The first semi final of this year's Eurovision Song Contest will take place tonight at Düsseldorf's Espirit Arena starting at 21:00 CET. Artists from 19 countries will perform live on stage and 10 of them will qualify for the grand final to be held on May 14th.

The show

Since 2008 it was decided that the Eurovision Song Contest will use two semi finals instead of one in order to draw the participants list for the grand final. Artists from 19 countries will perform on the stage ofDuesseldorf's Espirit Arena hoping to make the list of the 10 acts that will advance to the final. The winners will decided by a combination of tele voting (50%) and national juries (50%). The United Kingdom and Spain will also broadcast and vote in this semi final.

How to watch

• Live on the national televisions of the participating countries at 21:00 CET
• Webcast (eurovision.tv official) 21:00 CET

Participants

1. Poland – Magdalena Tul – Jestem
2. Norway – Stella Mwangi – Haba, Haba
3. Albania – Aurela Gaçe – Feel the passion
4. Armenia – Emmy – Boom-Boom
5. Turkey – Yüksek Sadakat – Live it up
6. Serbia – Nina – Caroban
7. Russia -Alexej Vorobjov – Get you
8. Switzerland -Anna Rossinelli – In Love For A While
9. Georgia -Eldrine – One More Day
10. Finland -Paradise Oskar – Da Da Dam
11. Malta -Glen Vella – One Life
12. San Marino – Senit – Stand By
13. Croatia -Daria – Celebrate
14. Iceland -Sjonni's Friends – Coming Home
15. Hungary – Kati Wolf – What About My Dreams?
16. Portugal – Homens Da Luta – Luta É Alegria
17. Lithuania -Evelina Sašenko – C'est Ma Vie
18. Azerbaijan -Ell/Nikki – Running Scared
19. Greece -Loucas Yiorkas feat. Stereo Mike – Watch My Dance

The interval act

The Cold Steel Drummers will perform during the show's interval act.

Live

Good evening, Europe! The 56th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest is taking place in Duesseldorf, Germany. The first semi final of Europe's favourite TV show is about to start.
We can now see this year's Eurovision vignette.
The three hosts are now on stage an they welcome the audience using the satellite stage. Anke Engelke, Stefan Raab and Rudith Rakers are the presenters of tonight's show. After explaining the rules of the competition, the hosts thank last year's host country Norway.
The voting lines are now open. Let the show begin!

01 – Poland
Artist : Magdalena Tul
Song : Jestem
Composer : Magdalena Tul
Lyricist : Magdalena Tul
Live report : Poland is the first country to introduce their entry to the European audience. Magdalena Tul opens the first semi final just like she did at the Polish national final where her song won the first place. This year's Polish entry is an up-tempo pop song written by Magdalena herself and features a very catchy and memorable chorus that should stick in the minds of the TV viewers. Although there were some small technical issues during the rehearsals, everything is now solved and Europe enjoys a very effective show made by the Polish delegation. Magdalena delivers a flawless vocal live rendition of Jestem and she looks pretty confident about her chances of qualifying for the grand final of the competition. Four female backing dancers join the Polish artist on stage and perform together a very elaborated choreography. All the artists on stage are wearing similar white outfits contrasting with the stage backdrop which is pretty dark on the backdrop. Although the 'Eurovision experts' tend to predict Poland out of the final, Magdalena delivers a very confident live performance of Jestem and should advance to the further stages of the contest.

02 – Norway
Artist : Stella Mwangi
Song : Haba haba
Composer : Beyond51, Big City
Lyricist : Stella Nyambura Mwangi
Live report : Norway gets to perform at the unlucky spot number two. African singer Stella Mwangi was selected by the Norwegians to represent them at this year's Eurovision Song Contest with an African inspired song entitled Haba Haba. The lyrics were written by Stella herself and seem to fit well this up-tempo pop song which involves African fusion and traditional local beats. The Norwegian delegation is delighthed by the conditions offered by this year's German hosts and they do their best in order to offer a happy moment to the European audience. Stella is wearing a very special golden outfit pretty similar to the one she had during the Norwegian selection. The vocal performance is atgood level, although the lead artist has had several vocal problems during the rehearsals. Everything seems to be in place on stage and Stella together with her backing dancers deliver a very happy and confident rendition of Haba Haba. This should qualify for the grand final.

03 – Albania
Artist : Aurela Gace
Song : Feel the passion
Composer : Shpetim Saraci
Lyricist : Sakol Marsi
Live report : Albania is the third country to take the Eurovision stage tonight. The Western Balkan nation is represented by a very talented singer namely Aurela Gace. She perform an epic pop song with mystic elements which was written by Shpetim Saraci and Sakol Marsi. Various images taken from the official preview video are being projected on the LED screen of the stage and fit well the epic atmosphere around this act. The vocals are the highest possible as Aurela and her backing singers deliver one of the best live performances in the recent history of the Eurovision Song Contest. Aurela is wearing a peach colour outfit making her look like an eagle. Overall, this is a very strong performance and should make the top 10 who will qualify for the grand final.

04 – Armenia
Artist : Emmy
Song : Boom Boom
Composer : Hayk Hovhannisyan, Hayk Harutyunyan
Lyrics : Sosi Khanikyan
Live report : Next up is Armenia which is being represented by Emmy with her song Boom Boom. The song was penned by Hayk Hovhannisyan, Hayk Harutyunyan and Sosi Khanikyan. Boom Boom is an up-tempo pop song with a key change of course which seems to be a chain of three different songs brought together. Although Emmy is being tipped as one of the weak artists of this year's competition speaking about the vocal abillities, she nevertheless deliver a pretty decent live rendition of her song. This performance is dedicated to a famous Armenian box player as we can see by the prop used on stage which resambles a box match. The lead singer is joined on stage by male dancers who perform an effective choreography. Some backing singers are also used for this performance.

05 – Turkey
Artist : Yuksek Sadakat
Song : Live it up
Composer : Kutlu Ozmakinaci
Lyricist : Ergun Arsal
Live report : Turkey is one of the few Eurovision countries with a 100% qualification record. Just like last year, the Eurasian country will be represented by a rock group. This year, Yuksek Sadakat got to wave the Turkish flag at the Eurovision Song Contest. Live it up is a pop-rock song with a mainstream sound that should easily make its way to the grand final. The vocal performance is a at good level and the Turkish band deliver a very confident live rendition of their song.

06 – Serbia
Artist : Nina
Song : Caroban
Composer : Kristina Kovac
Lyrics : Kristina Kovac
Live report : A former Yugoslavian country is next on stage. Serbia is being represented by the young singer Nina who performs a retro soul song written by Kristina Kovac. The stage backdrop is very colorful for this act and fit well the 60's retro feel of the song. Nina is joined on stage by three female backing singers all dressed very colorful. This is just borderline to make the big final.

07 – Russia
Artist : Alexej Vorobjov
Song : Get you
Music : Alexey Vorobyov, Eric Sanicola, AJ Junior, Bilal 'The Chef', RedOne
Lyrics : RedOne, Alexey Vorobyov, Bilal 'The Chef', AJ Junior, Eric Sanicola
Live report : Russia is one the most succesful countries in the recent history of the Eurovision Song Contest. This year, Alexej Vorobjov will represent the Russian federation with a song written by world famous producer RedOne who is responsible for several world hits of Lady Gaga. Get You is an up-tempo contemporany pop song which features a folkloric Russian intro. Alexej delivers one of the best vocal performances of tonight's show. This should make the final.

08 – Switzerland
Artist : Anna Rosinelli
Song : In love for a while
Composer : David Klein
Lyricist : David Klein
Live report : Switzerland takes the stage hoping for making a Eurovision final after a big absence. Anna Rosinelli is representing the central European country with a mid tempo pop song entitled In love for a while. The lead singer is joined on stage by two instrument players. The vocal performance is at a very good level and the Swiss people should be happy about this performance.

09 – Georgia
Artist : Eldrine
Song : One more day
Composer : DJ BE$$
Lyrics : DJ Rock, Miken
Live report : Georgia is next on stage. This year, a pop-rock band will represent the Caucasian country at the Eurovision Song Contest. Eldrin brought an epic religious backdrop on the LED screens of the stage in Duesseldorf. Their song is a pop-rock melody featuring some dark tunes. The vocals are decent and I fear that this would struggle in order to win one of the 10 tickets for the grand final.

10 – Finland – Paradise Oskar – Da da dam
Paradise Oskar from Finland is now on stage and he performs his acoustic guitar ballad entitled Da da dam. This entry remind us a lot of last year's song from Belgium. The vocal performance is at a very good level and the stage backdrop is very effective featuring our planet on the background of the stage. This should easily qualify for the final.

11 – Malta – Glen Vella – One life
Malta is next on stage. Glen Vella performs his pop dance song entitled One life. He is being joined on stage by three female backing vocalists wearing eccentric outfits and by two male dancers. The vocals are decent but this entry lacks something.

12 – San Marino – Senit – Stand by
San Marino decided to return this year to the Eurovision Song Contest. The Italian singer Senit represents the tiny European nation in Duesseldorf. Senit performs a contemporany soft rock ballad with a lot of confidence.

13 – Croatia – Daria Kinzer – Celebrate
Croatia decided to send a disco pop song. Daria togethe with her backing singers and dancers performed a very good rendition of their song. The choreography included some moments inspired by the former Latvian Eurovision winner, Marie N.

14 – Iceland – Sijoni's friends – Coming home
Iceland is represented by the friends of Sigurjon Brink who passed away in January this year. Some people regard this entry as the darkes horse in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest. Will the sad story behind this song increase their chances for the big prize? If so, some people will be rich.

15 – Hungary – Kati Wolf – What about my dreams
The biggest favourite to win this year's contest is now on stage. Kati Wolf performs her mainstream pop song but she sounds a little bit off-key here and there. She is joined by a crew of dancers and backng vocalists on stage but whom fail to support her act in a good way. Kate Ryan of 2011? I think so!

16 – Portugal – Homens da luta – A luta e alegria
Portugal decided to send a very interesting entry at this year's contest. Homens da luta perform a social inspired protest song showing messages in diffrerent languages on stage. The vocal performance is decent.

17 – Lithuania – Evelina – C'est ma vie
Evelina from Lithuania performs an old fashioned ballad written in English despire its French title. The vocal performance is at the highest level possible. This should win the jury voting.

18 – Azerbaijan – Eldar & Nigar – Running scared
Azerbaijan is next on stage. Eldar and Nigar perform their pop song entitled Running scared. The duo seem very confident and they sound as they could actually win the big trophy. Baku 2012?

19 – Greece – Stereo Mike featuring Lukas – Watch my dance
Greece decided to send a folkloric rap song to the Eurovision Song Contest. Although the chorus sounds incredibly beautiful we can't say the same about the rap part. This should sail into the final.

This concludes tonight's performances.

To the final :

• Serbia
• Lithuania
• Greece
• Azerbaijan
• Georgia
• Switzerland
• Hungary
• Finland
• Russia
• Iceland