Eurovision 2018: what happened in the first semi-final?
Ireland got through to the final with Ryan O'Shaughnessy while Finland's Saara Aalto wowed audiences and Israel’s Netta delivered a powerful message
Countries went head-to-head in the first semi-final of Eurovision 2018 in Lisbon on Tuesday night – and from a performer rotating on a spinning wheel to a feminist message portrayed through a chicken dance, it was a night to remember.
Radio 1 DJ Scott Mills and Rylan Clark-Neal were the semi-final commentators, with Rylan stepping in to replace Mel Giedroyc. Viewers were impressed by his warmth, humour and utter obsession with all things Eurovision.
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Ireland got through to the final for the first time since 2013 with Ryan O'Shaughnessy’s song Together, which is about the end of a romance. The performance features two male dancers as the couple who are breaking up.
SuRie, who represents the UK, automatically qualified for this Saturday's final as one of the Big Five countries, which also includes Germany, Italy, Spain and France. Portugal also goes straight through as it is the host country.
A highlight of the night was former X Factor contestant Saara Alto’s performance representing Finland: she was literally spinning upside-down on a wheel as she sang her song Monsters.
Israel's Netta also wowed audiences with her track Toy, which carries a message of female empowerment and was accompanied by a very interesting chicken dance.
We also discovered that Eurovision has one extremely random celebrity fan, in the form of Will Ferrell.
See the full list of acts that are through to the final, below:
Albania
Austria
Bulgaria
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Lithuania
Portugal
Spain
United Kingdom
And the full list of acts to be eliminated so far:
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Belgium
Croatia
F.Y.R. Macedonia
Greece
Iceland
Switzerland
A further 18 countries will compete in the second semi-final on Thursday ahead of the grand final at Lisbon's Altice Arena on Saturday 12th May.
Saara Aalto photo taken by Andres Putting
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