MALMOE, Sweden – The first semi-final of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest was a resounding success from the impressive stage of Malmö Arena in Sweden.
The ten countries that got the ticket to the final of the competition (in random order) are Cyprus, Ukraine, Serbia, Serbia, Lithuania, Ireland, Croatia, Slovenia, Finland, Portugal, Finland, Portugal and Luxembourg.
This year’s competition started with Eleni Foureira dressed in a golden creation by Shelia Krithariotis performing “Fuego”, reminding the whole world of the wonderful song that won 2nd place in 2018 and put Cyprus so close to the top for the first time.
Then Eric Saade took the baton singing “Popular” which gave Sweden third place in 2011 and Spanish Chanel who again presented “SloMo” which also secured third place in 2022. This year’s presenters were singer-comedian Petra Mede and actress Malin Åkerman who, dressed in shades of pink and orange, welcomed millions of fans to the big celebration.
Cyprus opened the competition with 17-year-old Silia Capsis impressing to the rhythms of “Liar” by Dimitris Kontopoulos and Elke Tiel. Accompanied by four dancers she took to the stage of Malmö Arena dressed in white by Stelios Koudounaris.
The second semi-final will take place on Thursday 9 May. Greece is represented by the acclaimed performer and creator Marina Satti who will present the much talked about “ZARI” from the 3rd place.
The grand final is expected on Saturday 11 May with Thanasis Aleuras and Jerome Kalouta commenting on the great celebration of music, as they did in the two semi-finals for Greek television.
