Opinion

Cos have not seen it....plan on watching the Family Show today and should post something then

Congratulations to the delegations that made it to the final, but more important heartfelt commiserations to all the singers that did not make it to the final. You were all winners and all did an amazing job in front of the crowd and to those watching on television - you can all be very proud of yourselves today.

We hope that you will now all take the time to relax a little and enjoy Kyiv and remember that this is not the end but just the start...

Just under three hours left now until the first semi-final really kicks off, and 2,5 hours later we should know who we will see again on Saturday and who will fly home sooner (or stay anyway and just relax here!).

It's getting busy and exciting in the press area already, it's filling up as people are getting ready to go to the hall. I'll be there as well - of course - and can't wait to see how it will all work out.

Yet there's always *some* kind of mixed feelings for me involved, as by the end of this evening every song will have the definite stamp of 'qualifier' or 'non-qualifier', despite each of them working for months for these three minutes. Until now all songs are still possible qualifiers for me - as certain a few countries seem to be in (or out) - shocks happen almost every year.

Good luck to all participants tonight and let Eurovision 2017 begin!

Yesterday, after the first dress rehearsal for semi-final one, Chris and I sat down to discuss our views on each song in this semi-final.. here's the result!

My qualifiers are based on the first dress rehearsal, as I saw/heard nothing of the jury final:

(In running order - prediction)
Sweden
Georgia
Australia
Finland
Azerbaijan
Portugal
Greece
Moldova
Armenia
Latvia

Sweden
Australia
Belgium
Finland
Azerbaijan
Portugal
Poland
Armenia
Slovenia
Latvia

Flawless performance from Joci...

Wearing a yellow wrap around dress, Lucie looks great on stage. But then again she is used to this. The vocal will need some work but hey it's just checking the microphones today right?

Some sort of fan effect prop on stage with her, but from my angle in the press centre it's not too clear what this does other than provide some colour behind her

She is working the camera much better than we have seen her do before though. And when we get to the big notes at the end the camera pans out and the stage looks great.....

All good
No dramas apart from the OMG moment when Albania and Australia swapped....stop the press huge drama :-)

I had a few issues with Ukrainian internet since leaving the press centre, so I apologize for the delay of this Day 2 summary.

I just wanted to give you a quick overview which entries stood out the most today in the press centre:

- Armenia won the press centre poll for day 2. It looks modern, sophisticated and professional, and Artsvik performs it really well. My only caveat would be that it lacks a real climax at the moment.

- Moldova received the second highest score. The staging is fun and upbeat, that should certainly help in a semi full of ballads.

- Iceland and Czech Republic the losers of the day based on the press centre poll. But there is still enough time to turn things around. And the press centre has gotten things wrong in the past, so fans of these entries shouldn't lose hope.

We will see what kind of adjustments the delegations will make later this week.

Have a good night and see you tomorrow!