ESC 2019 | Eurovision Running Order Released- The 5 Finer Details
Earlier today, the European Broadcasting Union released the official running order of both the semi final's at this year's contest. Now the dust has settled it's time to look at the finer details of these, and see if there is anything of interest that can be taken from this. Will some countries benefit, whilst others struggle? First the running orders were announced as follows:
Semi Final 1- Tuesday 14th May 2019
Cyprus
Montenegro
Finland
Poland
Slovenia
Czech Republic
Hungary
Belarus
Serbia
Belgium
Georgia
Australia
Iceland
Estonia
Portugal
Greece
San Marino
Semi Final 2- Thursday 16th May 2019
Armenia
Ireland
Moldova
Switzerland
Latvia
Romania
Denmark
Sweden
Austria
Croatia
Malta
Lithuania
Russia
Albania
Norway
The Netherlands
North Macedonia
Azerbaijan
Unlucky number 13?
Could it be unlucky number 13 for Russia and Iceland who have drawn that position. If it were down to Sergey's social media, probably not? He has said he loves that number after hearing the news on where he was singing. Last year both countries failed to qualify, however this year with both being favourites amongst the bookies, it is likely that they will end up being in the grand final. Last year Austria, and Hungary both sang from that position, and qualified with ease. Have these two nations anything to worry about? Probably not.
The Show's Opener
Eurovision always like to start with an uptempo song, and they have certainly done that with Tamta. This year Cyprus will be the first live song from this year's contest, whilst Armenia will open up semi final 2. Both have strong songs, and are favoured with the bookies. It is not easy to start the show, as Aisel from Azerbaijan found out last year. Her song flopped, and failed to qualify. This year's show will open with some serious, "Fuego", and a sure cert to be a qualify. Norway opened, and won their semi final 2 last year. Will the same fate befit Armenia this year?
The Show Must Come To An End
The first semi final will see San Marino close the show. This will be the first time that the country has ever closed a semi final. They have drawn a good spot. With your typical pop song, which will likely be full of colour ending the contest, may herald good news for the San Marino broadcaster. Can they get their second qualification? Last year saw Cyprus end the first semi. We all know what happened there. In the other end of the scale Azerbaijan too will close out the second semi, once again they have never been in that position either. Ukraine sang from that position last year, and qualified with ease. The last spot may be good news for these countries this year.
A Sea Of Ballads For Semi Final 2
The closing of semi final 2 is very interesting indeed. With a sea of ballads finishing the show, will some countries miss out altogether? According to the bookies, and pundits the Netherlands will qualify, however will this be at the expense of Tamara from North Macedonia who sings straight after him? Albania, and Russia also have strong ballads too. Sergey will evidently stand out, but will Albania lose out? With the song entirely in Albanian, this could really help Jonida's chances for her entry to stand out amongst the others. Norway, and Malta are packed between the ballads. Some may think this could help, however, with so many favourites in a tight cluster, they may get forgotten.
Top Half V's Bottom Half?
Semi Final one is interesting that it appears to have an extremely mixed bag of results when trying to find the favourites. They tend to be evenly scattered throughout. However, with the way some countries have been placed to sing, things could easily change the results, and sway songs qualifying more from one end to another. Expect a few surprises from semi final one. It is anyone's game. The second semi final seems to favour the second half of the running order. According to the bookies six of the ten that could possibly qualify will come from this area of the contest. Eurovision is Eurovision, and you can never really call it.
What do you think of this year's running order? Do you think some countries will have more of an advantage than others? Please tell us your thoughts in the comments below.
