Eurovision 2017: Live updates from the grand final jury show

by Jessica Weaver 17,170 views

It’s time to determine the first set of votes for tomorrow night’s grand final of the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest! Juries from across the 42 participating nations are gathered to witness tonight’s jury show and decide their votes for this year’s competition. Who will stand out and shine among the jury this year?

Tonight sees the 26 finalists, who were each determined over the past week, competing for the penultimate time before tomorrow evening’s grand final live broadcast. However in tonight’s show, 50% of the final votes will be determined via the specialist jury members before being presented in tomorrow’s live show via each country’s selected spokesperson.

The remaining 50% of the vote will be decided via a public televote tomorrow evening, the results of which will be unveiled by the hosts during the second half of the voting.

The show begins

A special video opens tonight’s show; beads featured in the official 2017 logo are seen in various places across Ukraine, before cameras pan back to the arena with a lights show airing across the arena.

A country flag parade takes place on stage with each of the 26 finalists being presented one after another onstage. The flags are projected onto the stage before the artist walks out, being introduced to the excitable public at the arena in order of their appearance in the final. The only exception to the flag presentation is that Ukraine is the final country to be presented.

The 3 hosts then take to the stage wearing glittery suits who go on to speak about Ukraine’s previous hosting experience with the contest back in 2005, before the voting system is explained and the ‘lines open’.

01 Israel: IMRI – I feel alive

IMRI opens tonight’s jury show with his song I feel alive. Dance-vibes fill the arena with tonight’s opening act, with confidence flowing from the Israeli singer tonight. A great opening for the 2017 competition with a powerful party performance. Potential to do well with the televote tomorrow night.

02 Poland: Kasia Moś – Flashlight

Poland is next to take to the stage tonight in spot number 2 with her powerful ballad. As with the first semi-final, Kasia’s vocals shine in the arena and take over the whole performance. Could appeal to both the jury tonight as well as the public televote tomorrow evening.

03 Belarus: NAVIBAND – Story of my life

Next onstage today is NAVIBAND from Belarus, both of whom seem a lot more relaxed in tonight’s show compared with the semi-final. Yet another fun and energetic performance from the duo, receiving a positive reaction from the audience towards the end of the performance.

04 Austria: Nathan Trent – Running on air

Yet another relaxed performance from Nathan Trent for Austria tonight with another solid vocal performance from the Austrian singer tonight. Performing this early in the final may be a disadvantage when it comes to the televote, however the Nathan may fare well with the juries tonight.

05 Armenia: Artsvik – Fly with me

Artsvik is next onstage tonight for her performance, seemingly a lot more confident in tonight’s jury final than previously. Artsvik works well with the cameras tonight and her backing dancers with highly effective staging. One of the strongest performances from Armenia so far and looks likely to stand well in tonight’s show.

06 Netherlands: OG3NE – Lights and shadows

The Dutch trio are next onstage tonight for their jury show performance, providing further quality in tonight’s show. Connection between the 3 sisters remains as strong as with previous performances, with the message and backstory of the song coming across entirely onstage. A vocally powerful performance which may go in their favour in tonight’s jury show.

07 Moldova: Sunstroke Project – Hey mamma!

From a strong ballad and straight on to another party song with Moldova and Sunstroke Project. The arena gets up and dancing in tonight’s show and is a clear favourite amongst the audience tonight. May fare better with the televote than the jury in the final, but the danceability factor remains strong in Moldova’s performance and provides plenty of fun onstage.

08 Hungary: Joci Papai – Origo

Plenty of variety is seen in tonight’s final as Hungary is next to take to the stage, bringing a unique and different sound to this year’s competition. Although a stand-out performance in the second semi-final, performing between 2 energetic songs could see Hungary becoming lost on the night of the televote. However tonight’s strong performance can fare well with the jury, together with the different genre being introduced to the contest.

09 Italy: Francesco Gabbani – Occidentali’s karma

One of the big favourites is next to take to the stage tonight with Francesco Gabbani and Italy. Francesco interacts well onstage and gets the audience involved, with camera shots panning to the audience during to chorus when performing the all-famous gorilla dance. One cameraman managed to accidentally get into the frame, however this shouldn’t have an influence in the final outcome. Certainly a stand-out performance from Italy tonight and a big contender.

10 Denmark: Anja Nissen – Where I am

Denmark is next onstage tonight with a few lighting problems initially at the start, however problems are soon forgotten as Anja’s powerful vocals light up the whole arena, remaining strong throughout. However, performing between 2 big favourites such as Italy and Portugal will be at a disadvantage for the singer.

11 Portugal: Salvador Sobral – Amar pelos dois

Yet another magical and clean performance from Salvador tonight, bringing elegance to the arena and charming the audience in the process. The simplicity of the song and performance as a whole makes the whole entry of Portugal even more magical. Continuing to rise in the betting odds, Portugal could receive their best results to date at the 2017 contest.

12 Azerbaijan: Dihaj – Skeletons

Following a short break, Dihaj is next to take to the stage tonight with one of her best performances to date. Small vocal problems as well as issues with the chalk have been fixed from the semi-final performance and stand well in tonight’s performance. The artistry of the performance may attract both jury and televote.

13 Croatia: Jacques Houdek – My friend

Croatia’s up next with his 2 character performance, featuring his now known complex vocal production. Improvisations may have been slightly overworked in tonight’s performance, however the magic remains with the 2 character story taking charge in tonight’s show. Two strongly artistic performances in the running order, however which one will shine brighter in the final will be seen tomorrow.

14 Australia: Isaiah – Don’t come easy

A solid performance from Isaiah tonight with vocals sounding a lot more under control in tonight’s show. Juries may well appreciate the staging and vocal performance from Isaiah, however whether the performance itself will stand-out to the voting public tomorrow night remains unknown.

15 Greece: Demy – This is love

Moving on from the second break of the evening, this time with Demy from Greece. A good performance once again from the Greek singer tonight, with Demy looking visibly happy to be on the final stage this evening. No visible differences from the previous performance and may well make an impression with the televote tomorrow evening.

16 Spain: Manel Navarro – Do it for your lover

Strong summer vibes enter the arena next with Spain and Manel Navarro. Tunes change throughout Spain’s performance with an overall good performance from the singer. The staging works well with the song itself, however performing in between 2 entries with strong presence in visual effects may be a disadvantage in the long run.

17 Norway: JOWST – Grab the moment

The masks are back on fine form in tonight’s show following a technical error in the semi-final 2 jury show with Norway. A solid show from JOWST tonight which works well with the song itself, with the song itself potentially appealing more to the televote.

A break follows featuring a video clip with the 2017 hosts together with Måns Zelmerlöw.

18 United Kingdom: Lucie Jones – Never give up on you

Lucie Jones takes to the stage next with her powerful ballad Never give up on you. Although looking slightly stressed in tonight’s show, Lucie delivers yet another strong performance this evening, potentially placing well with the juries tonight similarly to Jade Ewen back in 2009. The ballad itself may also stand-out within the group of mid- to uptempo songs.

19 Cyprus: Hovig – Gravity

Next up is the complex choreography from Cyprus’s Hovig with an overall good performance tonight. Although not a smooth as the semi-final performance with a few voice breaks here and there, as well as some timing issues towards the latter half of the performance, the choreography still works well with Cyprus tonight.

20 Romania: Ilinca feat. Alex Florea – Yodel it!

The fun duo from Romanian are next onstage today for their jury performance, once again providing plenty of energy and lively-vibes across the arena this evening. The duo seem to be saving themselves for tomorrow evening in terms of energy onstage, however the audience still appreciates the Romanian performance this evening and receives a good reaction.

21 Germany: Levina – Perfect life

A nice performance from Levina this evening with her entry Perfect life. Although simplistic, the staging works nicely with Levina who is vocally solid throughout. Whether it’s enough to make a big impression tomorrow evening remains unseen, however the jury may be in favour of the performance.

22 Ukraine: O.Torvald – Time

Bringing rock to the stage tonight is O.Torvald from the host nation of Ukraine, with very different staging to that from their national selection performance. The big statue head returns to the stage this evening with spotlights shining brightly from its eyes, surrounding the arena.

23 Belgium: Blanche – City lights

Blanche is next onstage tonight for her jury show performance with one of her strongest performances to date. Expressions, vocals and the overall performance are a lot more polished in tonight’s show with everything falling into place. A very solid performance from the Belgian singer tonight which could fare well all-round.

24 Sweden: Robin Bengtsson – I can’t go on

Yet another sleek performance from the Swedish performer tonight, with the performance as a whole going to plan with the choreography working well tonight. A latter part of the song sounded slightly off at points, but the strong performance should go in Robin’s favour tomorrow, particularly with the televote.

25 Bulgaria: Kristian Kostov – Beautiful mess

Another betting odds’ favourite takes to the stage this evening with Kristian Kostov, performing at an unsurprisingly strong level once again. Although seeming slightly stressed at the start of the performance, it’s yet another strong show from Bulgaria this year and is sure to stand out amongst both the jury and televote.

26 France: Alma – Requiem

Alma from France is the final act onstage tonight before the voting kicks off in the arena. A nervous start from Alma, however the French singer’s confidence soon grows throughout the song and towards the end. A big part of France’s performance this year in the backdrop which certain has a big impact on the performance as a whole, becoming the main focal point.

‘Voting’ opens

Three interval acts feature in tonight’s show with performances from the previous 2 Ukrainian Eurovision winners, Ruslana and Jamala, together with Ukrainian act Onuka.

The dummy results are in!

Here are the dummy results of tonight’s jury show. The results are determined completely at random and has no impact on the actual results:

  1. Armenia: 436 points
  2. Romania: 415 points
  3. Ukraine: 356 points
  4. Germany: 339 points
  5. Denmark: 288 points
  6. Croatia: 247 points
  7. Belgium: 245 points
  8. Norway: 237 points
  9. Australia: 215 points
  10. Italy: 212 points
  11. United Kingdom: 207 points
  12. Belarus: 198 points
  13. Spain: 180 points
  14. Cyprus: 174 points
  15. Netherlands: 153 points
  16. Azerbaijan: 132 points
  17. Bulgaria: 123 points
  18. Hungary: 120 points
  19. Israel: 108 points
  20. Sweden: 85 points
  21. Austria: 83 points
  22. Poland: 81 points
  23. Moldova: 65 points
  24. Portugal: 64 points
  25. France: 58 points
  26. Greece: 51 points