Russia, Netherlands triumph in first Eurovision semi-final
By Sam Rigby
Russia and the Netherlands were among the first countries to secure their places in the final of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest last night (May 6).
Ten countries booked their place alongside automatic finalists France, Italy, Spain, Germany, the UK, and last year’s winner Denmark, during last night’s first semi-final.
Montenegro, Hungary, Armenia, Azerbaijan, San Marino, Sweden, Iceland and Ukraine will also perform on Saturday (May 10).
Latvia, Estonia, Belgium, Portugal, Moldova and Albania were eliminated from the competition.
Last week, Russian politician Vitaly Milonov called for his country to boycott the contest, describing it as a “Sodom show” and “Europe-wide gay parade”.
The second Eurovision semi-final takes place on Thursday night (May 8), with Austria’s Conchita Wurst performing.
The second semi-final will air tomorrow night at 8pm on BBC Three, while the final airs on Saturday at 8pm on BBC One.
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