The First Eurovision Semi-Final: 10 Acts Qualify

Clapham Omnibus will be providing a digest of the most outstanding moments of the Eurovision festival and Eurovision tweets too, as we head towards the big final this Saturday.

Oslo put on a great show last night for the first semi-final, and excitement levels ran high as the contestants took to the stage.

bbceurovision: WAKEY WAKEY! Guess what day it is? YES! Eurovision Semi-final #1 day! Excitement levels building!!!

bbceurovision: Breaking news: Eurovision stadium hit by freak tornado, merchandise tent blown down

Greece, Portugal, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Serbia, Albania, Moldova, Belarus, Russia and Belgium were the lucky countries voted through to the finals last night. The last 10 finalists will be picked from Thursday’s second semi-final in Norway (in which the UK will be able to vote). The UK, Germany, France, Spain and Norway automatically qualify for the finals.

Tom Dice's Me and My Guitar is Belgium's first entrant to reach the final since 2004, a very lovely song and performance and surely one to put an outside bet on winning Eurovision 2010.



Malta, FYR Macedonia, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Finland and Slovakia missed out on a spot in the final.

stigblog: FYROM is my favourite name for a country in the whole world. #Eurovision

Latvia (Aisha: What For? ) was the clear disaster of the night (the BBC announcer Paddy O’Connell compared her singing quite accurately to root canal work) - a case of the song being considerably better than the singer (perhaps she’s related to the Latvian TV bosses, one wonders?)




neonbubble: You can always compensate for a bad song with a great outfit. So... Latvia won't be going through then. #esc #eurovision

Dinzla: I had no idea Latvia was so flat.. #ESC Eurovision

krdr: They even f*ckd up her ala Britney Spears make-up. Latvia on #ESC


Otherwise, I’m sad Malta and Slovakia never made it - Malta’s act (Thea Garrett: My Dream) featured a spectacular glittery bird-man who emerged from the singer’s dress.

misterebby: Malta has wings coming out of her ass! #eurovision

Squibby_: Jesus, her sanitary towel's wings have a mind of their own. #eurovision

Squibby_: Is it a bird? Is it a geeza? No, it's superfaggot. #eurovision

efan78: Gah! That Bird man's even scarier close up! #Eurovision



I was previously dubious about Greece’s blatant attempt to sex up their (quite good) modern faux-folk ditty OPA, but have to admit they pulled it off and Giorgos Alkaios & (his new, sexier) Friends put in one of the most outstanding performances of the evening.

spyros: Opa Opa Opa!!! #eurovision on my 3rd pint of Murphy's. Everything sounds so much better now

MacPsych: Greece: why do I feel like I've just wandered into the Admiral Duncan? #eurovision

justgarance If Greece work "whoppa!" in at least two more times, they've got a fan. #eurovision




The most surprisingly improved performance of the evening was Portugal’s. The song (Há Dias Assim) is still a bit of stretch for me, but was given a superb production and heartfelt singing from the very lovely Filipa Azevedo.

toomuchroom: Ooh Portugal has a pair of lungs on her! #esc

Karmapriya: Miss Portugal is pretty like a princess & sings well. But another booooring song! #eurovision #esc

efan78: Dear Jim, please could you fix it for me to be a fake Mariah Carey? Love & Kisses Portugal xxx #Eurovision



I was thrilled that my favourite Albania (Juliana Pasha: It’s All About You) went through.

stigblog: Check out the violinist's hair!! Albanian fashion FTW! #Eurovision




But the undoubted hit of the night was Iceland’s Hera Björk and her soaring dance anthem Je Ne Sais Quoi : absolutely storming, and given a well-deserved standing ovation by the crowd.

Soeno: I wonder if the #ashcloud will affect Iceland's #eurovision chances.

AngryBritain: Iceland: Your song roughly translates as 'Mess with us and we'll fuck you with a Volcano' #eurovision

Soeno: Liking Iceland's diva at #eurovision... She's very... voluptuous. And she can SING. LOUD.

i_is_sam: Everyone who can vote for Iceland. Look at her rack! It's pure europop and her tits are fabulous! What more could you want?

AttitudeMag: We're not sure but Iceland might be going for the gay vote here. #eurovision

misterebby: Dana International's successor is this Icelandic entry. It's 100% awesome homo-dance-pop. Definitely should be top 5. #eurovision.

Squibby_: All the gays love a fat diva #eurovision