Eurovision Contest Update: 26 Contestants To Compete In Grand Final

The Eurovision contest is down to 26 countries left competing for the top spot.

EUROVISION REACHES TOP 26 FINALIST FOR GRAND FINAL

The second semifinals for the international singing competition took place yesterday, and saw Switzerland and Ireland among the eight that fell out of contention. The other losers of the round were Serbia, Macedonia, Malta, San Marino, LIthuania and Estona.

The ten that made it through the second semifinal are Austria, Romania, the Netherlands, Hungary, Denmark, Croatia, Norway, Belarus, Bulgaria, and Israel The finalists will sing together in the grand finale on Saturday night to determine the overall winner.

Those ten will join the ten finalists from the first semifinal that took place earlier this week, which are Sweden, Belgium, Cyprus, Portugal, Poland, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Australia and Greece will compete. Add to that the “big five” who prequalified for the finals, which are Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy and Spain. These represent the main contributors to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). And lastly, the singer from the host country Ukraine will perform for the top spot.

Many of the winners included female singers performing ballads, such as Denmark’s Anja Nissen singing “Where I Am.” Others, however, were far more unique, including Norway’s entry “Grab the Moment,” featuring a wacky array of rap/electronic music. Romania’s “Yodel It!” was an interesting combination of rap and yodeling, and Croatia’s Jacques Houdek sang “My Friend,” switching between baritone opera singing and his falsetto, backed by cello and violin music.

Another refreshing entry comes from Belarus’ Naviband, who sang “Historjya majho žyccia” (“Story of My Life”) in their native tongue. Hungary’s song “Origo” is performed by Joci Papai, an ehtnic Roma, many of whom suffer discrimination in Europe.

And finally, the three sister act from the Netherlands gave a standout performance of their song “Light and Shadows,” which smartly showed off their harmonizing chops.

The final running order for the 2017 Eurovision Grand Final in Kiev, Ukraine, is below. Tune in at 9 on May 13 to see the show. The show will be live streamed through YouTube.com/eurovision.

1. Israel
2. Poland
3. Belarus
4. Austria
5. Armenia
6. The Netherlands
7. Moldova
8. Hungary
9. Italy
10. Denmark
11. Portugal
12. Azerbaijan
13. Croatia
14. Australia
15. Greece
16. Spain
17. Norway
18. United Kingdom
19. Cyprus
20. Romania
21. Germany
22. Ukraine
23. Belgium
24. Sweden
25. Bulgaria
26. France