Here we are. As I write this we are a little over 24 hours away from the first live semi final of the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest. However, there will be some artists entering the arena on Tuesday night already being out of the race. Tonight we have the dress rehearsal on which the juries will cast their votes. Half the scores given to tomorrow night’s semi finalists as well as those from of Italy, Spain & United Kingdom will be in before any of us at home will have heard the first note of Te Deum. As such I feel now is the time to get predictions in before anyone potentially rules themselves out this evening. I have pointed out before now that this is a particularly competitive semi and at least one or two decent songs are going to have to drop out to make the numbers. Any pundit worth their salt has to nail their colours to the mast and make their predictions. Just don’t expect them to be right!
PREDICTED QUALIFIERS
(In running order, I’m not daft enough to predict positions)
SWEDEN 🇸🇪
AUSTRALIA 🇦🇺
FINLAND 🇫🇮
AZERBAIJAN 🇦🇿
PORTUGAL 🇵🇹
GREECE 🇬🇷
MOLDOVA 🇲🇩
CYPRUS 🇨🇾
ARMENIA 🇦🇲
LATVIA 🇱🇻
Portugal should be winning this semi in my opinion. Armenia may run it close but Salvador has enough to deservedly take this one. For me, it’ll be Poland missing out in 11th spot probably finishing in jury top 10 but pulled down by public vote (even with diaspora). This also means that there’ll be an even split of qualifiers coming from each half as well. This is a prediction, not a wish list. If I had my way the qualifiers would look quite different…
IDEAL QUALIFIERS
SWEDEN 🇸🇪
BELGIUM 🇧🇪
MONTENEGRO 🇲🇪
FINLAND 🇫🇮
PORTUGAL 🇵🇹
GREECE 🇬🇷
ICELAND 🇮🇸
CYPRUS 🇨🇾
ARMENIA 🇦🇲
LATVIA 🇱🇻
I do not rate the Australian song, nor performance. If the UK sent this song many would quite rightly point out how boring it is. The Azeri song is decent but the performance a little too left field and esoteric for my taste. I still have a fairly intense dislike for Hey Mamma! but people will no doubt vote for it. I wouldn’t have had the Montenegrin song in my top 10 this time last week but Slavko gives it full pelters. I’d like it in the final to liven things up between a few ballads. I’ve come to terms with Svala not qualifying, she does her thing and that’s great but it is going to cost her a place in the final. Then there’s Belgium. Having been in amongst the top ten overall this is sadly going absolutely nowhere. My anger at the Belgians for basically leaving Blanche out to dry has not subsided, we are still losing one of the best songs out of all 42 down to poor staging and a very frightened looking singer
So there we have it. In less than 36 hours we’ll know which ten acts will have made it through and which eight will be booking flights home on Wednesday morning. Either way, it’s going to be amazing and I’m counting down the hours. We’re nearly there folks!
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