people that Eurovision, apart from being a popular annual form of light-entertainment is also rather kitsch and has a particular following amongst gay viewers, this year recognised by host city Malmö and the city is making a particular effort to make LGBT visitors welcome.

It should be a good week, I think ..

UPDATES (Sunday 19th May 2013) 12.05 CET) My articles on the first and second semi-finals and the final are below:
- First Semi-Final, Tuesday 14th May 2013;
- Second Semi-Final, Thursday 16th May 2013;
- The Final, Saturday 18th May 2013.

European Parliament elections - 7 Jun - day 4

Today is the fourth and final day of voting in the elections for the European Parliament; voting is taking place today in 19 countries:

Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Italy (*)
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
(*) Second day of voting in Italy.

Austria - Public opinion in Austria is much against use of GMOs in agriculture - there's an embedded video via the link that's worth watching. Estimates are that only around 20 per cent of Austrians will vote today. Austria's economic fate is cloesly aligned with the economies of eastern Europe, given the massive extent of its investments in and lending to countries in that region, so the world recession which has affected the region will have a strong impact on Austria, too. Some facts about Austria are in the European Parliament website here.

Belgium - Voting is compulsory so there is normally a 90 per cent plus turnout in votes here, but despite this these elections are likely to be overshadowed in importance by local issues in the regional elections. The economic crisis is likely to push the European elections even further than is usual to the sidelines in importance. Some facts about Belgium are in the European Parliament website here.

Bulgaria - European elections are probably still something of a novelty here, but as often happens elsewhere national self-interest overrides community cohesion. A desire to combat domestic corruption in the use of EU funds is thought likely to keep voting numbers high. Some facts about Bulgaria are in the European Parliament website here.

Denmark - A poll estimates that voter turnout may reach 56 per cent, the second-highest in the EU after Luxembourg and Belgium; voting may be boosted because there is a simultaneous national referendum on changing the Danish Act of Succession to remove gender as a factor in deciding the order of accession to the throne. As in other countries lack of media interest is criticised for reducing public awareness of the issues at stake. Some facts about Denmark are in the European Parliament website here.

Estonia - The country where Skype originated is commonly-agreed to be at the forefront of internet usage and is using i-voting for the first time in European elections, having tried the idea for the first time in 2005 for local elections then later in 2007 for national elections, although whether this will boost voter turnout is open to question; at the last elections in 2004 the turnout was only 27 per cent, one of the lowest in the EU. More here. Some facts about Estonia are in the European Parliament website here.

Finland - The trappings of EU membership (the flag, the anthem) are of little importance to most Finns, when compared with the practical benefits it is hoped it will bring. There is relatively low voter turnout, reflecting the value Finns place on it and its perceived legitimacy. The highly eurosceptic True Finns party has been gaining in support in recent elections, as has the National Coalition party of the Finance Minister, both to the detriment of the Prime Minister's Centre party. Some facts about Finland are in the European Parliament website here.

France - According to this Telegraph article President Sarkozy has been keen to turn the European elections into a referendum on his Presidency as despite his own relative unpopularity the opposition is even less liked. There are 161 list candidates for the 72 French seats, with only 47 per cent expected to vote. Some facts about France are in the European Parliament website here.

Germany - Turnout may be lower than the 43 per cent last time in 2004, and may not exceed 40 per cent for the 99 seats on offer, the largest national representation by far in the 736 seat European Parliament. According to this report only a trickle of voters had made it to the polling stations by midday, indicating the electorate may be ignoring the pleas from the major parties to use their votes. National elections are scheduled for September this year and despite the rising unemployment, lower order books and a somewhat gloomy feeling amongst the electorate, polling suggests Angela Merkel's ruling centre-right coalition is likely to do well in both the European and national elections. Some facts about Germany are in the European Parliament website here.

Greece - According to polling the main opposition party, PASOK, is likely to do best in the elections, followed by the ruling New Democracy Party of Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis. Recent corruption scandals mean that the elections are focussing almost entirely on national issues, specially after the riots of last year. Control of [illegal] immigration is a major issue. Some facts about Greece are in the European Parliament website here.

Hungary - The 'far-right' Jobbik party is thought likely to win at least one seat; the language they use in relation to the country's gypsy (Roma) population is quite shocking, although such policies are not limited to Hungary, but extend to several other eastern European countries with Roma populations. Some facts about Hungary are in the European Parliament website here.

Italy - Italy holds its European Parliament elections over two days. The country's parlous economic and unemployment situation, not to mention domestic political controversy involving the personal life of its Prime Minister are, together with worries about immigration, the hot topics of interest to Italian voters. Some facts about Italy are in the European Parliament website here.

Lithuania - The country recently elected its first female President. it is suffering badly in the present economic crisis. The President-elect is urging people to vote and not to succumb to indifference. Some facts about Lithuania are in the European Parliament website here.

Luxembourg - The attack on banking secrecy, principally orchestrated from Berlin and Paris, together with the financial crisis, is forcing Luxembourg to reassess its policies. Comments from German SPD leader Franz Müntefering, who in all seriousness, explained that in the past, Berlin would have settled the matter "by sending in the troops" were obviously not designed to massage the tiny country's sensibilities! Some facts about Luxembourg are in the European Parliament website here.

Poland - Predictions are that the country will favour 'right-leaning' political parties, which could pose a problem for the UK Conservative party in its plans to leave the EPP and set up a new partnership involving the Polish Law and Justice party, widely believed to espouse homophobic, eccentric and nationalistic policies. Some facts about Poland are in the European Parliament website here.

Portugal - Only one in eight of Portuguese say they know when the elections are held, and turnout is projected to reach only 24 per cent. There is some anti-capitalist campaigning here, noted also in other EU member states, perhaps a worry for the future if the economic crisis continues. Some facts about Portugal are in the European Parliament website here.

Romania - The country is voting for the first time in European Parliament elections, but these are being overshadowed by the Presidential elections due in the Autumn. Whilst membership of the EU seems popular, the country is still getting used to having a market economy. Some facts about Romania are in the European Parliament website here.

Slovenia - Some facts about Slovenia are in the European Parliament website here.

Spain - A new third party is attempting to break the duopoly of power in Spain held by the two major political parties. Some facts about Spain are in the European Parliament website here.

Sweden - A curiosity here is the new Pirates Party, campaigning to implement a sweeping reform of copyright law and an end to patents. Some facts about Sweden are in the European Parliament website here.

The club expands - Slovakia will adopt the Euro wef 1JAN09

Slovakia will become the 16th of the current 27 members of the European Union to adopt the Euro as its currency on 1 January 2009. The fixed conversion rate between the Euro (EUR) and the existing Slovak national currency (SKK) is €1 = 30.1260 SKK.

The 15 EU countries currently using the Euro as their currency are: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain.

Of the other 11 countries, two (Denmark and the UK) have negotiated opt-outs which mean they have no obligation, ever, to adopt the Euro as their currency if they do not wish to do so. The main Swedish political parties have agreed not to join the Euro until approval in a national referendum is given; a referendum in 2003 rejected adoption so Sweden has chosen not to join ERM II. Full details of each EU member's status vis-a-vis the Euro may be viewed here.

You can see images of the Euro coins being issued by Slovakia to coincide with its adoption of the Euro as its currency here. Euro notes are uniform throughout the Eurozone and show no differences from country to country.

'Big Brother' (err... 'Big Sister') - Swedish style

A man in Stockholm was forced to accompany a police officer to the police station and give a urine smaple, because she suspected that he had "unusually large muscles, particularly large arm muscles, which are a sign of steroid use". The urine tested negative for steroids.

An officer at the police drugs unit suggested the arresting officer had been "a bit too ambitious".
(thru Andrew Sullivan)

Is this what we've come to? A maverick police officer armed with far too many powers for the comfort and safety of your average citizen gets bizarre notions into her (in this case) head and frog-marches a perfectly ordinary (if muscle-bound) citizen off for a urine test, 'just to be sure' there is no illegal use of steroids? What next?
- You're too fat, sir - you must be over-indulging in health-damaging fats, carbohydrates or alcohol and will be a charge on the health services in the future. Please accompany me to the station so your blood can be tested. Couldn't happen? Well there have been reports over the past few years alleging that some medical treatments have already been withheld from patients considered obese, not on medical grounds, but because the lifestyle was disapproved of.
- You're too thin, sir - you must be suffering from bulimia. Please accompany me to the station so a psychologist/psychiatrist can evaluate why you are doing this to yourself.

It seems that the advance of the 'Police State' and 'Big Brother' isn't only happening in Britain! Yesterday I read about an even more draconian system being developed in China - where of course the 'one child' policy has already led to female infanticide being practised, particularly in rural areas, and an imbalance in genders with there being too few women for men of similar ages to marry. If you read right to the end of this article you'll see that the US is getting in on the act, too - but of course we knew that already, since the Patriot Act was made law.

It is clear that now a police office needs only the flimsiest of reasons to require one to accompany them to a police station. It is clear also that the police in many countries now regard themselves as existing solely to protect the interests of the 'State', not to protect the citizen. Ask Jose Padilla.