On a night of dance and artifice, ‘Grito’ takes Portugal to the Eurovision final

A The 68th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest kicked off on Tuesday night, in Malmö, Sweden. The party – which began with a tribute to those who didn’t win the contest, but won the hearts of Eurofans – featured, as usual, with sparkles, fireworks, lots of dancing and even a kind of exorcism.

Singer Eleni Foureira, who stepped onto the Eurovision stage for the first time in Lisbon, in 2018, representing Cyprus with ‘Fuego’, reaching second place, was responsible for opening this year’s edition.

This was followed by a performance by Eric Saade, who represented Sweden in 2011 with ‘Popular’. The artist, who came in third place, is now at the center of a controversy for having worn a ‘keffiyeh’, a scarf associated with the Palestinian struggle, around his arm. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), responsible for organizing Eurovision, has already “regretted that Eric Saade chose to compromise the non-police nature of the event”.

Also in the opening performance was the singer Chanel, who represented Spain in the 2022 edition, in Italy. ‘SloMo’ came third behind winners Ukraine and the United Kingdom.

Once the party was inaugurated, the performances of the countries in competition followed.

Singer Silia Kapsis was the first contestant to perform. Defended the Cyprus with ‘Liar’ and brought a lot of dancing to the Eurovision stage.

After Cyprus, it was the turn of Serbia. Singer Teya Dora sang ‘Ramonda’, a song that talks about the Ramonda Serbica flower, which grows in the middle of the mountains and is only found in Serbia.

From the ballad, we move on to the ‘pop’ of Silvester Belt, who represented the Lithuania with ‘Luktelk’. And from ‘pop’, we moved on to the psychedelic of Bambie Thug. The singer, representative of Irelandwas one of the surprises of the night and brought a kind of exorcism to the Eurovision stage with ‘Doomsday Blue’.

Pause for the performance of the competitors from the first semi-final and fpi the UK, automatically qualified for the final for being part of the ‘Big 5’ group, show his song. Olly Alexander, known for being part of the band Years & Years, performed the song ‘Dizzy’ in the middle of an improvised ring.

Back in the competition for a place in next Saturday’s final, the Ukraine took the stage. Alyona Alyona and Jerry Heil sang ‘Teresa & Maria’, a song sung in Ukrainian that talks about hope.

It was then time for Poland, who was represented with ‘Tower’ by Luna. Then it came to Croatia, identified by bookmakers as the big favorite to win. Baby Lasagna sang ‘Rim Tim Tagi Dim’ and made the entire arena sing and dance.

Singer Hera Bjork returned to Eurovision to represent Iceland. In 2010 he did it with ‘Je Ne Sais Quoi’ and now with ‘Scared of Heights’.

After Iceland, there was a new break to show another song that automatically goes to the final: the Germany which was represented by Isaak with ‘Always on the Run’.

Soon after, it came to Slovenia with Raiven and his ‘Veronika’, inspired by Countess Verónica de Desenice, the second wife of Count Frederick II of Celje, who was accused of witchcraft.

A Finland it was the tenth competition performance of the night. Windows95Man took a trip to the 90s and brought ‘No Rules!’ and… little clothes. It was followed by Moldova and Natalia Barbu was accompanied by a violin to perform ‘In The Middle’.

After Moldova’s performance, the twins Marcus & Martinus came to show ‘Unforgettable’, which represents the Sweden. The country, remember, is not part of the ‘Big 5’, but automatically goes to the final for having won the previous edition.

After the ‘Unforgettable’ move, the Azerbaijan takes the stage with the ballad ‘Özünlə Apar’, performed by Fahree and Ilkin Dovlatov. Those present at the Swedish arena danced once again with Electric Fields who brought ‘One Milkali (One Blood)’ to represent the Australiawith some verses in ‘yankunytjatjara’ dialect.

Practically about to end the party, it was time to Portugal go up to the stage. The singer Iolanda represented us with ‘Grito’, a song that talks about overcoming inner fears, and managed to qualify for the final – despite the bookmakers placing her in second-to-last place.

The one who closed the track was the Luxembourgwho returned to the competition more than 30 years after her last participation, in 1993. Singer Tali represented the small country with ‘Fighter’, a song mostly in English, but with parts also in French.

You can see (or review) an excerpt of the performances in the video below:

Johnny Logan and Benjamin Ingrosso livened up the halftime

Once the presentations were over, voting was opened and the show went to intermission. During this period, the entertainment was provided by Irish singer Johnny Logan, who won the contest twice – in 1980 and 1987. The veteran Eurovision artist performed a version of ‘Euphoria’, the song by Swedish singer Loreen who won the contest in 2012 Loreen, remember, won again in 2023 with ‘Tattoo’ and became the first woman to win the contest twice.

There was also a performance by singer Benjamin Ingrosso, who represented Sweden in 2018, when Eurovision took place in Lisbon. The Swede has now shown Europe the songs ‘Look who’s laughing now’, ‘Kite’ and ‘Honey Boy’.

Besides Portugal, which other countries managed to secure a place in the final?

Serbia was the first country to be presented as a finalist. This was followed by Portugal, Slovenia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Finland, Cyprus, Croatia, Ireland and Luxembourg.

Poland, Iceland, Moldova, Azerbaijan and Australia were left out.

The second semi-final takes place tomorrow, Thursday, and fighting for a place in Saturday’s final will be Malta, Albania, Greece, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Austria, Denmark, Armenia, Latvia, San Marino, Georgia, Belgium, Estonia, Israel, Norway and the Netherlands.

Read Also: Eurovision. “I have no fear associated with betting. I’m interested in singing”

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