The tremors didn’t last long: Austria’s entry “We Will Rave” by Kaleen was named yesterday evening as the second country of the ten qualified for the final of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday.
The 29-year-old from Ried im Traunkreis apparently impressed in the pure audience voting. In fact, Marie-Sophie Kreissl fulfilled expectations with her uptempo dance song “We Will Rave” in a sexy stage outfit by star designer Marina Hoermanseder. Her dancing skills were top notch, and her vocal performance was appealing even following initial small difficulties.
Picture gallery: Song Contest: That was the 2nd semi-final
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OÖN-TV asked around regarding the ESC in Linz:
16 countries fought for one of ten starting places in the final on Saturday. The first highlight was the appearance of Nemo with start number four for Switzerland. The non-binary person from Biel performed the song “The Code” to draw attention to her own transformation with an “artistic manifesto of a personal journey”. Everything was right here: from the stage show to the costume to the singing skills between rap and Queen of the Night, Nemo’s contribution was always authentic.
Eden Golan’s appearance for Israel was eagerly awaited. Instead of “October Rain” and references to the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7th, the highly emotional ballad “Hurricane” was rewritten on the orders of the EBU. The contribution was accompanied by boos in the hall and – according to ORF presenter Andi Knoll – drowned out by well-rehearsed applause. Already in the followingnoon, thousands of people marched in downtown Malmö to take part in an anti-Israel march. At the head of the procession was “Fridays for Future” icon Greta Thunberg with a Palestinian scarf. Israel ultimately made it to the final, and once more there were boos from the audience.
Of the nations that qualified for the final on Saturday, Slimane presented himself as one of the favorites for France with the excellently sung chanson “Mon amour”. The Spanish contribution “Zorra” is different. Nebulossa’s vocally limited performance was joined by two vulgarly dressed dancers.
Photo gallery: Eurovision Song Contest: These were the performances in the first semi-final
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These 26 nations are in the ESC final on Saturday
- Sweden: The defending champion from last year opens the final with “Unforgettable” by Marcus & Martinus.
- Also fixed are the “Big Five” of the largest contributors to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU): Germany (Isaak “Always On The Run”), Great Britain (Olly Alexander “Dizzy”), Italy (Angelina Mango “La noia”), France ( Slimane “Mon amour”) and Spain (Nebulossa “Zorra”)
- Qualified 2nd semifinal: Austria, Latvia, Netherlands, Norway, Israel, Greece, Estonia, Switzerland, Georgia and Armenia;
- Qualified 1st semifinal: Finland, Ireland, Croatia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, Ukraine and Cyprus;
ORF 1 will broadcast the ESC final in Malmö live on Saturday from 9 p.m.; Countdown from 8:15 p.m.; Decision from 12:15 a.m.;
Author
Helmut Atteneder
Culture editor
Helmut Atteneder
