The first Eurovision semi-final took place on Tuesday evening, May 7, 2024, officially opening the 68th edition of the European Song Contest. Conflict in Gaza present in a performance despite the organizers’ desire not to politicize the competition, ten qualified countries… Here is what you should remember.
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Here are the ten qualified countries
In France, the evening, broadcast on France 4, was hosted by drag queen Nicky Doll, presenter of the show Drag Race France. Nicky Doll has also made multiple references to the show (which will return to France on May 31) in her comments. Alexandra Redde-Amiel, head of the French Eurovision delegation, was interviewed during the evening and assured that Slimane was ready.
Read also : INTERVIEW. Nicky Doll: “Eurovision is the queerest and most drag show in the world”
During the evening, fifteen countries sang their song in turn, before the public vote began, the sole judge of the semi-finals. And finally, ten countries qualified for the grand final on May 11. These are: Cyprus, Croatia, Finland, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia and Ukraine.
Conversely, five countries failed to convince the public and were eliminated: Australia, Azerbaijan, Iceland, Moldova and Poland.
Reference to the conflict in Gaza
Beyond the music, the evening was marked by a reference made to the conflict in Gaza, while the organizers tried at all costs to erase any reference to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
During the opening number, Swedish singer Éric Saade spoke about the conflict. The artist, whose father is of Palestinian origin, had warned of wanting to use his performance to protest against Israel’s participation. Tuesday evening, he wore a keffiyeh around his arm. Swedish public television, SVT, which is organizing this 68th edition with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), said it regretted this gesture.
Furthermore, Bambie Thug, the artist representing Ireland, explained during a press conference that she had to change the messages on her costume, she who wanted to write “Cease fire” and “Freedom for Palestine”. at the request of the organizers.
In March, ten participants, including the Irish representative, called for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages. Israel will participate in the second semi-final despite calls for a boycott having been made for several months and demonstrations being planned.
Read also : “The Swedish police are ready”: the 68th edition of Eurovision under high tension
Many performances
In addition to the fifteen competing countries, three already qualified countries also sang live, a new feature compared to previous years. These are Germany, the United Kingdom (both already qualified because they are among the biggest contributors), as well as Sweden (the host country). In addition, former iconic Eurovision candidates also took the microphone, including Swedish star Benjamin Ingrosso, who represented the country in 2018, who sang a medley of his hits.
The second semi-final will take place on Thursday May 9. Like Tuesday’s, it will be broadcast on France 4 as a bonus and hosted by Nicky Doll. Slimane, already qualified for the final, will sing his title there My love and we will be able to discover for the first time his entire performance for Eurovision, only extracts having been broadcast so far.
