First Semi 2017

It's the day of the first semi and I am getting excited. It is also rememberance day and considered to the most dangerous day during Eurovision time in Kiev. Because this day was all about liberation from the nazis, we decided not to walk about too German. Though the golden spandex leggings I went for instead definitely caused attention and laughter. You know what: I think it is great that I can make people smile and have a bit of fun in a time when they have war on their mind.

Today we took the red hop on hop off sightseeing tour. Positive: the English commentator sounded almost Scottish and the final stop was right outside our apartment. Negative: it was raining, stops were not properly announced and the information given was very repetitive.

Because of the tight security we needed to be at the exhibition center 2.5h before the show. Half way there I noticed that I had left our tickets at home. Yes, call me eegit. Those 20min were probably the reason though why we were not the first in lines but still early enough to be first row at the small stage where Portugal performed. (We checked and yes, we are in some shots, so watch out for us!)
However, before we got to the stage we still had to do a lot of waiting. The security was not as tight as I had imagined. And while we got an email stating bags were not allowed, we saw a lot of backpacks.

About the show itself: In the arena we had real problems actually hearing the vocal performance of the acts. At first I thought it was because the audience was singing along too loudly but when the presenters where talking we did not understand a word most of the times either.
What I can say about the audience is that this time they were great in regards to fairness. Everyone cheered for all acts and made them feel welcome on stage. Obviously there were some acts that got more applause than others but I don't think anybody felt mistreated.
Because we couldn't really hear the singers, we re-watched the shows of those we did not understand. We knew Montenegro was not going through according to the odds but we loved his performance, however seeing the tv-transmission we totally get how Montenegro did not make the cut. On the other hand, listening to the show again at home I am surprised (though delighted) that Belgium made it to the final. Overall I am okay with the results of the show though I probably would have preferred Latvia over Cyprus and Finland over Australia. Can't wait for Thursday now.

A few side notes: Greece's act reminds me of a Disney character.. Look at her face and tell me she could not be right out of a Disney movie.

I still don't like Portugals song but I loved Portugals' faces during recaps.

And lastly I am going to bet on UK top five-I mean, listen to that high note she is hitting every time.