The 2017 Eurovision sing contest has begun in Europe! The contest takes one singer from each of the countries and the singers compete to see what country will win the contest. The first contest took place on 24 May 1956, where seven nations participated. As the contest progressed, the rules grew increasingly complex and participation levels rose to pass forty nations at the end of the 20th century. As more countries came on board over subsequent decades and technology advanced, the EBU attempted to keep up with national and international trends.

The Eurovision Song Contest Grand Finals are traditionally on a Saturday evening in May, at 19:00 UTC. This year the grand finally is May 13th! The term “Eurovision Week” is used to refer to the week during which the Contest takes place. At this time the people who are running in the contest can rehearse on stage to make sure that the performance works properly. The show is taken place this year in Kyiv, Ukraine. This year they can two semi-finals on Tuesday and Thursday where computers were eliminated leaving 26 countries left in the running for the win. The counties this year are:

1. Israel

2. Poland

3. Belarus

4. Austria

5. Armenia

6. The Netherlands

7. Moldova

8. Hungary

9. Italy

10. Denmark

11. Portugal

12. Azerbaijan

13. Croatia

14. Australia

15. Greece

16. Spain

17. Norway

18. United Kingdom

19. Cyprus

20. Romania

21. Germany

22. Ukraine

23. Belgium

24. Sweden

25. Bulgaria

26. France

Since the show is taken place in Kyiv, Ukraine, the contest has run in to two major problems. The first being that Ukraine wanted nothing to do with the Russia contest Julia Samoilova. Julia Samoilova has been banned from visiting Ukraine for three years by the country’s security services for touring Crimea in 2015 after it was annexed by Russia. So Russia will not be able to part of the contest. problems also arose when Ukraine found out Kristian Kostov, the contestant from Bulgaria was also in Crimea in 2014. The Eurovision team looked in to the problem Thursday morning before Kristian Kostov was supposed to perform. Ukraine made a press appearance regard Kristian Kostov and told the press that since it Crimea was not yet annexed and he was under the age of 18 that he is able to participate in the competition. Kristian Kostov sang his song “Beautiful Mess,” and advanced to the Grand Finally.

Before the whole Crimea issues arose, my pick to win the competition was Kristian Kostov! He is the youngest contestant at the age of 17. I also have a favorite in Sweden where they will have Robin Bengtsson singing Can’t Go On.

They are also a few acts that I do not like but think that since this year is full of diversity that the contests should let everyone do their own thing.

Update: The final was on Saturday where the show was heard around the world. The singers performed in the order I have above. With all the crazy that went on they were able to find a winner. Before the Winner, we had to see all the acts perform and lets just saw a few acts and some memorable moments. One of the moments would be Italy’s Francesco Gabbani song Occidentali’s Karma, he had a dancing gorilla on stage for his performance. During Jamala’s performance of I Believe In U, an Australian native was caught on live television streaking while Jamala was singing her song.

At a shocking ending Bulgaria’s, Kristian Kostov didn’t get the most fan votes, instead Portugal’s Salvador Sobra, got the highest fan and  judges votes. Kristian Kostov looked shocked as he found out he got second. Salvador Sobra would be crowned as the winner of the 2017 Eurovision. This win would be the first time that Portugal has won the contest. He beat out top runners, Italy, France, and Bulgaria.

The final results read as this:

1. Portugal: Salvador Sobral, Amar Pelos Dois – 758 points

2. Bulgaria: Kristian Kostov, Beautiful Mess – 615 points

3. Moldova: SunStroke Project, Hey Mamma! – 374

4. Belgium: Blanche, City Lights – 363

5. Sweden: Robin Bengtsson, I Can’t Go On – 344