Akylas from Greece performs the song ‘Ferto’ during the first semifinal of the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria, Tuesday. [AP]
Greece’s Akylas, with the party-rap track “Ferto” (“Bring It”), won a place Tuesday in the Eurovision Song Contest final alongside nine other countries, while five nations were eliminated after the first day of competition in the pop music extravaganza.
Acts from 15 countries performed their three-minute songs onstage at the Wiener Stadthalle arena in Vienna – often featuring eye-catching choreography and pyrotechnics – in a bid for votes from juries in participating nations and viewers around the world.
Finland, the favorite in betting markets, also advanced with “Liekinheitin” (“Flamethrower”), a mashup of pop singer Pete Parkkonen’s anguished vocals and violinist Linda Lampenius’ fiery fiddling.
Israeli singer Noam Bettan was met with shouts of protest amid cheers in the auditorium when he performed the rock ballad “Michelle,” but he was among the 10 acts voted into Saturday’s final.
Also joining the final are Serbian goth metal band Lavina with “Kraj Mene,” Moldovan folk-rapper Satoshi with “Viva, Moldova!,” and Croatian female ensemble Lelek with “Andromeda.”
Soulful Polish singer Alicja, Lithuanian performer Lion Ceccah, Swedish singer Felicia and Belgium’s Essyla also qualified for the final. Estonia, Georgia, Montenegro, Portugal and San Marino were eliminated – despite a guest appearance by 1980s icon Boy George on San Marino entrant Senhit’s song “Superstar.”
Ten more finalists will be chosen in a second semifinal on Thursday. The UK, France, Germany and Italy automatically qualify for the final because they are among the contest’s biggest financial contributors. Austria, last year’s winner, also receives an automatic place in the final as host country.
Divisions are clouding the contest’s 70th anniversary edition, with five countries – Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Iceland – boycotting the event in protest over Israel’s inclusion. [AP, Kathimerini]
