1st ESC Semifinal
Wow! Swarovski sparkles in a super-sexy glittery dress
The first semi-final of the Song Contest in Vienna is over—and it had everything an ESC fan could wish for: a quirky kangaroo song, hot fire shows, sexy curves, cool beats, and, in the end, ten beaming winners: Greece, Finland, Belgium, Sweden, Moldova, Israel, Serbia, Lithuania, Croatia, and Poland—we’ll see them again in the final!
Kronen Zeitung als bevorzugte Google-Quelle hinzufügen With “Toni” and a look back at the biggest Song Contest hits of the last 70 years, Vienna kicked off its grand ESC festivities. And then things really got going—and how! With a performance by Vicky Leandros, who, in a glittery dress, performed her big ESC hit “L’amour Est Bleu.”
Swarovski with a “peephole”
Finally, the moment had come for the ESC hosts Victoria Swarovski and Michael Ostrowski! And wow, what a look! Swarovski sparkled in a fiery red dress with a “peephole” under the spotlight and immediately became the first eye-catcher of the evening!
Kangaroos, dirndls—and a singing Swarovski!
The two hosted the first ESC show with varying degrees of confidence, but always with a touch of humor. And for anyone who still doesn’t know the difference, there was a little update featuring last year’s Australian contestant, “Milkshake Man” Go-Jo—including a singing performance by Swarovski!
The offbeat performance, which played on every single cliché of both countries, left ESC fans watching at home both confused and smiling at the same time. And—admittedly—it also caused a brief moment of vicarious embarrassment!
Here’s a clip of the performance:
Hot beats to kick things off
On to the individual acts: Things kicked off on Tuesday with a sassy performance. Who is Satoshi representing? Moldova, of course! He left absolutely no doubt about that in his song!
Meanwhile, Sweden’s Felicia aims to wow Eurovision fans with a glitter mask, electro beats, a laser show, and her song “My System.”
Ethno vibes and no hangover
The Croatian band Lelek combined elements of traditional Croatian music with a modern pop sound in their song “Andromeda.” And they looked like five ancient warrior women who had come to captivate the ESC audience.
One thing is certain with Greece’s Akylas: viewers definitely didn’t get bored during the song “Ferto”! Wild techno beats, a colorful stage show. A cat-ear hood and Greek rap with a message. Could this be this year’s winner?
“Ferto!” Here’s Greece’s song:
Wild electro beats and a flashy performance, however, were nowhere to be found with Bandidos do Cante. As every year, Portugal relied on traditional sounds and sent five rose knights onto the stage with the song “Rosa.”
Click through the photos of the ESC act here:
Fans celebrate the ESC show in Vienna
Things were also buzzing on Twitter on the first night of the ESC in Vienna. After the first acts, one fan quipped cheekily: “The most important question first: Does everyone have a dance license?” A nod to Cosmo’s ESC hit.
Another fan praised the production in Vienna: “Awesome opening, for sure. And I loooove Michael Ostrowski.”
Eurovision beats and fiery Finns
With typical ESC beats in the song “On Replay” and futuristic costumes, the band Bzikebi from Georgia aimed to score big. Old-fashioned or just really cool?
Classical, pop, a bit of rock, and plenty of violin sounds were on display with the Finnish duo Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen. And of course, fire on stage was a must, given that the song is called “Liekinheitin,” meaning “flamethrower”...
A fiery show! Here’s a clip from the Finns’ performance:
The message of Montenegro’s Tamara Živković’s song “Nova Zora” is clear: Women to power! You can’t get more girl power than this at the Song Contest.
More pictures of the ESC contestants are available here:
Retro vibes and mixed reactions for Israel
There was a bit of ABBA, a bit of pop, and plenty of retro vibes with Estonia’s Vanilla Ninja. Does that ring a bell? And rightly so! Because back in the early 2000s, the girl band had already stormed the Austrian charts!
Noam Bettan likely had the toughest job at this year’s ESC, representing Israel with the song “Michelle.” There were a few scattered boos from the audience that evening as well, but Noam Bettan didn’t let that faze him and saw his performance through to the end. In the end, there was cheering and only a few boos.
Noam Bettan’s performance is also being hotly debated on X: “Even though I can’t endorse Israel’s actions in Gaza, etc., Noam didn’t deserve all those heckles,” was one of the comments there.
Frozen Queen and Silver Surfer
Belgium had to bundle up this year! Essyla performed the song “Dancing On The Ice”—frosty performance included!
Is the Blue Man Group missing a member? Lithuania’s Lion Ceccah wasn’t decked out in blue, but in silver, and certainly turned heads on the ESC stage with his look alone. But was he able to win over the crowd with his song “Sólo Quiero Más”?
Not only is San Marino’s song titled “Superstar,” but the tiny nation also brought a real superstar to the stage at the ESC in Vienna. 80s icon Boy George rocked the venue alongside singer Senhit.
A spooky finale
Poland sent Alicja to Vienna this year with her song “Pray.” Will the singer be able to make the most of her second ESC chance? She was actually supposed to represent her country at the Song Contest back in 2020. But then the music spectacle was canceled due to COVID-19...
Did you know? Count Dracula comes from Serbia—at least at this year’s ESC. The metal band Lavina didn’t just go for a dark vibe with their song “Kraj Meine,” but also with their stage performance. Hopefully the fans won’t have nightmares after this spooky finale to the first semifinal...
If you want to hear the spooky Serbs again—here’s a short clip of their performance:
First taste of the “Big Four”
There was also a preview of the “Big Four” on stage on Tuesday. Italy’s crooner Sal Da Vinci crooned “Per Sempre Si.”
You can listen to Sal Da Vinci’s ESC song here:
Fans were also treated to a fiery performance by Sarah Engels. She sparkled in a golden bodysuit under the spotlight and drew huge cheers from the audience with her sizzling stage show—complete with a mini-stunt.
"Fire" was the name of the game for Sarah Engels—and the title says it all. Watch it here:
Finally, there was a real highlight to fill the break during the voting. The acrobatics and dance group Zurcaroh from Götzis in Vorarlberg transported the audience to Vienna’s Prater with a spectacular show. What a fantastic sight!
Cosmó Already in the Finals
Austria’s Eurovision star Cosmó was able to comfortably watch the first of the three mega-shows at the Vienna Stadthalle from the audience. He will make his debut on the big Song Contest stage in the second semifinal on Thursday —though out of competition. As last year’s winner, Austria is already guaranteed a spot in Saturday’s final.
Fans celebrated at Rathausplatz
Just in time for the first semifinal, things were hopping at the public viewing event on Rathausplatz. Numerous fans braved the not-so-spring-like weather and created a great atmosphere with their cool fan vibes.
And the party was in full swing on the Wiener Linien “Disco-Bim” on Tuesday evening as well. “Some people go to Ballermann, we’re going to the ESC,” laughed a young woman on the party tram, where a lively atmosphere reigned amid blaring hits and dancing passengers.
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