Stranger shame, fire show, crooked sounds This is how crazy the first ESC semi-final was

Between a fiery violin, Dracula look and off-key tones: the first ESC semi-final in Vienna offered spectacular performances, embarrassing moments and a host with plenty of room for improvement. blue News provides the five most important facts for you to talk about.

Two countries performed out of competition as the so-called "Big Five": Sal Da Vinci performed the song "Per sempre si" for Italy, while Sarah Engels took to the stage for Germany with "Fire". The "Big Five" are considered the biggest financial backers of the ESC and are therefore automatically qualified for the final.

Admittedly: Anyone who takes over after the show in Basel with Sandra Studer, Hazel Brugger and Michelle Hunziker has a hard time. Topping the Swiss trio's gigashow almost borders on "Mission Impossible". The bar is set extremely high.

Presenter Victoria Swarovski and actor Michael Ostrowski have set themselves this task.

First of all, the positive side: the two were not lacking in charm. But: the wit, the mischief, the interaction between the Swiss hosts - that is still a far cry from their performance yesterday.

This was evident, for example, during the "note-explainer" at the university: Swarovski explained the ESC grading system - a rather wooden affair. Even the toothpaste smile and the tight-fitting glitter outfit, somewhere between Christmas ball and disco look, didn't help much. Hazel Brugger's lightness and precision were particularly lacking in such humorous interludes.

Actor Michael Ostrowski was also noticeable: The theater stage and the film world are his home, the big TV show stage is not his territory. The stripped-down look does little to change this - was that supposed to be a disco outfit? Or was it carnival again? We don't know ...

The Austrian duo's first warm-up is not yet convincing. The interplay is too bumpy, the moderation too wooden.

There's still a lot to optimize. And time is running out. The second semi-final takes place on Thursday - the Grand Final on Saturday.

For this, blue News gives it a score of 4.5 - solid, but with plenty of room for improvement.

The first semi-final starts with an intro of a gay couple watching the ESC decades together on TV - until the death of one of the partners. At the end, the surviving man sits alone at the piano and performs the ESC hit "L'amour est bleu" by Vicky Leandros. And then she was there: legendary singer Leandros opened the evening. The ESC dancer brigade stood around her and sang along to the evergreen. The dancers simply stood there and sang along - not exactly a hit.

Swarovski and Ostrowski repeatedly try to fire up the crowd in the Wiener Stadthalle - to create a good atmosphere. They succeed - to a certain extent.

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After all, the moderation duo Swarovski and Ostrowski made a visible effort to create a good atmosphere - for example by dressing up in the Green Room in a green janker or performing a joint number with Australia's previous year's participant Go-Jo on the Anglo-Saxon confusion of Austria and Australia. Oversized Mozartkugel, dancing kangaroo and the fantasy state of "Austrialia" included. Nice.

The Swiss news portal "Watson.ch" describes it appropriately: "Austria put on a mediocre, old-fashioned show.

That's not 12 points - more like 4. But there is hope: it can only get better.

There was no shortage of musical fireworks - even if there was the occasional off-key note. The Republic of Moldova got off to a brilliant start with the rap song "Viva Moldova!".

And Sarah Engels - out of competition - also put in a cool performance with her song "Fire".

There were also some lowlights. Right at the top: Lithuania's bizarre performance of "Sólo quiero más" by Lion Ceccah. Is it a disguised Dracula on stage - or is it Fantomas after all? And what is the message supposed to be? No idea, but it doesn't matter. The whole thing is too arty and contrived.

Another loser of the evening was the singing combo from Portugal. The Bandidos do Cante delivered a vocally rather shaky performance - plus a song that was more an invitation to fall asleep than to get excited. Sorry, but it sounds a lot like "Zero Points" - no matter how much puppy dog eyes you have.

The scorching violin duo Linda Lampenius & Pete Parkkonen with "Liekinheitin" provided an ESC spectacle in a class of its own. What a hot show.

And Sweden's perfect techno performance by Felicia with "My System". She proves once again: when it comes to performance and show, the Swedes simply have the edge.

And then Sal da Vinci suddenly appears on stage in all white and sings "Per sempre si" - a real goosebump moment.

Veronica Fusaro will compete in the second semi-final on Thursday evening. The TV show starts at 9 pm. blue News tickers for you.

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