I didn't write about the second Semi Final at the time as I thought it would a pretty straightforward affair with quite predictable results. In many ways it was just that but it did give us a chance to see the other acts actually performing as opposed to miming to a backing track or being processed digitally on an exciting but rather unrepresentative video.
We saw the remarkable Nemo perform and present Switzerland's entry The Code extremely professionally but the rest seemed quite lacklustre. Some were already pretty good entries but I saw little extra magic of the type that produces really big and slightly unexpected cheers from the crowd at the end. Greece were well-received but it was a messy performance of quite a messy song. They've done better and now sit at 500-1 if you fancy a bet. A win would give you a million if you bet just £2000.
Armenia were happy. That girl is just so sweet and dances away happily in a way that just makes you smile and wonder why most of the other girls have to strip down to little more than a thong. Not that I mind, although most I find slightly frightening rather than sexy or appealing.
Malta, Italy, Georgia, Czechia and Austria's girls were acts which you might have watched on your own and then hurriedly switched off if your parents came into the room in the 1970s. No-one seems to care now. Italy is as popular as ever and the nation seems to have found a home here in Eurovision as you can't imagine a Top 10 without Italy. Or Ukraine for that matter. Miss Mango, however, didn't impress that much. She is competent and very familiar with the big stage so I am expecting her to do better tonight but still don't see a win for her.
Georgia had fire everywhere which may be prescient, bearing in mind what is brewing back home. She got through but that's all we'll hear, I'm afraid. I do hope they don't start backing Putin, that's all. If they're not around in 2025, you'll know why.
Czechia had one of those songs that's all about 'me' and it grated a bit in a competition that's supposed to be about everyone else. Clearly the voters didn't like it either and, despite not having a great deal of competition to beat, they failed.
Malta's girl was out of tune and out of time and not even sexy enough to gather enough votes to get to the final. she danced well and was thrown around with legs in places I would not have expected legs to be. As an old straight bloke I felt slightly naughty watching on occasion but never mind, she's gone now too.
Kaleen's very catchy Rave anthem will be a big hit, if it isn't already, across Europe this summer and I had hoped that it might be one to watch this year but her performances have got worse as time goes on. It's alive and she looks good and ought to do a lot better. It's almost as if she isn't trying that hard so maybe she'll bring out the big guns, no not those, please, on the night. Her dancers seem to enjoy helping her with many of the moves so they'll have that to look forward to if not a celebration of winning. At 700-1 you only need to back with £1429 to make your million, by the way.
France belted out the one and only ballad. Oh, sorry, Latvia have a ballad too. But that is rather forgettable, even though it did get through. A one point I had France for the win but the more I hear this song the worse it gets and when the bloke stands a mile away from the microphone for the last few notes I just think to myself that 2024 is not the year of the big belter.
The one that did get a huge round of applause and really did make us sit up and take notice was the Norwegian entry by Gåte. This is good, impressive stuff and, if they can be slightly less manic tonight and let the girl stay in the lead with that amazing vocal performance then we may get a surprise.
Netherlands did the rather pathetic Europapa thing which was fancied at one point but surely is not going to win. It's sad Eurotrash, especially the last bit which I do feel we can all do without. Not quite as annoying as Finland's Windows95 man with his dirty-looking underwear but not that much better. I also understand that the singer has got himself into trouble with some rude behaviour at a conference and that will not help him at all, if indeed, as we await further news, he does even get to perform.
Israel is the one name we haven't mentioned but need to. The performance was good but not exceptional so I cannot understand why the odds of Eden Golan winning the whole thing have dropped to such low levels. At one point she had become the favourite! It is a nice enough song and she is a good singer but it is not brilliant or particularly outstanding. Indeed, I have tended to assume that this year is most definitely not a year when you would expect Israel to win with so much apparent anti-Israel sentiment around the world. It is at a stupidly vicious level in some places too and in Malmo very substantial protests are taking place with pro-Palestine supporters making a lot of noise and grabbing headlines. I do seriously wonder who is organising these protests and that perhaps it is not so much about Israel or Hamas but more about causing friction and dissent and weakening Western governments, keeping them occupied with all this nonsense while sowing seeds for sympathy with a hard-Left stance by future candidates for government.
So why is Israel now second favourite? Do the bookies know something that we don't about just how many votes Israel received in this 2nd Semi Final? We don't get the results until after it's all over but I am sure they still sneak through security. Clearly the numbers must have taken the bookies by surprise for the odds to be cut so dramatically. As they were in the same competition as Switzerland it may be that the Swiss votes were substantially lower than expected too and so the win comes down to between just Croatia and Israel on those numbers. I just still don't see Israel winning. Ukraine had a huge sympathy vote - and rightly so in many respects - when russia trampled over their borders and raped and pillaged and burned and destroyed many towns and villages. The sympathy, that I gauge from the amount of protests amongst the Eurovision crowd and generally, is with Palestine people this time, not Israel. It might have been on 8 October or even a few days after the despicable acts by Hamas in Palestine's name but since then Israel have taken some pretty heavy-handed action and must have lost a lot of that 'sympathy' vote. There are still many hostages being held by Hamas and the events of 7 October still hurt Israel but I don't see any positive impact for Israel in Eurovision 2024. I do admire the courage of Eden Golan and wish her well. I wouldn't mind if Israel won, in fact, as that would show the world that, despite all the quite terrible protests, there is a majority who still feel they were right to try and eliminate Hamas and those who support their evil activities from this planet. But I don't think that will happen.
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