So what did we learn from Thursday night?

Well, children of Europe, Thursday night’s Eurovision 2025 semifinal certainly gave us something to talk about. Unless, of course, you are reading this in March, in which case who knows what happened? I’m not psychic.

Who made it through?

The result contained several surprises, although not all of them were pleasant ones.

Lithuania finishing at the top was the biggest shock. I had been fully expecting the pretty-boy goth rock to fall flat on its face. Perhaps the diaspora had something to do with it. Who knows? Greece also left me nearly falling out of my chair: an ethereal song performed by what appeared to be your geography teacher was not a qualifier I had confidently foreseen.

Then there was Denmark. I had assumed it would get through because, well, ten songs had to go through to the next round, didn’t they? That doesn’t alter the fact that it makes my skin crawl every time I see it.

The songs we loved and lost

The non-qualifiers brought their own share of pain, amusement and bafflement.

Australia produced the biggest guffaw in the OnEurope towers. I’m not sure this “song” should ever have been anywhere near the contest, and for me it is emblematic of SBS at Eurovision: they started strongly, then lost the plot and have fallen off a cliff.

Montenegro was killed by its staging, although, if we’re being honest, the song itself was not good enough. Ireland flattered to deceive. I thought Emmy had managed to pull it off and would scrape through, though she may have finished 11th for all we know at this stage. Georgia seemed to be trying far too hard to remain neutral and simply failed.

The result I feel most sorry about is Adonxs from Czechia. This looked capable of achieving a really decent final placing, but it fell foul of the televote and I cannot work out why or how. The performance seemed OK, yet I suspect there was a disconnect between the meaning of the song, conveyed so exquisitely in the preview video, and what appeared on stage last night.

I still believe the dance break was simply a device for padding the song out to three minutes. If that was not its purpose, then I am stunned and gutted.

Serbia hurt almost as much. Princ’s song belonged to another Eurovision era, but I had convinced myself that it would squeak through once again. Instead, my heart was smashed into a thousand pieces.

What comes next?

At the time of writing, Mr Nick is being entertained by the press preview of the final. He has threatened another stream-of-consciousness post, so that may be on its way.

Tonight I’m doing the very long live blog of the Jury Final. There might also be an extra post on Saturday afternoon, given that I’m stuck here at home, before the big show on Saturday night.