Eurovision 2024: The results

 Here are the Top 10 votes from the Public, Jury and overall.

Public		Jury		Overall
Croatia		Switzerland		Switzerland
Israel		France		Croatia
Ukraine		Croatia		Ukraine
France		Italy		France
Switzerland		Ukraine		Israel
Ireland		Ireland		Ireland
Italy		Portugal		Italy
Greece		Sweden		Armenia
Armenia		Armenia		Sweden
Lithuania		Germany		Portugal

The Public vote was pretty much as we'd expected, apart from the massive support for Israel which I had not counted on and some very surprising low votes for Austria, Norway and, of course, United Kingdom getting none at all! I agree that it was a horrible thing to watch but I was sure there would be a fair bit of support for Olly who was well-known and a decent singer with a reasonable song. That presentation, though, was just ugly. I'm sure that if he'd just stood there and sung the song he'd have made the Top 10 instead of finishing 18th, not bottom, thanks to the Juries!

The Jury vote was also pretty expected but, in contrast, the omission of Israel and the big vote for Germany and Sweden were surprising.

So the overall result had 7 of my predicted Top 10 but I was wrong about Greece and very wrong about Norway and United Kingdom. 

I did not see the Jury votes being as generous as they were with Croatia and Ireland, and Germany's dull entry must have been much better in the rehearsal that they voted on. Sweden in the Top 10? One wonders whether that was just because they were the host and were constantly in everyone's mind due to the 50th anniversary of Abba's win. As a result, Italy and Ukraine's numbers were lower than I'd predicted and the end result was not as close as it might have been.

Switzerland deserved the win, for sure. A good result.

Very stupid and rude people in the audience on the night did not contribute at all to any theme of being together or caring for each other. You do wonder, sometimes, how people who are gay, queer or whatever, can possibly support a terrorist organisation like Hamas who would probably execute all of them for their behaviour being unacceptable in whatever religious orders they follow over there. They were rude to the Israeli act and the person trying to give their votes as well as insulting the guy who runs the show, presumably blaming him for permitting Israel to participate.

It seems very strange to me that these people support Ukraine, a country that was invaded by a nasty neighbour who has killed lots of their people, but don't support Israel where the same thing happened on October 7. Both Ukraine and Israel have fought back against the bad people but all these protesters seem to think that Ukraine is good and Israel is bad. Odd. Israel would welcome people of all persuasions, gay, queer, trans or whatever. I really do not think that Hamas would, and yet they get the support from so many of these people. Queer, in all senses. I do think they were so very wrong in attempting to mess up a competition like that and congratulate the organisers on controlling things as well as they did. One feels sorry for the guy in a suit and he may well decide that enough is enough and retire.

Interesting to note that no groups did well this year. All the Top 10 overall were individuals, either alone or very prominent, or a pair.

That's it for another year.

Eurovision 2024: The Final hours

 This will be one of the hardest Top 10s to predict that I can remember. OK. Here goes:

The Public vote top 10

Croatia

Ukraine

Italy

Switzerland

Ireland

Greece

Lithuania

Israel

United Kingdom

Austria

The Jury Vote Top 10

Switzerland

France

Italy

Latvia

Norway

Israel

Serbia

Ukraine

Ireland

Portugal

Combined:

Switzerland

Italy

Ukraine

Croatia

Ireland

Israel

Greece

Norway

France

United Kingdom

I am going not along with the bookies this time although they have been right so many times before that it seems foolish to ignore them. I also suspect they have inside knowledge - or some heavy betters do which has had the same effect on the lists which, incidentally, as of 6:30pm, an hour or so before the start, show the result as:

Croatia

Israel

Switzerland

France

Ireland

Ukraine

Italy

United Kingdom

Finland

Greece

At 500-1 or more for any of the rest it really is anyone's guess and no-one can predict anything from such crazy odds other than that they're not going to win tonight!

I am assuming that Israel won't be as popular with all the voters as seems to have been the case on Thursday and, whilst they'll get respectful acknowledgement of the song and singer, it'll be mostly 4s and 5s.

I believe both Italy and Ukraine will have big Public votes and also decently chunky Jury votes but Switzerland will have both and Croatia just failing to get enough from the Jury.

Eurovision 2024: The Final

 So here we are - Final night at last. It seems a long, long time since we first heard Dizzy and some of the other first releases. Where will be going this time next year, I wonder?

The bookies never get everything completely right but the do tend to be right about the top two or three. This year there is a massive divide between three leading competitors, then another between four 'possibles' and the rest are in the far distance with odds of 500-1 or more.

The winner is likely to be one of Croatia, Israel or Switzerland, they say. I have written before that I would find an Israel win at this time extraordinary. Not that the song and performer aren't good - they're fine, it's just the politics really don't favour Israel as far as I can see. But maybe the politics of the voting public is diametrically opposed to what we see on the streets of many capitals around the world? If it is, then that is reassuring but I have my doubts. something, however, spooked the bookies and I can only assume either an inordinately large vote or a huge bet came their way after the 2nd semi Final.

Croatia is the catchy, crowd-pleasing one that, bar Israel, I had expected to top the public vote. It has a cheery vibe and lifts people up with its anthemic like whoa-oh bits. 

Switzerland have the complex, clever and beautifully constructed and (hopefully) performed entry, for a long time the favourite but less supported now, possibly with a comparison of voting support with Israel being seen which effectively nullified the Swiss case.

If it isn't one of these then it will be because one of the next entries performed magically on the stage and also impressed the Jury votes in rehearsals.

The contenders are France, Italy, Ireland and Ukraine and it would be difficult to have a more diverse four. France have the one big belter ballad this year, (forget Latvia). If voters want a ballad to win they'll vote for France and those numbers may be enough with most of the others split between similar acts. My view is that this is simply not a good enough ballad, nor is the singer appealing enough, nor his performance sufficiently magical. It's all a bit stodgy and you just want a bit of Italian passion, not French sweat and spray.

Italy have the pretty girl dancer and singer. If you want a pretty girl dancer to win then this is the best one. There are a lot, though, so Miss Mango will have to be amazingly fabulous and all of Italy's nationals abroad will have to vote.

Both Italy and France will be high in the Jury vote so will start at or near the top which will look good for them but not last, I fear.

Ireland have an extraordinary act. If you want an extraordinary act to win then vote for Ireland. Bambie Thug is a name that says it all really. A bony, occasionally sweet but mostly rather frightening girl seems to have lost her mind and just screams at us most of the time. It's clever, shocking and not Eurotrash but something so way-out as to be almost in. It is the one very, very unpredictable entry which could just bomb and never be played again or get millions of votes and win.

Ukraine have the anthem-like passionate thing with a rap break. If you want a passionate song with a rap break then this is for you. I have always seen this as a potential winner. It is a beautiful track, apart from the rap break, and the staging looks fabulous and, so far, the performance has been super with a very strong voice from the lead girl. It's good and deserves to win but it will be only from a massive boost on the night in their votes. It is possible, though, especially if there are splits in support and 12 points are split between other leaders but Ukraine gets plenty of 8s and 10s.

So who else is there, lurking amongst the 500-1 shots?

Only Austria and Norway, I think. The rest really do not stand a chance so it's not worth writing about them.

Austria have a hit, for sure, but the votes are just not going to be enough as rave-dance-party-goers do not necessarily watch Eurovision. It's a great number nevertheless and if Kaleen can perform at the top of her game they may make top ten but not a great deal more.

Norway is the one dark horse I can imagine coming out of nowhere to prove all the predictions wrong.

The UK song isn't bad but I really do not want to watch the performance which is simply ugly. Sweden have clearly given up with their twin X Factor losers being highly forgettable. Armenia's girl is lovely and I wish her well but she has no hope in hell of winning. Greece will get lots of votes and support and should just about make the Top 15, maybe even Top 10 if it's a good day for them. Nothing more though.

Looks like Netherlands are out. Good.

Eurovision 2024: 2nd Semi Final

 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.

Eurovision 2024: Semi Final 1

 Tonight the first group of nations will be performing and this will be the first that the public see of their 'real' chances as they take to the live stage instead of just being in a much-rehearsed video, auto-tuned recording or, at the other extreme. some poorly-produced party acts at various venues beforehand.

We can confidently expect Croatia, Ukraine, Lithuania and Ireland to qualify and, regrettably, idiots will vote for the awful Finland's Windows 95 man too. No-one else has a hope in hell of winning so it's pretty pointless to worry too much about who else gets through.

Serbia was the one nation in the rest that I originally thought had a good song but its chances have been at 1000-1 for a long time now so clearly the singer hasn't done very well other than in the video.

Cyprus have a pretty girl and excellent dancer who one would expect to get through but it seems her song is very much like another track released before so no-one is giving her a great deal of love. Just because she can sing and dance well, though, I'd quite like to see Cyprus qualify, at least.

Australia's performers and stage crew have come a long way so it's a shame to send them back to the other side of the world where it's autumn and getting chilly but they really have a rubbish entry that does not deserve to be heard again.

Slovenia have a smart singer, Raiven, who is said to be a witch but she'll need no special spells to get through, just a few more votes than the handful that most of her other remnant competitors will receive. 

Moldova have made virtually ever Final they've gone for and always seem to do far better with the public than anyone ever expects. So, despite their 1000-1 odds, my guess is that they'll make it though once more.

Iceland have been popular at Eurovision ever since they didn't win in COVID times and, of course, due to the excellent film. Goodness knows what happened this year, however, with a dreadful woman singing notes that I don't recognise in a very messy performance.

Luxembourg, Azerbaijan, Poland and Portugal just leave me with nothing to say. They're just not tracks I would ever want to play again. Not as bad as Iceland or Australia but just boring or of no consequence whatsoever. Poland have a lot of voters so maybe that will get them through. Having Azerbaijan and Armenia in the same show could be troublesome so someone may fiddle the figures to keep Azerbaijan out as Armenia are pretty sure to qualify on Thursday. On the other hand, Baku bosses have pots of money to help their nation get its name on the screen so it really is anyone's guess. Whatever the case it won't matter much.

So, if I have to pick 10 to qualify it will be:

Croatia | Ukraine | Lithuania | Finland | Ireland | Cyprus | Moldova | Slovenia | Serbia | Poland

Update:

OK 8/10 isn't too bad!

Through to Saturday's Final are:

Croatia | Ukraine | Lithuania | Finland | Ireland | Cyprus | Slovenia | Serbia | Portugal | Luxembourg

Particularly strong performances by Croatia, Ukraine, Serbia and Portugal, the last one earning their place although still definitely not a winner. Ireland were pretty good but could have been presented better by the camera people and I am not so sure the dress stripping worked. However, you did get the genuine sense that they could actually win, everyone else fading slightly in comparison for one reason or another. Ukraine were divine and if they can reproduce that quality then they must be contenders. Croatia remain favourites, though, with a very professional performance and one really does have to hope that they steal many of the slightly Eurostuff votes from the awful Finland and Netherlands to keep them out of the running whilst not getting too many.

The Jury votes will have gone mainly to Portugal, Serbia and Ukraine.