Russia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan Advance To Eurovision Song Contest Final
May 19, 2021 06:20 GMT
Manizha, Russia s entry into the song contest
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Ten of the 16 acts competing in the first semifinal in Rotterdam on May 18 advanced to the finals of the Eurovision Song Contest including performers from Russia, Azerbaijan, and Ukraine.
A second semifinal is scheduled for May 20, with 10 of those acts also advancing to the May 22 final, which will include automatic qualifiers Italy, France, Germany, Spain, and Britain, along with the host nation, the Netherlands.
Qualifiers from May 18 also included Norway, Israel, Malta, Lithuania, Cyprus, Sweden, and Belgium.
Countries not advancing were Romania, Croatia, North Macedonia, Slovenia, Ireland, and Australia.
Who is representing the UK at Eurovision 2021?
James Newman, 35, has worked with Rudimental, Ed Sheeran and Calvin Harris
James Newman (Image: AP)
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The grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest is scheduled to take place on May 22, after last year’s competition was cancelled because of the pandemic.
Icelandic group Dadi & Gagnamagnid will miss out on on Saturday s final
Instead, footage from an earlier performance of 10 years will be broadcast
The six-piece band are tipped as one of the favourites to win this year s contest
The final will take place in the Dutch city of Rotterdam after being cancelled last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic
Last year, the Eurovision Song Contest was cancelled for the first time in its then 64-year history. This year’s Eurovision is a socially distanced affair, with frequent COVID testing of participants.
The Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam, where the contest is being held, has a capacity of 15,000 but the audience has been capped at 3,500 for each show. Interestingly, it does not look as socially distanced as expected. Shots of the crowd in the first semi-final on Tuesday (Wednesday in Australia), showed people seated side by side, with a few gaps between groups.
As a precaution, each participating country shot a “live-on-tape” performance to be used as a backup if their delegation could not travel to Rotterdam. Australia’s act Montaigne (Jess Cerro) filmed a performance of her song Technicolour in Sydney in March. SBS decided not to send a team to the contest due to travel concerns in the pandemic.