Eurovision 2023: Denmark, Israel, Croatia, San Marino, Romania, and Georgia lose out

Denmark, Israel, Croatia, San Marino, Romania and Georgia are out of the running for Eurovision 2023.

16 acts gathered at the city’s M&S Bank Arena to compete for a place in Saturday’s grand final on Thursday, but only ten acts made it.

Among them was the Belgian Gustaph who, after his third participation in the competition, secured a place in the final with his track Because of You.

Hosts Alesha Dixon, Hannah Waddingham and Julia Sanina brought the glamor to the second round of the semi-finals as viewers went berserk as Drag Act Queen Machine stormed the stage with their incredible performance.

Meanwhile, British entry Mae Muller looked incredible in a deep bright yellow and green dress studded with silver sequins as she cheered on the other nations from her place in the audience.

The ten acts that made it were; Albania, Cyprus, Estonia, Austria, Lithuania, Poland, Australia, Armenia and Slovenia.

They join Croatia, Moldova, Switzerland, Finland, Czech Republic, Israel, Sweden, Serbia, Portugal and Norway for Saturday’s main event.

Last year’s winner, Ukraine, automatically advanced to the grand final, along with the big five, consisting of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain and Italy.

In a rule change this year, the decision on who advanced was entirely up to the public, with national juries having their say during Saturday’s final.

The evening started with a performance from Denmark. Reiley sang Breaking My Heart followed by Armenia’s Brunette with Future Lover.

Other countries performing were Romania (Theodor Andrei with DGT), Estonia (Alika with Bridges) and Belgium (Gustaph with Because of You).

Andrew Lambrou from Cyprus had fans swooning over his good looks when he performed Break a Broken Heart.

He was followed by the Icelandic Diljá who sang Power, Greece (Victor Vernicos with What They Say), Poland (Blanka with Solo) and Slovenia (Joker Out with Carpe Diem) – all of whom made it.

Next up was Georgia’s Iru with Echo and San Marino’s Piqued Jacks with Like An Animal, both of which sadly missed.

The quirky Teya & Salena from Austria played their infectious song, Who The Hell Is Edgar?, followed by Albina & Familja Kelmendi from Albania with Duje, who secured their places.

It was Lithuania’s turn when Monika Linkytė played Stay, while Australia’s Voyager ended the evening with Promise.

Mariya Yaremchuk, Zlata Dziunka and OTOY performed during the intermission, bringing together different generations of Ukrainian music.

After the vote was taken, Hannah was joined on stage by drag act Queen Machine, who impersonated her co-stars Alesha and Julia before “replacing” Hannah herself.

The three drag queens were joined by a cast of eclectic dancers as they performed a medley of pop songs including Jessie Ware’s Free Yourself and En Vogue’s Free Your Mind.

Those who watched at home loved it, as one of them commented, ‘Why isn’t this drag queen thing the British entry this year? #Eurovision2023 #Eurovision.’

Another said: ‘AS I HANGED #Eurovision.’

Spain’s Blanca Paloma, Ukraine’s entry Tvorchi and Britain’s Mae Muller then sat down for a quick question-and-answer session.

Blanca named the thing they couldn’t live without, saying she’d be lost without the people she loved, while Mae, as a true Brit, admitted she couldn’t live without biscuits to dip in her tea.

Then the acts showed their part tricks, with Mae revealing, “I can make my eyes twitch, like they twitch.”

“I’m not sure if this is one, but I can play stuff, I can play records,” Tvorchi demonstrated.

Hannah from Alesha and Ted Lasso brought the glamor to Liverpool for the second round of the Eurovision 2023 semi-finals.

And the Mis-Teeq singer, 44, and the actress, 48, pulled out all the stops as they took the stage to present the show, which aired on BBC One, alongside Julia Sanina.

Alesha looked fabulous in a strapless black corset dress with sheer mesh panels and a dramatic train.

Hannah, meanwhile, put on a leggy display in a busty strapless yellow mini dress that showed off her hourglass figure.

For the first time in the history of the British Eurovision Song Contest, both semifinals will be presented live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

Radio DJs Scott Mills and Rylan will provide the UK audience with their colorful commentary, while Alesha, Julia and Hannah host.

There is also a dedicated commentary team on BBC Radio Merseyside, including Claire Sweeney and the winner of the talent show The Voice of Eurovision, who are currently on the lookout for new Liverpool talent.

This year’s grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest has the royal seal of approval. On a visit to the venue, the Liverpool Arena, the King told British contestant Mae Muller that he would ‘watch with great interest’ and ‘prod her on’. ‘Thank you. No pressure,” she joked.

At last year’s contest, held in Italy, the UK had their strongest entry in years with Sam Ryder’s Space Man, but no one begrudged the Ukrainians their victory with Kalush Orchestra’s exuberant Stefania.

For the grand final commentary on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, Graham and comedian Mel Giedroyc will take turns in the commentary box to give those watching at home their unique and expert take on the acts of 2023.

The grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest takes place on Saturday at 8 p.m. on BBC One.