Overview: Semi-final 1

In hindsight, but also as expected, the first semi-final proved to be better performed than the second and more competitive in terms of qualifiers that might trouble the upper reaches of the scoreboard come the final.

The first country to make an impact, and a lasting one, was Israel: The Fire In Your Eyes proved to be class from start to finish, and was one of the few in the semi to benefit from good camerawork and simple staging. Moldova impressed for its lighting and design, as did Belgium's swirling backdrop, which actually made Soetkin's strawberries-and-cream outfit more palatable.
After the messy visuals for Azerbaijan, Slovenia came across well (on my home cinema system anyway) for its sound, while suffering in both departments - not to mention in terms of performance and the worst ad libs in Eurovision in a long time - was Andorra. Gisela made an absolute dog's breakfast of Casanova and you have to wonder whether it would have been possible to make it worse.

Armenia was the biggest surprise of the semi-final for me, for coming across so blandly, almost as if Sirusho really couldn't be bothered to give it her all. Hind performed well for The Netherlands after her, but Your Heart Belongs To Me simply didn't have what it takes to win votes, especially with Finland coming on next and blowing everything away with one of the most together performances of the night. Romania started off nicely until Nico appeared out of the darkness in her mangrove creation and started shouting at Vlad (who could have undone his shirt a couple of extra buttons), and though I was sure it would qualify, both Russia and Greece after it came together a lot better.

In the end I feel the ten best combinations of songs and performances made it through, and it was nice to see Poland finally qualify, albeit in a blaze of fake tan and bleached teeth. The greatest disappointment of the semi for me was the obviously half-empty hall, which also erked me last year in Helsinki. It just looks shoddy and could so easily be avoided. Overall though the first semi-final got my thumbs-up.