The first of the Eurovision semi-finals for the 2021 event has finally drawn to a close.
Each of the two semi-finals, held on Tuesday, May 18 and Thursday, May 20, will send 10 acts through to perform at the Grand Final on Saturday, May 22.
But of the 16 acts competing in the first semi-final, six, unfortunately, did not make it.
And the results certainly included a shock, as both Ireland and Australia were knocked out of the contest.
The complete list of eliminated acts was: Ireland, Australia, Slovenia, North Macedonia, Croatia and Romania.
Ireland’s 2021 act was Lesley Roy, who performed her track Maps, while Australia’s Montaigne sang along to Technicolour.
The UK, along with France, Spain, Germany and Italy, do not have to compete in the semi-finals and proceed straight to the Grand Final as they are part of the Big Five.
(Image: WireImage)
The United Kingdom and the other members of the coveted group as the biggest financial contributors to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), so are automatically exempt from being knocked out.
Ireland, however, still has to compete for its place.
The Netherlands is also automatically given entry to the Grand Final as the host country, after scooping the win back in 2019.
That means a total of 26 acts will proceed to Saturday’s main event.
(Image: BBC)
Lithuania was the first to kick off the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest with The Roop’s track Discoteque up first.
Bookies’ favourites Malta and Cyprus were among the favourites to be crowned winner at the Eurovision Grand Final on Saturday, and both performed their individual tracks during Tuesday’s semi-final.
Australia also appeared as a pre-recorded performance, as travel restrictions meant its act Montaigne couldn’t fly out to Rotterdam.
(Image: BBC)
The acts that did make it through were: Norway, Israel, Russia, Azerbaijan, Malta, Lithuania, Cyprus, Sweden, Belgium and Ukraine.
Those still to compete for their own place in the Eurovision Grand Final are: San Marino, Estonia, Czech Republic, Greece, Austria, Poland, Moldova, Iceland, Serbia, Georgia, Albania, Portugal, Bulgaria, Finland, Latvia, Switzerland and Denmark.
It comes after Belarus was booted out of the contest for its “overly political” song, after refusing the opportunity to change the lyrics.
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The country repeatedly attempted to submit “anti-dissent” songs, selected by Belarusian public service broadcaster BTRC.
Dubbed I Will Teach You, Galaxy ZMesta’s track included the lines “I’ll teach you to walk on a string / You will be happy about everything… I will teach you to toe the line”, which was deemed to have included “subliminal political undertones and meanings”.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
