First semi -finals: Sweden and nine more in the final, Belgium out

In Basel, 15 nations fought for the coveted ten tickets for the big ESC final on Saturday in the first semi-final. After a night full of rousing appearances, unusual productions and surprising twists, the winners are determined: Sweden, Estonia, the Netherlands, Albania, Ukraine, Norway, San Marino, Iceland, Portugal and Poland move into the final. For the time being, the Eurovision dream has burst for Belgium, Croatia, Azerbaijan, Slovenia and Cyprus.

High and lowlights of the evening

Traditional yodel sounds and the majestic echo of the alphorns opened the show, a breathtaking Alpine panorama in the background. The Alps also appeared again and again in the « postcards », the short record films that announced every artist. The message was clear: Switzerland has a lot to offer.

Sweden caused a sensation with an unexpected change of style. Instead of the typical, highly polished Swedish pops, the Finnish-born comedy group Kaj presented a winking number with « Bara Bada Bastu » (« Just go to the sauna »). A complete sauna scenery developed on the stage – including upper body -free dancers, which were only dressed in towels. The self -ironic appearance was very well received by the audience and is even traded by betting providers as a potential candidate for victory.

From the sauna to the café, Tommy Cash led from Estonia. His « Espresso Macchiato » made up for moods with Italy in advance, which felt on the tie through the supposed clichés. But Tommy Cash claims that his song is a declaration of love to the country on the Mediterranean. The bizarre staging made the audience smile: four dancers disguised as security staff wore it on hands, while a café with the inscription « Winners Café » was projected in the background. The Estonian does not lack self -confidence.

The Belgian Red Sebastian electrified the audience with « Strobe Lights » – and lived up to his name. In a symphony of red-from his hair to the stage design-he provided a fascinating performance, in which he danced on the LED floor with his own reflection. But he could not convince the audience and was eliminated.

Claude from the Netherlands also used a similar visual trick at « C’est La Vie ». He also danced with his reflection, which, however, showed him as a child. Surprisingly: The Dutch partly sang in French – an inheritance of his childhood in the Democratic Republic of Congo before he fled to the Netherlands. Claude, on the other hand, was able to convince. It will be seen again in the final.

Defending champion Switzerland relies on minimalism

The « Big Five » Spain and Italy as well as defending champion Switzerland presented themselves to the audience – all three are already qualified for the final. With « Esa Diva » Spain’s melody showed an energetic choreography in which the Diva – in this case melody – was the focus. It was a bit calmer with Italy. In his thoughtful ballad « Volevo Essere Un Duro » (« I wanted to be tough »), he shone on three instruments – piano, guitar and harmonica – and told the touching story of children who grow up under difficult circumstances and cannot buy a thick fur.

Switzerland also opted for a minimalist staging. Against a black background, Zoë Më alone was in the light and took us on a journey to more humanity with her dreamy chanson « Voyage ». With poetic lines such as « Les Fleurs Sont Plus Belles quand tu les Arroses » (« The flowers are more beautiful when you pour them ») instead of cutting them off, she hits the core of her message. Whether this is received by the audience will be shown in the grand finale.

The second semi -finals will follow on Thursday, in which Luxembourg’s youth hope Laura Thorn also fights for the finals.

LW editor Sabrina Backes from Basel reports on the Eurovision Song Contest.