Finland and Denmark out of Eurovision 2015
Disappointment among fans as Finland’s disabled electric punk group fail to make it through the first semi-final, along with last year’s hosts
Last night the first Eurovision Song Contest semi-final had a shock result as both Finland and Denmark failed to make it through to this year’s grand final.
Denmark has a good track record in the competition, having appeared in the top five 14 times. They hosted the competition last year after scooping victory in 2013 with Emmelie de Forest’s Only Teardrops.
There was a flurry of online frustration when Finland also missed a spot in this year’s final. Their electric punk group PKN, made up of four men with developmental disabilities, was one of the most highly anticipated acts. They’d already broken a record for entering the shortest song in the competition's 60-year history at 1 minute 30, but PKN won’t get a chance to compete for this year’s top prize after failing to make the top 10.
Moldova, Netherlands, F.Y.R Macedonia, Belarus also didn't qualify.
Greece, Romania and Russia all retained their record of qualifying for every grand final since the introduction of semi-finals in 2004. Plus, Albania returns to the final after a three-year absence.
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Here are this year’s first 10 qualifiers:
Albania - Elhaida Dani with I’m Alive
Armenia - Genealogy with Face the Shadow
Belgium - Loic Nottet with Rhythm Inside
Estonia - Elina Born & Stig Rasta with Goodbye to Yesterday
Greece - Maria-Elena Kyriakou with One Last Breath
Georgia - Nina Sublatti with Warrior
Hungary - Boggie with Wars For Nothing
Russia - Polina Gagarina with A Million Voices
Romania - Voltaj with All Over Again
Serbia - Bojana Stamenov with Beauty Never Lies
Eurovision Song Contest semi-finals continue on Thursday at 8pm on BBC3
