Congratulations, Netta!

1. Ukraine - Nataliia Zhyzhchenko - Lead singer of 2017 interval act ONUKA
2. Azerbaijan - Asadov Tural - TV presenter
3. Belarus - NAVIBAND - Belarusian Eurovision 2017 participant
4. San Marino - John Kennedy O'Connor - Eurovision historian
5. The Netherlands - OG3NE - Dutch 2017 participant
6. F.Y.R. Macedonia - Jana Burcheska - Macedonian 2017 participant
7. Malta - Lara Azzopardi - Actress and TV presenter
8. Georgia - Tako Gachechiladze - Georgian 2017 participant
9. Spain - Nieves Alvarez - TV presenter and model
10. Austria - Kati Bellowitsch - Radio and TV presenter
11. Denmark - Ulla Essendrop - TV presenter
12. United Kingdom - Mel Giedroyc - TV presenter
13. Sweden - Felix Sandman - Runner-up in Swedish national selection
14. Latvia - Dagmāra Legante - TV presenter and comedian
15. Albania - Andri Xhahu - Radio journalist
16. Croatia - Uršula Tolj - Presenter
17. Ireland - NIcky Byrne - Irish 2016 participant
18. Romania - Sonia Argint-Ionescu - TV presenter
19. Czech Republic - Radka Rosická - Presenter and fashion model
20. Iceland - Edda Sif Pálsdóttir - TV presenter and sports reporter
21. Moldova - Julieta Ardovan - TV journalist
22. Belgium - Danira Boukhriss Terkessidis - TV host
23. Norway - Aleksander Walmann & JOWST - Norwegian 2017 participant
24. France - Élodie Gossuin - TV and radio presenter
25. Italy - Giulia Valentina Palermo - Presenter
26. Australia - Ricardo Goncalves - SBS World News presenter
27. Estonia - Ott Evestus - Singer
28. Serbia - Dragana Kosjerina - Show host and presenter
29. Cyprus - Hovig - Cypriot 2017 participant
30. Armenia - Arsen Grigoryan - Actor and singer
31. Bulgaria - Joanna Dragneva - Bulgarian 2008 participant
32. Greece - Olyna (Olympia) Xenopoulou - Radio and TV presenter, actress
33. Hungary - Bence Forró - TV presenter
34. Montenegro - Natasa Sotra - Director of Science and Children Programme
35. Germany - Barbara Schöneberger - TV presenter
36. Finland - ABREU - Singer
37. Russia - Alsou - Russian 2000 participant and Eurovision 2009 presenter
38. Switzerland - Leticia Carvalho - Teacher and singer
39. Israel - Lucy Ayoub - Journalist and TV presenter
40. Poland - Mateusz Szymkowiak - Journalist
41. Lithuania - Eglė Daugėlaitė - Presenter and journalist
42. Slovenia - Amaya - Slovenian 2011 participant (as Maja Keuc)
43. Portugal - Pedro Ricardo Pacheco Fernandes - Television presenter

Not far from the Altice Arena the Ukrainian winner of the 2004 edition of the ESC took time to speak to the gathered press, with complementary drinks supplied. The press meeting took place in the exclusive Myriad Hotel, on the river shore not far from the Altice Arena.

In her speech she declared that her biggest dream is to unite people from around the world for clean, renewable energy. Ruslana also calls for Eurovision as a source of clean energy as it is needed to win. She has been looking for energy sources in the Carpathian Mountains and wants to stop the deforestation.

Tomorrow she will perform in the Eurovillage as well as during the Grand Final, where she will present her single 'My Mystery'. Her band will be on stage with her during the performance and she will play ancient musical instruments from the Carpathian Mountains.

We also spoke to her briefly after the event. You will find the full speech, the videos she presented as well as our short interview below:

Grand Final Jury Performance. Blog will be updated in every break.

Melovin a little nervy in opening verse but recovers quickly and performs with confidence.

Alfred & Amaia did well for juries. Big cheers in arena and press centre.

Slovenia not on top of her game today. Arena loved the break.

Lithuania lacked a bit intensity for juries, but vocals were good.

Austria with more confidence than before. Clap along treatment.

Estonia lost control on one note. Rest was flawless.

Norway. Rybak gives a more serious performance for juries telling them how to write a song with energy.

Portugal. Claudia gives a very emotional performance for juries reminding them, after Norway, that they are watching a program for adults who care about music.

UK. SuRie very secure doing the best she can hoping for a storm on jury scorecards.

Serbia sounds as good as before.

Germany. Schulte not as relaxed as in rehearsals. But good vocals and lifts song with ad-libbing. I have a hunch juries will go for this big.

Albania. Juries brought Eugent to the final and he thanks them with another professional performance.

France. Arena choreo worked very well and juries could go for the stylish look+song.

Czech. Better today than on Tuesday. Also cooler if that was possible

Denmark. The Vikings showed up for juries in fine form.

Australia. Jessica took quite a few risks here and it worked out. Better than she has been before.

Finland. Saara always shows up when it matters. Excellent performance.

Bulgaria. Some outfit adjustments. Fine vocals, slightly overselling and zhana should make sure the mic stays close to her mouth for final note.

Moldova. Having seen this many times now it gets harder to assess. As before I guess.

Sweden. It took them some time, but the sound of backing vocals has finally arrived at studio version level. Well done Sweden.

Hungary. Voice held up. Impressive.

Israel. Netta found a good balance today.

The Netherlands. Waylon is always excellent.

Ireland. Ryan on a wave of euphoria from recent hype. God vocals.

Cyprus. If juries go for slick powerful A-list performances they can't overlook Eleni.

Italy. Very relaxed and good performance from Meta Moro.

I have no clue tbh, Norway, Cyprus, Israel, and even Lithuania could all pull this off....

just over 24 hours and we will know

17. Finland
Postcard: It's a day on the golf course for the Finn femme.
Performance: Saara belts it out and the staging continues to enhance the song. Probably the best climax of the final due to her stage dive before being caught by her dancers...even though it always looks worryingly as if she might be dropped.

18. Bulgaria
Postcard: It's a tram ride for Equinox and then the downtown viewing point in Lisbon.
Performance: As can so often be the case with five-piece groups in this contest, it seems it's more a case of competing rather than synchronisation. Strong vocally but what was seen as a top-three certainty may just be a top-ten finish now. Having said that...

19. Moldova
Postcard: A little bit more sightseeing
Performance: A light, fun song with very entertaining staging (if a little slapstick), this may see Moldova trouble the top five for the second year running. Certainly ranks in many people's favourites this year due to the cabaret feel of it all. DoReDos dos what they dos best.

20. Sweden
Postcard: It's off to the farm to make some cheese for Benjamin...no reflection on Swedish pop music of course...
Performance: The lighting is impressive and Benjamin glides effortlessly through the performance, as vocally smooth as it gets. More than likely another top five result for the Eurovision powerhouse. If it weren't for Cyprus, Israel and France this may have just sneaked it...

21. Hungary
Postcard: Chocolate making and a wander about for the hard rock AWS boys.
Performance: If Sweden, which precedes it, is smooth and refined, this would be its antithesis. Rough rocking it as much as you like, AWS really take the decibel level up to like it has never been seen before at Eurovision. The sreeches and screams and pyrotechnics would scare Lordy away any day of the week. Given the fact that it differs to everything else in the contest this year and the band's energy on stage, expect a solid finish for it - top ten in all likelihood.

22. Israel
Postcard: A Lisbon rooftop DJ set for Netta (and a few eager facial expressions too).
Performance: This could be a talking point from the first rehearsal. Netta's mike seemed to be set into the off position for the intro and the first verse. We were expecting a re-run but no such thing happened. The so-long favourite, now relegated to second place on the list, has it experienced an Italy-style YouTube burn out? If it does, it won't be anything near as dramatic and probably still not wise to bet against it. A top three shoe-in but will it win?

23. The Netherlands
Postcard: Just as well Waylon wasn't waylaid in his semi and came out tenth - he was tasked with baking the pastel de natas (custard tarts in a filoux-style pastry and Portugal's signature sweet).
Performance: His first time on-stage before proving the Dutch (and much of the) media wrong, Waylon isn't likely to get anywhere near to the highs of 2014 but perhaps sitting somewhere between 10th and 15th may suit him fine.

24. Ireland
Postcard: It's a walk along the beach and deep-sea diving for Ryan.
Performance: Well, it's the luck of the Irish for the draw. Really the only out-and-out ballad in the second half, its understatement may stand out and take them to a slightly higher finishing place than expected when it qualified on Tuesday. The market is certainly hotting up for it.

9. United Kingdom
Postcard: Rather aptly SuRie goes tea-picking before enjoying a nice brew. Some of these postcards are perfectly suited to the artists and their countries.
Performance: Complete with her stage prop, SuRie shines and brings the song to life. It may even trouble the top of the second half of the scoreboard based on this performance.

10. Serbia
Postcard: Sanja and Balkanika team go wine-tasting in Porto. Another appropriate postcard sequence given the group's love of the grape.
Performance: A deserved qualifier from last night, vocally they just keep getting better and better. Reverting back to the initial Nevena Ivanovic-designed costumes they first wore before they were refitted for the semis, they really shine. From the betting odds, it seems it may have come in at 10th place in its semi but it is worthy of a good placing tomorrow night.

11. Germany
Postcard: Another country walk with waterfalls and forests before Michael paraglides.
Performance: Solid all the way vocally. One of the better performers of the Big Five on the scoreboard this year?

12 Albania
Postcard: Eugent takes a gondola-style boat trip.
Performance: Incredible vocal - as always - exactly why he has earned his place in this final. Great song, powerfully delivered. If the contest was judged solely on vocal ability, Albania would be beating their best finish (5th) of 2012.

13. France
Postcard: More scenery and a funicular ride for the French duo, before busking.
Performance: Immaculately and simply staged with just enough understatement to see it creep up. Still my tip for the winner and it may pip Cyprus to it just yet. France for the first since 1977? C'est possible...

14. Czech Republic
Postcard: Carnival time for Mikolas Josef.
Performance: Still lacking the gumph that the original acrobatics gave it, it will easily give the Czech Republic their best ever result. A finisher between sixth and eighth, or maybe a little higher on the night depending how it's received.

15. Denmark
Postcard: Rasmussen head to a library among other things. Maybe to read up on Viking history...
Performance: The chorus and the chanting coupled with drum beats make this incredibly catchy. Could see it finish top 10, but unlikely to conquer Eurovision as much as the Vikings did Northern Europe all those years ago.

16. Australia
Postcard: A quick rooftop and waltz around Lisbon before some guitar/banjo playing.
Performance: Jessica can relax a bit now after weathering the storm and making it through after much undeserved and unfair criticism in the last week or so. Some lovely vocal adlibs - especially in the second verse - and the vocals will be spot-on come tonight for the juries and tomorrow. A top-ten finish should still be in the offing - especially if she continues to sparkle like this.

On the occasion of Eurovision in Lisbon, the German embassy held a reception in the garden of the Goethe-Institut.
After welcoming words of the Ambassador Helmut Elfenkämper, the Director of the Goethe-Institut of Lisbon Elisabeth Völpel and the Head of German Eurovision Delegation Christoph Pellander, the stage has been opened for Eurovision contestants.
As Portuguese representor Cláudia Pascoal sang her entry “O Jardim” supported by the composer of the song Isaura Santos.
Of course, the main act was the performance of the German participant. He sang the ballad “Collide” from his new album “Hold the Rhythm” and his entry “You Let Me Walk Alone”. As a bonus, Michael performed a medley of “Fly on the Wings of Love” (in Danish), “Satellite” and “Amar Pelos Dois” (in Portuguese).
During a “commercial break” when the audience waited for the next musical surprise, Michael and the host of the German national Final Linda Zervakis were chatting along. However, even if they ran out of topics very soon, Linda and Michael managed the situation by joking around like the hosts of actual Eurovision Song Contest.
The surprise guest was Portuguese fado singer Mariza who performed in a characteristic dramatic way the song “Trigueirinha” (“the darkhaired girl”) from her new album and a classic fado ballade “Quem me dera” (“if only”) accompanied by a Portuguese guitar. Starting her show in a theatric manner by stepping out of the audience Mariza finished it in same way.
It’s not to say if the reception will help Michael Schulte marketing-wise, but the bookmakers already see him making 6th place in the Final. Fingers crossed!