As the 2019 season approaches, I am taking a look back at my experience during my time in Lisbon this year. This time I’m looking at the first semi-final and the rehearsals for the second semi-final.
Day 4 – Watching the First Semi-Final
We’ve finally reached Tuesday!, which meant that it was now time for the first Semi-Final. The only thing I hate about the first semi-final is that there is a lot of great songs! and it was really hard to get the ten qualifiers I want.
When I entered the arena, I was only rooting for two acts. I was rooting for Saara Aalto (Finland) and Eye Cue (FYR Macedonia). I was really happy that Saara made the final, but was gutted to see Eye Cue crash out of the Semi-Finals cos I really loved the song!.
Other shockers were Azerbaijan not making the Grand Final. Aisel’s song really grew on me and did not doubt for a second that she would not qualify. I can look at Azerbaijan’s entries and I can think of other entries which deserved a DNQ.
Day 5 – Watching the 2nd Semi Final Rehearsal
On the fifth day, it was all rehearsals once again, it was nice to be able to have a sneak peek of what was in store for the next night.
Day 6 – Watching the 2nd Semi-Final
Then Thursday arrived, after the second semi-final we would have the complete line-up for the Grand Final. The second semi-final was really wide this year, and as usual, I wanted to add about 15 countries to the ten that can only qualify.
Another thing I loved about this semi-final is how wide the genre of the songs are and it really fascinated me. I also loved how all the artists upped their game from their NF’s to the Eurovision stage.
When it all came down to the qualifiers, I was really gutted that Russia lost its qualifying streak and Malta didn’t qualify :(. But other than that I really enjoyed watching this Semi-Final and you can really feel the energy in the crowd.
That’s all for now. Tune in next week, where I tell you more about my final days in Lisbon. Don’t forget to subscribe on our Youtube channel ‘ESCXTRA’ and ‘ESCXTRA LIVE’ and on social media @ESCXTRA
