The excitement of the ten qualifying countries from the first Eurovision Song Contest first semi final tonight was intense. Already speculation as to which countries qualified from televoting and which country was lucky enough to pass to the final by way of the back-up jury has begun.
Many suspect that Norway was the jury's choice to qualify. The theory is based on the fact that no other country from Western Europe qualified from tonight's final. The final positions will not be revealed until after the Eurovision Song Contest final on Saturday. The theory goes back to the 2007 semi final where none of the ten qualifying countries came from what is seen as 'Western Europe'.
Others speculate that Israel may have been the country to benefit from the jury vote. This is based on the fact that the majority of countries that qualified came from the latter half of the running order. They argue that Israel was at such a disadvantage from singing in second place that only the jury could allow the song to pass to the final.
Others argue that Azerbaijan or Poland, who were seen as outsiders by bookmakers, may have been the lucky choice of the back-up juries.
The two countries that qualify for Saturday's Eurovision Song Contest final by way of the jury vote will not be known until after the final on Saturday. Only then will the speculation end and we will know which countries passed through via the new selection method.
