Day 5. Live Blog 2nd Rehearsals

Today we will follow the 2nd rehearsals in Ahoy, and will keep you informed live.                                                 In Cooperation with: Eurovision Artists. Photo & Video Credits: EBU

17.15 – Ukraine

Last of the day Go_A, performs with a stand-in (Emmy) for singer Kateryna Pavlenko. Kateryna did not feel quite fit this morning, and in accordance with the security measures, she remains in quarantine pending a Covid-19 test. Whether the stand-in Emmy sings live, or whether the tape recording from the first rehearsal was used, is not entirely clear. Fact is, whether you like this genre or not … the act is rock solid. With a 9th place in the polls, Ukraine will undoubtedly easily qualify for the final.

16.50 – Azerbaijan

Also today, Efendi puts down a solid rehearsal. Here and there some minor flaws in song and dance, and a little more conviction than last Sunday. 21st place in the poll. A place in the final is certainly not excluded.

 

16.25 – Romania

Roxen performs in the same comfortable as last Sunday. Although vocally a little bit stronger than during the 1st rehearsal, Roxen comes across as nervous and anxious, which does not help her voice and the strong message of her song. 16th in the polls … Final perhaps , if she manages to recover.

16.00 – Israel

During the first rehearsal it became clear that it is sometimes difficult for Eden to combine singing and dancing. The whole act looks energic and modern, but also today, Eden has trouble with the combination of singing and dancing. 17th in the polls, but will Israel make it to the final?

 

15.35 – Belgium.

Hooverphonic still impresses today with their modest, sober and well-thought-out act. A welcome change from all the visual violence. Only a 20th place in the polls, but hopefully thanks to the professional jury we will see Belgium back in the final.

14.45 – Croatia

Vocally, this rehearsal sounds a lot better than the first. The act is well put together, Albina herself still seems a bit insecure and nervous. Hopefully she will get over that before Tuesday. Own the stage girl!! With a 19th place in the polls, a final place should certainly be possible.

14.20 – Norway

Today TIX puts on a much better rehearsal than last saturday, when the nerves seemed to be playing tricks on him. TIX has a high favor- and sympathy factor, and with a 15th place in the polls, we would like to see him back in the final.

13:55 – Cyprus

Elena once again puts on an okay rehearsal, occasionally she sounds a bit out of breath. With seventh place in the polls, Cyprus will reach the final without too much trouble.

1.30 pm – Ireland

Hard work has been done in the Irish camp in recent days. The whole thing seemed very messy last Saturday, during the 2nd rehearsal all the graphics come into their own much better, and it seems as if Lesley is running barefoot through a book, turning the pages. Vocally, there is still some gains to be made. With a 24th place in the polls, the question is whether it is all good enough for a final place.

 

13.05 – North Macedonia

While there were some minor flaws in his vocals last Saturday, today Vasil puts down a solid rehearsal, although it seems that, especially at the end during the last blow, he is holding back to spare his voice. North Macedonia ranks 32 in the polls. It is very doubtful whether Vasil will be able to qualify for the final.

 

11.40 – Australia

Just like last Saturday, no rehearsal in Ahoy , since Montaigne is not present in Rotterdam, but an exclusive preview

11.15 – Sweden

Tusse had still some problems with his voice last Saturday, this now seems to have recovered completely. On stage there was an apparently self-assured, radiant Tusse, with a well-thought-out, slick act as we are used to from Sweden. Sweden ranks 10th in the polls. We will certainly see Tusse in the final

 

10.50 – Russia

No changes in the act here either. Solid and stable act and vocals. The powerful message / ode to the Russian woman is very clear! Russia is ranked 14th in the polls. Finals should not be a problem. We would not be surprised if Russia managed to get a top ten, perhaps even a 5 position  in the final

10.25 – Slovenia.

In the second rehearsal for Slovenia, Ana comes out better than last Saturday. More confident in her singing and movement across the stage, although it seems her shoes are killing her. Slovenia is in 35th place in the polls. A final place will be a challenge.

10.00 am – Lithuania. The Roop shows  a solid,  dynamic act again in the 2nd rehearsal, with little or no changes. The Roop is ranked 8th in the polls. A top ten listing should certainly be possible for the Roop.

 

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Eurovision 2026
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Eurovision, the grand final: what to expect

📷 EBU/Sarah Louise Bennett Tonight is the night: the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026. By the end of the evening, we will know which country has won. The show The show will, of course, be opened by JJ, last year’s winner. He will perform the “Queen of the Night” aria together with his winning song “Wasted Love”. After that, the party gets started with Denmark. The line-up of 25 songs ends with Austria. That is not a case of the host country pulling strings: Austria drew that position fair and square. Once all the songs have been performed, the voting can begin. To bridge the gap, there will be an interval act. There has been plenty of grumbling about the quality of this year’s broadcasts, but this interval act looks genuinely fun. Big Eurovision names will take viewers on a journey through the contest’s entire history. Expect not only Verka Serduchka and Alexander Rybak, but also Max Mutzke, Ruslana, Lordi, Kristian Kostov, Erika Vikman and Miriana Conte. For every Eurovision fan, it should be a real treat. Cesár Sampson will then perform Billy Joel’s hit “Vienna”, while Joel himself will deliver a recorded message. Finland is the Eurovision 2026 winner favourite So, who is going to win? On paper, one entry stands head and shoulders above the rest: Finland’s Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen with “Liekinheitin”. Bookmakers have made Finland the clear favourite. EurovisionWorld currently lists “Liekinheitin” at 42% to win, ahead of Australia’s Delta Goodrem with “Eclipse” on 19% and Greece’s Akylas with “Ferto” on 8%. The fan polls tell a similar story. Finland won the OGAE Poll with 459 points, followed by Denmark and Australia. It also won the INFE Poll with 172 points, ahead of Greece and Sweden. On My Eurovision Scoreboard, Finland was also ranked first, with more than 56,000 app users included in the rankings. That matters because Finland looks like a rare jury-televote hybrid. ESC Insight’s model placed “Liekinheitin” almost evenly between jury and public support. The running order also helps: Finland performs 17th, in the second half of the show. Why Australia can still win Australia is the big late challenger. After Delta Goodrem’s semi-final performance, The Guardian reported that Australia jumped from fourth to second in the odds, behind only Finland. There is also rehearsal momentum. Eurovoix reported that Australia topped the final press poll. It also won the Grand Final audience poll after Dress Rehearsal Two, with 562 votes, or 15.5%, from 3,620 participants. Streaming, YouTube and iTunes clues Spotify and YouTube do not decide Eurovision, but they do show reach. Aussievision’s latest Spotify ranking, dated 10 May, has Italy first with 25.4 million streams, Sweden second with 18.6 million and Finland third with 12.3 million. On YouTube, Malta leads with 7.2 million views, followed by Greece and Cyprus, while Finland sits fifth with 3.58 million. The iTunes picture is more scattered. ESC Tracker shows “Liekinheitin” at number one in Finland, but Italy’s “Per sempre sì” is also charting well across several countries. Prediction: Finland, with Australia close behind So, who is gonna win Eurovision tonight? The safest prediction is Finland. The odds, fan polls and running order all point in the same direction. However, Australia is the danger. If juries reward Delta Goodrem’s vocals and the public connects with the performance, “Eclipse” could still overturn the favourite. Israel Still, last year showed us that Israel can score extremely well with the televote. Later research suggested that, partly because of calls from the government to vote for Israel twenty times, the country received far more votes than expected. The rules have since been tightened. Even so, something similar could happen again. Israel has already received a warning over this kind of behaviour this year. That makes Israel a possible winner too, whether we like it or not. Our prediction: Finland wins Eurovision 2026, Australia finishes close behind, and Greece, Denmark and Israel fight for the rest of the top five. Let’s hope people vote for the music and the show.

Read More »
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