Features

Who are the winners and losers from today’s Eurovision running order reveal?

After weeks of anticipation, earlier today the EBU finally published the running order draw for the semi-finals of the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest. With a few hours to digest them, we’ve asked some of our editors here at ESCXTRA.com who they think has benefited from their running order position, and who may have just lost their chance of qualifying…


The winners!

Australia

Australia has been given the latest slot possible in the first half of the second semi-final. Jessica Mauboy finds herself performing between Waylon from The Netherlands and Georgia’s Ethno-Jazz Band Iriao. Outlaw In ‘Em and For You are both songs divisive in nature, both representing genres that are not common in a Eurovision context. Therefore, We Got Love‘s immediate and accessible melody should thrive in between these entries. In addition, getting the latest possible slot is a big bonus in itself. (Lisa)

Cyprus

For an entry considered a borderline qualifier, getting the final spot in the running order is a massive help. Belgium’s Laura Tesoro and Israel’s IMRI are perfect examples of party tracks that weren’t considered certain qualifiers which scored top 3 finishes in their respective semi-finals. If Eleni Foureira can deliver a similarly fun uptempo performance of Fuego, there’s no reason why Cyprus can’t be challenging for the top 3 in the semi-final. (Ryan)

Czech Republic

The Czech delegation should be pleased to have been placed in between two downtempo songs by two female artists: A Matter of Time by Belgium’s Sennek and When We’re Old by Lithuania’s Ieva Zasimauskaitė. Arguably, neither of Belgium or Lithuania’s entries contain obvious or immediate choruses. Potentially, Mikolas may have been placed prior to the first advertisement break in the semi-final, which historically happens after song 5 or 6. If this is the case, Lie to Me will have the added benefit of an extra period of time to stay in viewers’ memories. (Ryan)

F.Y.R. Macedonia

Perhaps a controversial choice considered they have been drawn as early as possible in the second half but following Estonia and Bulgaria, F.Y.R. Macedonia suddenly becomes surprisingly accessible. The operatic La Forza by Elina Nechayeva will be an acquired taste, and a significant proportion of viewers will not respond to such a genre. Bulgaria’s Equinox brings a dark entry that promises to be arty and risky, something that may not have wide appeal. In contrast, despite its genre-straddling nature, Eye Cue’s Lost and Found may seem more accessible in comparison to those that precede it and its uplifting melody will also positively contrast to that of Bones. (Nathan)

Norway

This may just be the best possible scenario for Norway. Alexander will start the show off with a bang and draw people in with his familiar face. If this were among other uptempo songs, it might seem tiresome. Nevertheless, opening the show and being followed by slower tempo tracks in Romania’s Goodbye and Serbia’s Nova Deca will work in its favour. Whether people hate or love it, they will certainly remember it as the show opener. And let’s not forget commentators will have time to introduce this properly. He is the biggest name, a former winner and he is the 1500th song in the history of the contest. (Rigmo)

The losers!

Belarus

Belarus seems like an unfortunate loser in this draw. Forever is sandwiched between the current top two in the odds, Israel’s Toy and Estonia’s La Forza. This alone makes it difficult for anyone, but Alekseev’s vocals will arguably be outshone by Netta and Elina Nechayeva who have proven to be significantly stronger in their national finals. Of course, Alekseev may prove to be more comfortable with the new arrangement of Forever. We shall wait and see! (Rigmo)

Austria

On first glance, I didn’t think Austria were in a whole lot of trouble, until I had a closer look. One of my personal favourites, Austria, are in trouble, I feel. If you look at the order of Bulgaria – FYR Macedonia – Croatia – Austria – Greece, you’ve got four relatively dark/moody songs in a row. Both EQUINOX and Cesár Sampson have a Symphonix International song and they’re too close together. I guess Bulgaria, Greece and even the female power of Croatia could completely outshine Austria. Of the moody songs, I dare to say that Cesár has the most work to do, looking at his performance last month… (Nick)

Latvia

Laura Rizzotto has been drawn in between Hungary and Sweden and this has the potential to “memory-hole” Funny Girl. Both AWS and Benjamin Ingrosso had big productions in their national finals, whereas Funny Girl is minimalist with a focus on dynamic camera angles. While this could work in Laura’s favour, we think it might just go against her. (Nathan)

Malta

Christabelle finds herself in between two uptempo numbers in Poland’s EDM Light Me Up and AWS’ Viszlát Nyár. Taboo also leans into the EDM genre, which immediately following Poland may not benefit Christabelle. Malta has also been given one of the earliest slots possible, not ideal for an entry currently considered a borderline qualifier at best by the betting odds. (Sami)

Romania

Despite being one of the few countries left with a 100% qualification record, Romania looks to be very unsafe this time around. The Humans have been overlooked by the fan community, and seemingly by the running order too. Goodbye is a decent song, but from the second slot, it may not be strong enough to grab one of those qualification spots. For the first time, it seems Romania could be saying an actual goodbye to the grand final. (Miki)


These are just our opinions, we are eager to hear yours! Who do you think may have just secured their qualification? On the other hand, who do you think might not be qualifying for the final? Let us know via @ESCXTRA!

2 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button