Eurovision Song Contest 2024 (Mod warning, see OP updated 10/05 and post #3477 11/05)

supereurope

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122068771#Comment_122068771

France really has a chance to clean up the jury vote this year. There's very few songs this year that could be considered "jury fodder" (which mostly means "ballads"), so any country that sends a decent ballad could do very well with the juries. If Latvia makes the final (which I think is unlikely), they could do very well with the juries too.

Concerning for Sweden to see the juries predicted to place them as low as 14th. Juries usually go for Sweden and it's rare to see them outside the top 5 after the jury vote. The televote score isn't likely to be good either with the twins on first, so it seems the recently-established tradition of the host country doing poorly is set to continue.

Finland, as expected, is at the bottom. There's a very good chance it will end the jury vote with zero points, entirely deserved. That it's considered a guaranteed qualifier from its semi shows how much of a mistake the EBU made making the semis televote-only.

Strazdas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122068771#Comment_122068771

The top 3 are extremely close though whereas Loreen won the Eurojury by 120 points last year. It does suggest this is a much more open year, with even the jury result difficult to predict, never mind the televote.

Libertine07

Update from Bambie's first rehearsal today:

Ireland’s Bambie Thug describes their sound as ‘Ouija-pop’, because it entirely defies conventional musical categorisation – our best description would be ‘witchy metal/melodic pop’. Doomsday Blue is about the feeling of having your potential overlooked, and is an ode to the queer community.

So: staging. Bambie is inside a circle of candles, wearing a black dress with a tutu skirt and shoulder horns. Their usual dramatic white face makeup is topped with hair styled into antlers. There’s also a bare-chested dancer giving centaur vibes, who accompanies Bambie in some balletic choreography.

In the final section the candle circle raises up, and the big screamo finish concludes with a graphic backdrop of CROWN THE WITCH. Pure Eurovision theatre, and testament to the diversity of musical styles we're going to see at Eurovision this year.

We're just about to watch it again, so will update if we notice anything else! Also we'll add a photo as soon as we can.

🔥PYRO UPDATE: In the final run-through there is both low-level ground smoke throughout, AND our first flame jets of the day, right at the end. We are twenty metres from the stage and can feel the heat.

Strazdas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122069655#Comment_122069655

And here is Bambie's outfit and make up for the night : this is how the artist will look on the night proper

yerwanthere123

Full Eurojury result with public votes included

Think they've potentially predicted the top four correctly, though not necessarily in that order. Think the Netherlands and Ukraine will both be quite a bit higher too. Belgium will be much, much lower, there's been talk about him possibly not qualifying.

I'd take 21st for Bambie, though ideally would prefer to finish a little higher. Olly might finish around 11th or thereabouts, but I think failing to crack the top ten will be seen as a failure.

Libertine07

This looks great, love the pink and blue in the backdrop.

https://twitter.com/ESCdiscord/status/1784190120670928901?t=Hl9Xw0Gyg7ajNnOmrRrXAg&s=19

AndyBoBandy

deadly.

Cannot wait for the semi final…

yerwanthere123

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122069897#Comment_122069897

Lots of great pictures on that thread. It's looking pretty fantastic, let's hope it all comes together pretty well on the night.

Btw we'll be getting a brief Tiktok clip later too.

supereurope

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122069829#Comment_122069829

I've really got Lithuania wrong. I fully expected it to be one of the favourites by the time everyone arrived in Malmö, but it seems to have completely run of steam. Rehearsals might change things, however.

I can't see Italy winning again so soon. It seems to be the fan favourite of the 2020s, as in, it doesn't seem to matter what they send, fans will fawn over it, just like they fawned over Sweden in the 2010s. I think had "Sinceramente" won Sanremo, I'd feel slightly more confident of seeing Italy win, but I just can't imagine a "La noia" victory. It'll be in the top 5 for sure, but I don't think we have to worry about another RAI production next year.

I don't foresee Switzerland winning either, I think it's just too polarising. Many fans seem to forget that they're only a small proportion of total voters, most of the voting public are people hearing and seeing the songs for the first time, and I don't think Mrs O'Connell from Ballinasloe, Mrs Smith from Sevenoaks or Herr Lübbers from Essen will go for it.

France will do very well with the jury vote, a likely winner, but I'm not sure the public will score it high enough to win. That said, if voters are in the mood for a ballad or something a bit more low-key (like they were in 2017), they will flock towards this, especially with so few ballads to rival it.

Croatia seemed the obvious winner back in February, then Baby Lasagna started singing. The live performances have been weak, with poor vocals and not much on-stage presence. The juries won't forgive a poor vocal, though some fans speculate they might be kind to this to "compensate" for misjudging the public's favourite last year (unlikely.) But while the fans still seem fairly into it, I wonder if the public will just dismiss it as too similar to Finland's entry from last year.

Very happy to see Finland so low, but I still think the public will love it. But you never know, sometimes the public surprise and don't fall for gimmicks, and I would be very happy to see Finland leave the competition after the semi.

It's reassuring for Bambie that nine songs from the first semi are behind them in the Eurojury poll.

odyssey06

The first semi final will be on RTE1 - possibly due to Ireland competing, and Champions League clash.

The second semi final will be on RTE2.

yerwanthere123

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122070525#Comment_122070525

Yeah Lithuania does seem to have fallen behind a little, but I can still see it doing well in the final. If it gets a second half slot I wouldn't rule out a top 5 televote. The jury vote might not be great though.

I thought Finland was catchy at first but it got very old very quickly. Would like it to miss the final altogether but it will qualify. I predict bottom five with the juries and mid table with the televote to finish somewhere between 16th and 20th.

Libertine07

After being a bit ambivalent about Lithuania at the start it's now one of my favourites. Hoping for a good result for them.

We're now up to 7th in the odds to qualify. Cyprus is ahead of us in 5th, am I missing something there? It's one of the weakest songs in the semi.

yerwanthere123

Brief clip of Bambie's first rehearsal today

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGe9KjQfD/

From the little we can see here I think it's looking class

Dazler97

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122069655#Comment_122069655

So are you in Sweden for the Eurovision ? You gonna be there until its on , how did you get tickets as I couldn't get any

Libertine07

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122071770#Comment_122071770

No that update was from the Eurovision reddit today.

zell12

Cynthia Ní Murchú and Rock n Roll kids coming up on Newstalk in next hour

zell12

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121994924#Comment_121994924

The other one?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02TrTZXBh28

supereurope

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122072685#Comment_122072685

No, Cathal Dunne in '79. I don't think Sandie Jones was a Cork native, though she sang with The Dixies, so people often think she was from Cork.

Kiev Connolly in '89 was Cork-based, but from Sligo (Cork is not claiming him!)

supereurope

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122072673#Comment_122072673

With Cynthia Ní Murchú running in the European elections, should she really be on-air? I mean, she likely won't mention the election, but still…

It's 30 years on Tuesday since the 1994 contest. Where did that time go? It's also the anniversary of the 1988 contest on the 30th.

zell12

Dunno she is on now, giving us loads of data on the 1994 show. Mentioning Pat Kenny will have a Eurovision special show Newstalk on 30/04

odyssey06

Long interview in Sunday Indo Mag with Bambie, growing up, getting into ballet and musical theatre.

supereurope

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122072910#Comment_122072910

She also turned it into a campaign speech, telling about her "can-do" spirit and how, even as a teenager volunteering at the local nursing home, she always wanted to give back to the community.

Strazdas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122072782#Comment_122072782

Sandie Jones was actually from Crumlin in Dublin.

And Cathal Dunne was the nephew of former Taoiseach Jack Lynch.

supereurope

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122073162#Comment_122073162

I think it's just because of The Dixies that people think Sandie Jones came from Cork. Plus, the 1972 National Song Contest was held in Cork, so she had a fair few links.

Once he was back from Jerusalem, Cathal signed up to sing the FF election song for the 1979 European Elections.

yerwanthere123

Compilation of yesterday's rehearsal footage

https://youtu.be/tgI8RYu5G4w?si=pBmKgTgWSLb5LZ_O

From what we can see I think they're all looking pretty good bar Poland. Wtf is going on there? Apparently staged by the same guy who did James Newman's 'Embers' 😲

yerwanthere123

And here's today's rehearsal footage

https://youtu.be/LJj0yOLA9c0?si=9UFhaHRVVGaLfwTB

Nothing particularly jumping out here so far. I think the Azeri staging is looking good but I doubt it'll be enough to save the song. I'm surprised they have Natalia Barbu on her own, but either way I doubt she'll qualify. Luxembourg is looking alright too.

supereurope

RTÉ promoted the 1994 contest with this ad in newspapers, and I think it might also have been on billboards (in colour.) I wonder if there's a poster of this anywhere, I'd love one.

RTE1 Saturday 30th April…as it turned out, the contest would never again take place in April.

The 1988 contest was also held on 30th April, so a double anniversary tomorrow! Both contests, for various reasons, are now considered among the most significant in Eurovision history.

freshpopcorn

I just came here to post

30 years ago Today Ireland hosted and won the Eurovision with Rock 'n' Roll Kids and not to forget the most famous Interval acts Riverdance all of which was presented by Gerry Ryan and Cynthia Ní Mhurchú.

JKerova1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122079550#Comment_122079550

Amazing to think back then we were actually sick of winning the Eurovision. Nowadays just reaching the final would be a cause of national celebration.

freshpopcorn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122079562#Comment_122079562

Try being me. I'll be 32 this year and the best I remember us ever doing is Jedward in 2011.

I remember when I first got into Eurovision in 2003. 1994 felt like decades ago to me. Now 2003 is a few years ago.