AUSTRIA WINS EUROVISION 2014!

CONGRATULATIONS AUSTRIA! Conchita Wurst won the 59th Eurovision Song Contest last night, and rightfully so. It's a song contest and she defiantly had one of the strongest songs. Of-course some people are unhappy about her win, but I'm delighted! I was pleasantly surprised to see countries like Russia, Georgia and Israel award points to Conchita. It's been confirmed officially that Austria will indeed hold next year's contest.

"The Bearded Lady" said this in the winners press conference:

"I felt like tonight Europe showed that we are a community of respect and tolerance," 

I'm proud of Eurovision. She touched the hearts of millions across Europe - and that's why people voted for her! Everyone should believe in who they are.. what a fantastic message! Conchita also said that people can achieve anything they want if they be themselves. I saw loads and loads of Tweets saying "Rise Like A Phoenix" could be the next Bond theme. It's Austria's first win since 1966. Here are the full results:

The Netherlands and Sweden came 2nd and 3rd, respectably! I really thought the Dutch were going to win after their stunning performance - it was so beautiful. Ruth came 10th and I'm pleased about that. Her voice was just amazing! But isn't it disappointing for Molly? 17th isn't terrible but I thought she would have done so much better.. I guess the draw killed her, but I'm proud of our representation. Russia came 7th, which didn't impress fans in the hall. The Tolmachevy Sisters got booed when they were awarded 12 points from some countries.. I felt sorry for those girls. Armenia, the big favourite before the contest, came a very respectable 4th. I think a few countries were underrated.. Emma should have done so much better than 21st and Firelight should have achieved top ten. TWIN TWIN (Oh yeah!) came last. This is the first time France have come last. Slovenia also achieved a low position but I was just happy to see them in the final. Same with Valentina, she only achieved 24th but it's a massive achievement in itself for San Marino to qualify for the grand final! Azerbaijan didn't make the top ten for the first time ever... It was a nice song but not strong enough I guess.

The semi-final results have also been revealed and The Netherlands and Austria won their semis. No surprises. Georgia and Moldova came last in the respective semis and Portugal was only one point away from qualifier!!! How annoying... And Israel came 14th (out of 15). I'm shocked and surprised. Mei should have been top five in the final. I wonder why the result of Europe didn't like it? Still, Israel will remain one of my favourites of ESC 2014! Thank you Copenhagen, for an amazing show. It's been another great year. Probably my favourite ever.. I'm mostly satisfied with the results. So, that's it for another year... The road to Austria has begun!

Copenhagen 2014: Grand final tonight!

The grand final of the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest will be held tonight! 26 acts are all in the running to be crowned the winner, and it's going to be a spectacular show. The running order was decided yesterday by DR and the EBU. Ukraine will open the show, and the United Kingdom will close it! Does this mean Molly can win? I really hope so! Azerbaijan will perform #03 in the finale - maybe this be the first year they don't make the top ten? And who will be last? I have a horrible feeling it could be Germany.. I hope I'm wrong. There are so many unanswered questions - and that's why this is the strongest and most exciting final in years! Remember, we see Montenegro and San Marino in the final for the first time ever! I predict the winner will be between Sweden, Hungary, Spain, The Netherlands, Denmark, Russia, Greece and maybe Austria? It's so hard to call. These are tonight's participants:

1. Ukraine
2. Belarus
3. Azerbaijan
4. Iceland
5. Norway
6. Romania
7. Armenia
8. Montenegro
9. Poland
10. Greece
11. Austria
12. Germany
13. Sweden
14. France
15. Russia
16. Italy
17. Slovenia
18. Finland
19. Spain
20. Switzerland
21. Hungary
22. Malta
23. Denmark
24. The Netherlands
25. San Marino
26. United Kingdom

Good luck to everyone! Especially Ruth Lorenzo, Emma, Molly and Valentina Monetta! <3

Copenhagen 2014: Semi final TWO review!

Last night's semi final was really tough to call! I was mostly satisfied with the results,though. Israel should have qualified instead of Belarus - but apart from that, I'm pleased with last night's results ! I'm delighted Poland made it, and it's also great Austria's bearded lady got through! It was no surprise Norway and Malta qualified, both were great on stage and I think Malta are ones to watch tomorrow evening. The rapper guy from Greece messed up his words, but that didn't matter as it was a very strong and solid performance. Switzerland also made it, for the first time since 2011 - and so did Tinkara from Slovenia! Which is marvelous. Here are last night's qualifiers:

• Malta
• Norway
• Poland
• Austria
• Finland
• Belarus
• Switzerland
• Greece
• Slovenia
• Romania

The biggest shock was Israel not qualifying. Mei was flawless and I really hope Israel won't withdraw.. Ireland wasn't great on stage. Kasey she looked beautiful - but the performance itself wasn't strong enough. Lithuania and Georgia were both a bit too weird, and I won't miss them in the final. FYR Macedonia was good but the stupid dancer ruined it. I'm looking forward to tomorrow - it's a very open contest this year.

Copenhagen 2014: Semi final TWO tonight!

Another awesome show awaits us tonight. The 2nd semi-final will take place, with 15 countries battling for those 10 precious spaces in the final. I cannot wait. I'm so excited! Tuesday's show was fantastic. Isn't it a brilliant year? The final for the running order will be decided after tonight's semi.. Jessica Mauboy will perform two songs as the interval act!

1. Malta - Firelight with Coming Home
2. Israel - Mei Finegold with Same Heart
3. Norway - Carl Espen with Silent Storm
4. Georgia - The Shin and Mariko with Three Minutes to Earth
5. Poland - Donatan & Cleo with My Slowianie - We Are Slavic
6. Austria - Conchita Wurst with Rise Like a Phoenix
7. Lithuania - Vilija Mataaianaita with Attention
8. Finland - Softengine with Something Better
9. Ireland - Can-Linn (featuring Kasey Smith) Heartbeat
10. Belarus - Teo with Cheesecake
11. F.Y.R. Macedonia - Tijana with To the Sky
12. Switzerland - Sebalter with Hunter of Stars
13. Greece - Freaky Fortune feat. RiskyKidd with Rise Up
14. Slovenia - Tinkara Kovac with Round and round
15. Romania - Paula Seling & OVI with Miracle

Who do I *think* will qualify? Romania, Greece, Norway, Georgia, Malta, Ireland, Lithuania, Austria, Belarus and Israel.

Who do I *want* to see qualify? Israel, F.Y.R Macedonia, Norway, Switzerland, Poland, Slovenia, Ireland, Austria, Malta and Greece!

Copenhagen 2014: Semi final ONE review!

The first semi final was held last night and it was truly amazing. The stage looked great on TV and all the performances were very strong. I also loved the hosts! Ten countries qualified from last night's semi and I was mostly pleased with the results. Montenegro and San Marino made the grand final for the first time ever... YAY! I'm delighted for Valentina! She has finally achieved her dream! It's marvellous - maybe this will entice other microstates to come back? It's also great to see Montenegro in the final. The Netherlands were amazing - and they are now among the favourites to win on Saturday! Amsterdam 2015? Sweden seems to be the front runner now though.. Armenia was good but not good enough to win me thinks. The Russian twins were booed when it was announced they had made the final - it was always going to happen I guess... Ukraine looked great on TV and I think a top five position is very likely for them.

Here are the lucky qualifiers:

• Armenia
• Sweden
• Iceland
• Russia
• Azerbaijan
• Ukraine
• San Marino
• The Netherlands
• Montenegro
• Hungary

Latvia, Albania, Estonia, Portugal, Belgium and Moldova were eliminated. I thought that Portugal and Moldova would have made the final easily... Portugal really was amazing! Why didn't the lovely Suzy make it? Gutted - I would have loved her in the final. Latvia's song is sweet although the performance wasn't up to much. Axel's performance was very disappointing and Estonia underwhelmed me too, I'm afraid... It was a great show and I cannot wait for tomorrow now! 

Copenhagen 2014: Semi-final ONE tonight!

The first semi-final of the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest takes place tonight! 16 acts are battling for those 10 important spaces in the grand final... The show will kick off at 21:00 CET and will last two hours. Three big favourites are competing tonight - Armenia, Sweden and Hungary.

These are tonight's participants:

1. Armenia - Aram MP3 with Not Alone
2. Latvia - Aarzemniekl with Cake to Bake
3. Estonia - Tanja with Amazing
4. Sweden - Sanna Nielsen with Undo
5. Iceland - Pollapönk with No Prejudice
6. Albania - Hersi with One Night's Anger
7. Russia - Tolmachevy Sisters with Shine
8. Azerbaijan - Dilara Kazimova with Start a Fire
9. Ukraine - Mariya Yaremchuk with Tik-Tock
10. Belgium - Axel Hirsoux with Mother
11. Moldova - Cristina Scarlat with Wild Soul
12. San Marino - Valentina Monetta with Maybe (Forse)
13. Portugal - Suzy with Quero Ser Tua
14. The Netherlands - The Common Linnets with Calm After the Storm
15. Montenegro - Sergej Cetkovic with Moj Svijet
16. Hungary - András Kállay-Saunders with Running

Who do I *think* will qualify? Armenia, Sweden, Russia, Hungary, Moldova, The Netherlands, Ukraine, Belgium, Estonia and Azerbaijan.

Who do I *want* to see qualify? Latvia, Montenegro, Azerbaijan, Hungary, San Marino, The Netherlands, Armenia, Sweden, Moldova and Portugal!

Copenhagen 2014: EUROVISION IS HERE!

The opening ceremony is currently taking place in Copenhagen and therefore Eurovision week has officialy kicked off! This is the best week of the year. I'm going to write a little about my hopes and expectations for the coming week...

Firstly, I want to say that Italy and Spain are my joint favourites! I love Emma and Ruth - and I cannot wait for their performances on Saturday. Other favourites of mine include Israel, Germany, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, Norway, San Marino, Sweden and Poland! It's a very strong year. The stage looks absolutely amazing and I seriously think this is going to be a year to remember. All the Big 5 countries + Denmark rehearsed today and Ruth was amazing. Molly's also getting a good reception - I hope she will achieve top ten, at-least! Maybe a winner?

The first semi-final takes place on Tuesday at 21:00 CET, and then the second semi final takes place at the same time on Thursday. It's going to be a busy but awesome week. I'll update this blog most days with my opinions on qualifiers, rehearsals, predictions... Good luck, everyone!

Photograph - EBU

Copenhagen 2014: The stage officially revealed!

Photographs of the stage were today released! It looks great. The cube section has received mixed reactions and I'm not too sure what I think about them at the moment. More photos here!

Photographs - eurovision.tv and DR. 

Copenhagen 2014: The stage...

A photograph has emerged of the stage. I think it looks stunning. The blue area is where the participants will go after they've performed... yep, I am really loving this! Remember, rehearsals kick off in a couple of weeks. I'm sure this will come across great on camera. 

Copenhagen 2014: Photos of the stage revealed!

All I can say is wow! Photographs of the stage have been revealed and it looks pretty amazing.. I am even more excited for Copenhagen now! Meanwhile, the annual Eurovision in Concert takes place in Amsterdam tonight which will feature unique performances from 25 acts. Stay tuned as tomorrow I'll take a look at some of the best performances. 

Copenhagen 2014: Lys Assia reveals her favourites!

The first ever Eurovision winner, Lys Assia, has revealed her twenty favourite entries from the 2014 contest. She took to Twitter and Facebook to share this. She said that Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Austria and San Marino gave her a special and touching feeling.

1. Belgium
2. Norway
3. Denmark
4. Austria
5. Sweden
6. San Marino
7. UK
8. The Netherlands
9. Montenegro
10. Armenia
11. Latvia
12. Malta
13. Switzerland
14. Russia
15. Ukraine
16. Hungary
17. Israel
18. Italy
19. France
20. Iceland

Iceland... seriously? I'm happy to see she ranked the United Kingdon 7th. :-)

Copenhagen 2014: Official CD to be released on 14th April!

The official 2014 Eurovision album will be released on Monday 14th April! Eeeeek! The official Eurovision shop is going through maintenance although you can always pre-order the CD on Amazon or Play.com. UK delivery is free. Naturally, the CD will feature all of this years participating songs and it'll also contain the official anthem of the contest - which is "Rainmaker" by Emmelie de Forest.

Australia: Jessica Mauboy to perform in 2nd semi-final!

The Australians love Eurovision so therefore the EBU invited SBS, the Australian broadcaster, to choose and provide the interval act for the 2nd semi-final. Which was a lovely idea. Today it was announced that Jessica Mauboy will be the interval act, and technically represent Australia! She was runner-up on Australian Idol 2006. Meanwhile, it's also been confirmed that she'll perform an uptempo song. Wouldn't it be amazing if Australia really did participate in Eurovision? Maybe the UK would get a few points, then!

Copenhagen 2014: Semi-final running order decided!

The running order for both semi finals was revealed earlier! Romania and Hungary have brilliant draws! This means Romania will close the 2nd semi final for the second year in a row. Ironic. Montenegro have a very good draw too - they'll hopefully make it and Portugal also stands a chance of qualifying. Israel could be in danger... and maybe Sweden are in danger too?Like last year, the producers decided this draw. We don't know when the finalists will perform though... that'll be decided after all the finalists are known. Fingers crossed Molly has a good draw!!

Semifinal 1:

1. Armenia
2. Latvia
3. Estonia
4. Sweden
5. Iceland
6. Albania
7. Russia
8. Azerbaijan
9. Ukraine
10. Belgium
11. Moldova
12. San Marino
13. Portugal
14. The Netherlands
15. Montenegro
16. Hungary

Semifinal 2:

1. Malta
2. Israel
3. Norway
4. Georgia
5. Poland
6. Austria
7. Lithuania
8. Finland
9. Ireland
10. Belarus
11. F.Y.R. Macedonia
12. Switzerland
13. Greece
14. Slovenia
15. Romania

Copenhagen 2014: Stage plans revealed!

The Heads of Delegations have meet in Copenhagen this week and some details regarding the stage were revealed. It appears the stage is going to be gigantic but sketches are yet to be revealed.

Christer Björkman, the Swedish Head of Delegation, was very impressed with the sketches and said:

Sketches promise a lot. It’s back to big! A gigantic both stage wise and lighting wise. It is Moscow size

The greenroom will be situated in the arena itself, like Baku 2012, and organizers have said they will take advantage of the high ceilings.

Copenhagen 2014: Three songs to be presented tomorrow!

Copenhagen 2014: Presenters announced!

A press conference was held earlier this morning where DR announced Lise Rønne, Nikolaj Koppel and Pilou Asbæk would host the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest.

Lise Rønne and Nikolaj Koppel are well known TV hosts in Denmark meanwhile Pilou Asbæk is an actor who has starred in ‘Borgen’ - which is a very successful political drama series in Denmark.

 Pernilla Gaardbo, Executive Producer of the contest stated:

I am very happy to announce our decision. It is – in itself – a huge task to be the host of a live TV-show, but the Eurovision Song Contest is the world’s largest music competition, and that puts exceptional demands on the hosts. The hosts need to keep their cool, be professional to the highest degree, and appeal to the whole world. I am confident that Nikolaj, Pilou and Lise will fill this role completely and that Europeans will feel the enthusiasm and warmth that we are trying to make part of the show.

Copenhagen 2014: Greenroom to be situated in the middle of arena!

Oooh! DR have announced that the greenroom will be situated in the middle of the arena. I like this idea. However people who already have tickets, will be re-issued with new tickets but the broadcaster promises they will be in the same category and save level as the original tickets.

Jan Lagermand Lundme, DR’s Head of Show said:

“Our audience, our viewers and our artists will enjoy the experience of being close to everything, and as we want the Green Room to play a central role in the shows, it is as such natural to move it closer to the actual show and into the hall”.

Azerbaijan introduced this idea in 2012 and it was fantastic!

Copenhagen 2014: Semi-final allocation draw decided!

Earlier today, the semi final allocation draw took place and this decided what country would compete in what semi. 16 countries will participate in the first semi final and 15 will compete in the second.

Even though we haven't heard most of the songs, we can still get an idea of who's likely to make the final. Semi final 1 looks very tough indeed - as there are countries like Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Ukraine, Moldova and Sweden will participate in it. These countries have a very good track record of qualifying.. Portugal and San Marino are drawn in this semi so they will probably have tough time qualifying. Denmark, Spain and France will vote in the first semi and the UK, Italy and Germany will vote in the second semi final. Italy cannot vote for San Marino, which makes Valentina's job even harder. The Netherlands are drawn the the second half of the first semi, where Belgium can vote for them.. it's looking good for Holland this year. It's also worth mentioning that Armenia and Azerbaijan are competing in the same semi final once again.

Copenhagen 2014: 36 countries officially confirmed... for now!

Slovenia are still deciding whether to participate or not, they will announce their plans next Friday, but for now we can be certain that at-least 36 nations will be represented in Copenhagen.

Poland and Portugal have officially returned - which is awesome Unfortunately, it's now confirmed that Croatia, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Serbia won't participate. Bosnia & Herzegovina, Turkey, Slovakia, Monaco and Turkey won't return and Liechtenstein won't make their debut. Here are the countries that'll defiantly participate:

• Albania (RTSH)
• Armenia (AMPTV)
• Austria (ORF)
• Azerbaijan (Ictimai TV)
• Belarus (BTRC)
• Belgium (VRT)
• Denmark (DR) 
• Estonia (ERR)
• Finland (YLE)
•  France (France 3)
• Georgia (GPB)
• Germany (NDR)
• Greece (NERIT)
• Hungary (MTV)
• Iceland (RÚV)
• Ireland (RTÉ)
• Israel (IBA)
• Italy (RAI)
• Latvia (LTV)
• Lithuania (LRT)
• FYR Macedonia (MKRTV)
• Malta (PBS)
• Moldova (TRM)
• Montenegro (RTCG)
• The Netherlands (AvroTros)
• Norway (NRK)
• Poland (TVP)
• Portugal (RTP)
• Romania (TVR)
• Russia (RTR)
• San Marino (SRMTV)
• Spain (TVE)
• Sweden (SVT)
• Switzerland (SRG SSR)
• United Kingdom (BBC) 
• Ukraine (NTU).

So far, 30 countries will participate in the semi finals. Maybe that'll be 31 if Slovenia confirms their participation too,