Good evening Europe, Good morning Australia ! Well last night saw the first 10 qualifiers for the Grand Final in Semi Final 1 . Now it’s the turn of those acts in Semi Final 2 to fight it out for the remaining coveted 10 spots to Saturday’s Grand Final . Although this year’s semi final results are being decided by 100 % televote, tonight’s show is significant as tonight the international juries will be watching so that they can decide the back up scores that they will give to each country, should there be a problem with any country’s televote tomorrow night during the live show. So the performers tonight will be wanting to put on their very best performance to impress the juries .

Join us, when Eurovision Ireland’s Sarah will be here to bring you her own commentary on the fun and action tonight, and telling you her thoughts on the acts and their chances for tomorrow night. This should help to give you a flavour of what is in store for the live show tomorrow. So sit back , relax , get some snacks and get a feel for what we will see tomorrow night . If you have any thoughts or comments on any of the acts , please do feel free to drop us a line and comment in our comments box.

The countries performing tonight are as follows:

DENMARK-Reiley -Breaking my Heart

ARMENIA-Brunette-Future Lover

ROMANIA-Theodor Andre- D.G.T ( Off & On)

ESTONIA-Alika -Bridges

BELGIUM-Gustaph -Because of You

CYPRUS-Andrew Lambrou-Break a Broken Heart

ICELAND-Diljà -Power

GREECE-Victor Vernicos-What they say

POLAND -Blanka -Solo

SLOVENIA-Joker Out -Carpe Diem

GEORGIA -Iru – Echo

SAN MARINO-Piqued Jacks – Like an Animal

AUSTRIA-Teya and Salena -Who the Hell is Edgar?

ALBINA -Albina and Familja Kelmendi-Duje

LITHUANIA-Monika Linkyte -Stay

AUSTRALIA -Voyager-Promise

Please do #joinus at 20.00 BST/21.00 CET , we will be delighted to entertain you this evening with our thoughts on the action from Liverpool.

LIVE BLOG STARTS HERE

Good evening everyone and welcome back. In just a few minutes we’ll be going over to the M and S bank arena ready to see what Semi Final 2 will be offering viewers tomorrow night in the live Semi Final show, where the 10 qualifiers will be chosen by you, the public. I hope you’ve downloaded the Eurovision app ready to cast your votes .Tomorrow, those of you at home in the UK will be able to vote , along with Ukraine and Spain , so all the more reason to get a feel for where your votes may go !I must say the atmosphere inside the arena was great in the Semi final 1 dress rehearsals, so hopefully we will get just as electric an atmosphere tonight for Semi 2’s dress rehearsal.

Get your drinks and snacks , get comfy and wait for the show to begin !Our presenters , as in Semi Final 1 , will be Hannah, Julia and Alesha. Hannah , particularly has had some positive reviews on social media following her hosting last night , with someone even regarding her as the “UK equivalent of Petra Mede”. Not so sure about that but have to say, without me being biased, just because I am a Brit , that she is pretty good!

To follow my blog this evening , all you have to do is REFRESH THIS PAGE .

And we’re off ! with Te Deum Sounding ,Starting with a look back to last night ‘s Semi Final 1 ! What a show that was !Timur talking us through it all. The hosts appear, looking lovely as always . I love Hannah’s short yellow dress,very striking !

They explain why we are holding the contest in Liverpool and the theme “United by Music “.

They mention the Eurovision app , which is what you vote through . Hannah’s French is great-in an entertaining way ! They also mention that this year, the Rest of the World are voting too .

Hannah jokes about how Brits like to join a queue , in relation to the performers running order .

We’re getting down to business now, Denmark up first. The postcards this year , show different venues around Ukraine, then a British counterpart and a clip of the performer in their own country .

DENMARK-Reiley -Breaking my Heart

Reiley starts inside a heart on screen, which he wipes away, then you see the LED backdrop, which starts off a very light pink, then changes colour , to depict Reiley moving into different rooms. Reiley himself is in all pink with some spangles .LED backdrops on the floor depicting clouds. Backdrop then changes to green with white hearts with Riley singing of having his heart broken . It’s very sugar sweet but for me it’s perhaps a little too inoffensive and with the running order , Riley may struggle to make an impression against stronger entries coming later. A shame really because I would like to see Denmark qualify but.. the public may feel differently tomorrow night!

ARMENIA-Brunette-Future Lover

Its’s Armenia next and Brunette starts off lying on a large block on the stage, with pink and white swirls, which then changes colour throughout. Brunette than slowly gets to standing position and starts the rap part of her song. She’s in a white frock which looks like it’s been through the shredder ! For me, the song is a bit repetitive but has its charm . Good performance.

ROMANIA-Theodor Andre- D.G.T ( Off & On)

Well last night we had Croatia’s Let 3 to entertain us with the bonkers element and in this semi final, Romania with Theodor seems to have taken on that baton , He starts sat on a stool playing a guitar , with his backing dancers lying on the floor around him.The song tone then changes to a mixture of rapping and normal singing, a bit like two songs rolled into one !There are images of two of his backing dancers on the LED screen dressed in white gowns . A backing dancer then struts and paws around him. I think viewers may struggle to understand this .

Estonia -Alika -Bridges

After the weirdness of Romania, we’re back to a gentle ballad with Alika, who is elegantly dressed in blue. She’s brought the self playing piano to Liverpool with her. Her vocals are good and she’s against a backdrop of what looks like trees , which then changes to a golden lighting as she concludes the song. Big cheer in the arena for her, they clearly liked that !

BELGIUM-Gustaph -Because of You

This had been my guilty pleasure since National Final Season. Gustaph starts on a platform with a silhouette of himself on the LED backdrop, then joined by silhouettes of his backing dancers. He’s in a white jacket , pink shirt, pink trousers. He then walks down onto the stage , joined by his backing dancers and interacts with them on stage.They perform their dance routine. Some of the lyrics to the song on the backdrop . He’s then joined by a dancer on stage who dances around him. That’s woken the audience up !

We get a break, with a chat by Hannah with Graham Norton and Ukraine’s Timur. You may not see this if you have advert breaks in Europe . They are talking about what makes a succesful Eurovision commentary. Graham will be joining the girls as a host on Grand Final night .

We now have Alesha telling us about the vote being extended to the rest of the World and that the easiest way to vote is through the app! The members of Scooch (UK 2007 ) are there trying to convince us it should be done the old fashioned way with paper and pen! Ha ha !

CYPRUS-Andrew Lambrou-Break a Broken Heart

Andrew starts alone in stage, surrounded by smoke and spotlights in dark staging He is in a black sleeveless suit , we get an LED backdrop of rain as Andrew sings of breaking a broken heart . He walks around the stage as he sings, then we have pyros and fire in the background ! It’s great to watch ! His vocals are spot on too! That’s had the biggest cheer from the crowd so far !

Interesting to see how the hosts are sometimes introducing each of the songs before they perform . A bit like it used to be in days gone by .

Iceland -Dilja-Power

Dilja starts sat down on the floor, LED vine background ,which grows as Dilja build up the song . She’s in her usual silver suit but has lost the Princess Lea hairstyle she had in the National final . She struts and throws herself around the stage as she sings. The background changes to white flowers .I do feel that there are times where she’s screaming rather than singing when she hits the high notes . Throws her jacket off at the end.

GREECE-Victor Vernicos-What they say

Another singer starting off sat on the floor,seems to be a common theme this year! There’s Victor’s face in the backdrop. He’s dressed as if he’s got a part in Juarassic Park rather than singing at Eurovision !We then get several images of him in the back drop . I feel he’s straining the vocals at times . The audience are clapping along . We’ve got smoke effects too. It all seems a bit messy and un co-ordinated. Let’s see what you think tomorrow night !

Poland -Blanka -Solo

Now the singer and the song, has sadly had a bit of a slating on social media , probably unfairly . Blanka and her banking dancers tell us we are going solo , The backdrop is a tropical background , it looks very colourful with LED images of birds flying around . We have pyros , then Blanka bursts into a dance routine with her dancers . The vocals aren’t the best but the audience seemed to like that, although not as big a cheer as for some of the previous acts.

Slovenia-Joker Out-Carpe Diem

The boys are casually dressed and their experience of performing shows . They have just themselves on stage, which is all that is needed They interact with each other on stage, in a Måneskin kind of way . The audience really liked them !I think they have a good chance of qualifying .

Georgia -Iru-Echo

Iru is a Junior Eurovision veteran . She’s in an all white long dress,starting on a darkened stage . She gets straight into the song .Iru is stood between two LED walls, which display different patterns. We have a bit of smoke and flashlights . Her vocals are great. The song finishes powerfully , with lighter colours coming into the LED effects and gold lights. The audience liked that too !

We now have a history of Eurovision as seen through the years , along with historical events that have happened over the years. Again, some viewers may be treated to their broadcaster showing them endless adverts rather than this !Alesha tells us we are going back to the competition now… about time too !

SAN MARINO-Piqued Jacks – Like an Animal

Piqued Jacks are another act who have had a tough time in the social media world, again , rather unfairly. Red and black is the stage theme and colours. Lead singer is in a sparkly top , who walks around the stage, then lies on the floor. The only thing I would say about this is that it’s a bit repetitive but the boys give their all and the audience, deservedly gave them a good cheer !

Austria-Teya and Salena-who the hell is Edgar?

Ahhh the one we have been waiting for . Big cheer from the audience before they even start ! Teya and Salena in black and white with backing dancers in red and black, there are several more of them in the LED Backdrops. a very clever way of beating the 6 on stage only rule! The audience are singing along with them ( so am I !) , “poe, poe , poe” . The LED backdrop dancers then dance along with them and at the end of the song form an image of Edgar Alan Poe! Huge cheer from the audience, I suspect they will qualify , although their vocals did sound a little off in parts tonight.

Albania -Albina and Familja Kelmende-Duje

Coming on after Austria is a challenge for anyone . It’s a very typical Albanian song red and black stage backdrop, shouting at the start of the song, LED backdrops of flowing gold on the floor and background . We then get pyros and fire bursts towards the end of the song at the back of the stage. Good solid performance, this could qualify !

LITHUANIA-Monika Linkyte -Stay

Monika looks like she’s borrowed her orange frock from Kate Ryan( Belgium 2006) and shrunk it in the wash !She is joined by her four backing singers , who are dressed in black . Backdrop of various colours. Monika’s previous Eurovision experience really shows and she gives a good ,solid performance. Great vocals and engaging the audience, connects well with the camera. Pre -contest, I didn’t think much of the song but I now think Monika actually has a strong chance of going through .

AUSTRALIA -Voyager-Promise

The final act of the night and what a way to finish ! Voyager mix rock with an electro element . They have brought a real car onto the stage ,which two of them are sat in at the start of the song. The song then progresses and we see the other band members on stage backdrops of red, strobes and flashing lights, what more could you want ? Pyros at the end . The arena audience erupts into a big cheer at the end . I really like it now that I have seen the live performance !

Hannah , Alesha and Julia go through the voting process. They open the voting -which isn’t real tonight folks, so don’t get voting ! That’s for tomorrow night ! 🙂

We get the traditional recap of the performances…gosh Denmark seems such a long while ago now!

Back to Hannah and Julia,I think we are going to see the Interval act now …..

Which is Mariyah Yaremchuk ( Ukraine 2014) taking us through a journey through the years and generations of Ukrainian music from past to present. She is joined by contemporary backing dancers . she’s then joined by the rapper OTOY as the performance progresses through time. Then we get a choir singing Carol of the bells. .We are told that this is because the song was introduced by a Ukrainian choir 100 years ago.

Julia attempts to teach Hannah some Ukrainian. Good luck with that one Julia !

Another recap of he performances .Then voting is closed

Hannah introduces the interval act. Which is a drag act with three drag performers , telling us we can “be ourselves ” and the principle of Eurovision is that it is a place where everyone can be just that !We then get a cast of eclectic dancers representing the fans who join in and value the inclusivity and diversity of Eurovision .It’s very powerful stuff, sending a great message which embodies the slogan of this years contest “United by Music”. We get a rendition of Jessica Mauboy’s “We got love ” from Eurovision 2018 to round off . Just fabulous and one of the best interval acts I have seen in a good while !

We now have a film of former hosts Mans Zelmelow and Filomena Cautela playing their Eurovision game, guessing former Eurovision participants qualification records!

Both score a tie , so both crowned Eurovision champions !

We now have a look behind the scenes , introduced by local Liverpool children . I wonder how our visitors from abroad have coped with understanding the scouse accent? It’s a great little film and the kids look like they really enjoyed themselves.

Tonight we are going to see performances from two of the Big 5 ,Blanca Paloma from Spain and our own Mae Muller from UK and also Tvorchi from Ukraine .They are not competing tonight as they are all already pre -qualified to the Grand Final .

SPAIN

First time I have seen all the performance in full ! Blanca has brought her National Final performance. It’s stunning in parts, very ethnic , with Spanish flamenco influences, which Blanca says is a tribute to her grandmother , a fan of flamenco . Big cheer from the audience for her.

A stage crew member is introducing the songs, nice to see them included as we don’t often appreciate the important part they play in making the show possible .

UKRAINE

The two guys are dressed in very futuristic outfits.Lots of yellow and blue in the LED backdrop , representing Ukrainian colours. Lots of LED images of the singer’s faces, there’s fire pyros and an image of steel arms holding a gold ball of what looks like the world . Very visually stunning and powerful .

Audience going wild as the Home act is up next, our own Mae !

UK

Here we go…..MAE Stands on a platform with her backing dancers , colourful backdrops of Mae’s face with one where her head is split in two depicting her head being messed with through the relationship break up.She then goes onto the stage floor with her backing dancers , several images of her on the LED backdrop . She is doing the talking bit in the song ! The floor LED ‘s are stunning showing a circle of eyes . Big cheer from the audience , as expected for our home girl .Nice one Mae. Vocals sounded a bit nervy at the start and she seemed to be holding back a bit but she seemed to overcome this and gave us a great performance.

Back to the show and video clips of question time for our Big 5 plus Ukraine singers tonight. They are asked about their own memories of Eurovision as one of their questions.Now we have stand-ins sat in the green room pretending to be the Big 5 plus Ukraine singers, being interviewed by Alesha , then we see a short video clip of each singer’s performance .We will obviously see the real versions of the singers tomorrow.

Onto the mock results now , being told by martin Osterdahl that we are “Good to go “

At this point , we will leave the show . Thank you for joining me this evening, it’s been fun .

Don’t forget that the real thing happens tomorrow night when we will have Semi Final 2 coming live to you .You will be abke to see the show via your National TV broadcaster and there will also be Webstreams available . We hope you enjoy the show and wish all the participating countries the best of luck as they sing for a place in Saturday’s Grand Final. As always, you can keep up with our news on All things Eurovision on our website and our Facebook and Twitter feeds.

Happy rest of Eurovision everyone .Goodnight from me .

Author : Sarah Rudman

Source; Eurovision Ireland EBU