T h e E u r o v i s i o n a r y

Well. I've absolutely hated that song from the first moment I heard it.  Not much more to say. Fantastic show, spoiled by the most shite winner in the contest's 61 year history.  I can't write more. I'm completely gutted. 

Well folks, the big day is finally here!  Tonight we crown the successor to lovely Måns.  I think it's a two horse race now, but more on that in a bit... Yesterday we had a lovely afternoon at the ABBA Museum, and we personally thanked them for the music...  With Charlie, Michael, Martin and Robin. ...and iconic album cover, reinterpreted!  I found a couple of hand-me-down outfits for myself and Si to wear at tonight's big show...  ...and then I very much enjoyed a fabulous ride on the t-bana back out to Globen for more rehearsals! Simon arrived mid evening and we had time for a bit to eat with the boys and a drink before turning in for the night. Today, Si found something he fancied for breakfast... And so to tonight's final, who is going to win? Well, I think it's between Mother Russia and precotious newcomer, Australia... If I was asked to stick my neck out I really can't see it NOT being Sergey, such is the polish and profession...

Ha Ha!  I competley forgot to post my predictions yesterday.  But, to be fair, I did spend the morning composing my piece for The Scotsman (which goes in tomorrow - Saturday). I'll be honest and tell you that I only got 8 out of 10 this time.  I didn't have Georgia or Lithuania as going through, which they did, and instead I had gone for Norway and Ireland.  Poor Nicky Byrne!  Poor Agnete!  I am, however, delighted for my lovely Georgian friends.  And they certianly bring something different to the table! How good was Dami Im from Australia?  She's certainly in with a shout now - and many here are calling it as a straight two-horse race between Russia and Australia. Also chuffed that the fabulous Poli from Bulgaria went through.  Wasn't the opening of the show just fabulous?  That Broadway style opening number was just amazing - and so funny. So now we have our 26 songs for the final.  I'll be back tomorrow (Saturda...

If you are a casual viewer and intending to drop into the final on Saturday night for your annual giggle at the costumes, pitchy vocals and "political" voting, please now study this short video very carefully.  Believe me, you will be glad you did once the voting starts sometime after 10pm and you are sitting there in a drunken stupor amidst your leftover Swedish meatballs and pickled herring... Incase you didn't quite follow that, someone has made a more straightforward explanation... Oh, and if you still don't understand what's going on, then this clip of Saturday's winning performance will save you the bother of sitting through the complex voting and allow you to get back to your smørgasbörd. By the way, I got 9/10 in my predictions last night - Check me out!!!  Glad for Croatia (despite the dress/es).  Gutted for Iceland :-(

Before I regale you with my predictions for tonight's semi, I have to make reference the ever fabulous Georgian party which was held in a pretty harbourfront setting last night.  Thanks so much to my lovely friends, Natia and Natia for inviting me long again this year.  Its always a highlight of the weeks events for me!  Fab food and gorgeous Georgian red wine!!! The purple dollop stuff was my fave!  I think it included beetroot and onion... But onto the serious business of predicting qualifiers from tonight's semi final. In order of performance, these I are one I think will (but not necessarily should!) advance to Saturday's final: Hungary Netherlands Armenia Russia Czech Republic Cyprus Austria Azerbaijan Iceland Malta These are all based on having seen them perform during rehearsals.  Russia is great, and remains my favourite.  Armenia gives the performance of the entire semi - this is a full-on performance and it is stand-out...

Hello there!  It's a been a few days since my last blog update on Saturday so I thought I should update you on what I've been up to since then. Saturday afternoon saw me mingling with Sweden's previous Eurovision winners at the opening of the new Eurovision exhibit at the ABBA Museum.  Sadly, Charlotte Perelli was ill, but all 5 other winners were there, including Björn from ABBA!  I've finally seen a real live member of the greatest group of all time!!! The exhibit itself was small and a little disappointing.  Really just some old stage outfits... This is - in order - Charlotte, Conchita, Carola (MF in 2006) and Verka. I went along with Frank and we couldn't resist the opportunity to have a quick ABBA photo shoot! Then in the evening we had our fabulous evening with Hera Björk... The Queen Of Effing Everything!  Two and a half hours of pure hysterical magic.  The woman is a natural comedienne and of course she has that fantastic voice.....

OK,  today is going to be REALLY busy!!! (more about that later), so rather than regale you with stories of drunken debauchery at last night's FABULOUS Nordic Party I'm just going to bombard you with around 5 million selfies that I ended up taking yesterday...  It started at the Finnish... with Sandjha Israeli Hovi Star! (Gurl!!!)  Justs from Latvia (with Frank) Joe 90, sorry Juri, from Estonia  Vikings!  Hera Björk  Frank and Liza Shirley Clamp and Velvet!  Greta Slome (and Pete) The mad Icelandic gang! Mr Gorge Cyprus! The last three are Francesca from Italy, Serhat from San Marino and Michal from Poland!

Ooh, it's all happening in Globen! Slovenia have decided that the most appropriate staging for their cute little Taylor Swift tribute should involve a half naked gymnast swinging off his massive pole!   Bizarre! Bulgaria gave the performance of the day (and possibly the whole second Semi) yesterday with the phenomenal Poli delivering the tightest and slickest dance routine since the demise of my beloved Steps. The girl oozes charm and confidence, and I'd love to see her swoop in from left-field and take the whole thing...  Certainly worth an each-way bet! And, who would have thought that the other performance of the day was going to come from plucky little Belgium? Laura's 70's Motown inspired funky dance track had them rocking in the isles in the press centre!  Terrific stuff...   There was a lovely moment in the press centre when members of the assembled press (me included) got together to sing the disqualified Romanian entry.  We wer...

That headline grabbed your attention, didn't it?  That was a quote from one of my fellow journalists when describing one of our your starlets of song yesterday.  I had other visions, and those will be shared in due course... But first, lets discuss Belarus.  That was the chap who told the world that he'd perform naked on stage, accompanied by wolves - and we all laughed... So, he performs naked on stage, accompanied by wolves. I kid you not!  Not only that, but he plays with himself and then closes his peformance with a baby running towards him in nappies! Performance wise, it's very clever - but bizarre beyond belief. Highlights of yesterday for me were Lativa (my second fave after Russia) and Australia.  Both Justs and the gorgeous Dami Im were lovely in their respective press conferences. Israel went absolutely massive in the press centre - and whislt I adore Hovi Star (who gave the press conference of the entire decade!), the ...