We've all been looking forward to this evening for a long time: Today at 9 p.m. the final of this year's Eurovision Song Contest starts from the Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam. After two exciting semi-finals on Tuesday and Thursday, all 26 countries have been determined that can compete in the final and hope for victory.
And this is how the starting order in the final looks like:
- CYPRUS Elena Tsagrinou "El Diablo"
- ALBANIA Anxhela Peristeri “Karma”
- ISRAEL Eden Alene "Set Me Free"
- BELGIUM Hooverphonic "The Wrong Place"
- RUSSIA Manizha "Russian Woman"
- MALTA Destiny "Je Me Casse"
- PORTUGAL The Black Mamba "Love Is On My Side"
- SERBIA Hurricane “Loco Loco”
- UK James Newman "Embers"
- GREECE Stefania "Last Dance"
- SWITZERLAND Gjon's Tears "Tout l'Univers"
- ICELAND Daði og Gagnamagnið “10 Years”
- SPAIN Blas Canto "Voy A Qudarme"
- MOLDOVA Natalia Gordienko "Sugar"
- GERMANY Jendrik "I Don't Feel Hate"
- FINLAND Blind Channel “Dark Side”
- BULGARIA Victoria "Growing Up Is Getting Old"
- LITHUANIA The Roop "Discoteque"
- UKRAINE Go_A "Shum"
- FRANCE Barbara Pravi "Voilà"
- AZERBAIJAN Efendi “Mata Hari”
- NORWAY TIX "Fallen Angel"
- NETHERLANDSJeangu Macrooy "Birth of A New Age"
- ITALY Måneskin “Zitti E Buoni”
- SWEDEN chick "Voices"
- SAN MARINO Senhit feat. Flo Rida "Adrenaline"
As a warm-up, you can listen to all the songs from the finale on our Spotify playlist. You can download our evaluation sheet for tonight here. Until the start of the show, you can also take part in our betting game and/or read our live blog about yesterday's rehearsal.
The final can be followed from 9 p.m. on ARD, as a live stream on Eurovision.de and on the official ESC YouTube channel. Parallel to the finale, we will record all developments here in the live blog and would be happy if you commented on the events before, during and after the broadcast under this post. At 8:15 p.m., the “Countdown for Rotterdam” begins on ARD with Barbara Schöneberger and, among others, Michael Schulte, Zoe Wees, Sarah Connor and Jan Delay as musical guests.
Our pre-show for the final of the ESC 2021 starts at 7 p.m. on YouTube. We look forward to you spending the last moments before the finals with us and discussing who will win the finals with us.
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After the pre-show live stream is before the ESC final! Now Alina's and Stefan's forecast for the ESC final is running, at 8:15 p.m. I'll be in touch live here for the live blog with Barbara Schöneberger for the countdown on ARD! So prepare your snacks, cheese hedgehogs and other things, make sure you have enough (alcoholic) drinks and then I look forward to a really exciting evening together with you!
Barbara starts the countdown today without a live audience due to the pandemic and Peter Urban can also be heard directly. She built the logo directly into her outfit. Now we are introduced to our German starter Jendrik, who can still be seen in some backstage sequences. On the left you can see the countdown - 40 minutes left folks!
Jan Delay makes the musical start with "Oh Johnny", he performed the song in the 2011 finale - and he just released his new album yesterday. Now there is a short interview and a clip from Düsseldorf after the song.
Next up is Jendrik's journey to ESC via the music video shoot for "I Don't Feel Hate". Michael Schulte is now also on stage. Talking about his Lisbon experience, he believes Jendrik will be confident and confident in his performance - and most importantly, have fun. Michael also hopes to be back at the ESC soon - he was supposed to be commenting with Michael Urban in the Ahoy Arena.
Now the young Zoe Wees from Hamburg is announced, who is certainly not an unfamiliar name to you. She introduces her current single "Girls Like Us" from the debut EP released on Friday. Barbara asks about the message of her song, which is aimed at insecure but powerful women. Zoe is happy with everything she's experienced so far and will also star in a world premiere later in the show.
The presentation of the German jury follows, Consi and Janin are live in the studio. Until late at night, they deliberated on the German jury points and gave their vote. Again there were a few Jendrik backstage scenes.
Now a switch to Peter Urban, who is not there live in the Ahoy Arena. He highlights the difference of the 3,500 spectators present live, which would be a big plus for the artists. The applause function in the Eurovision app will also be discussed again. To persevere, Peter Urban gets a cheese hedgehog brought into the changing room.
We now welcome Michael Schulte on the show stage with "Stay", which has already become the next radio hit. Tradition is of course also the word for Sunday during the countdown, which Father Gereon Alter will speak this year with the motto "I Don't Feel Hate" from Duisburg.
After the word for Sunday, Sarah Connor is now on stage with her new song "Everything in me wants to you". You can hear 80s vibes here, too, right? But a pleasing radio-ready number. The hope for live concerts with her is of course great.
Now a switch to Jendrik, which was recorded just before the countdown show started. The hall is slowly filling up, he reports. But of course he's not in his stage outfit yet. He is easygoing and relaxed and is looking forward to realizing his goal of being able to compete on stage at the ESC.
We hear Jan Delay again with the song "Eule", which comes from his freshly released new album. The last minutes at the beginning of the show continue to pass, it's almost time!
The last minute is running…. I wish you all a great show, have fun and let's hope for a good result for Jendrik! Happy Eurovision!
We see Duncan Laurence, who unfortunately cannot perform due to his positive corona test, and a lot of sea and Dutch landscapes. For Peter Urban, today's ESC final is proof of hope for better times after the corona pandemic.
Now we are live in the Ahoy Arena, the flag parade begins with a DJ and the 26 finalists arrive. Of course, Jendrik is also there for Germany. Our hosts can also try their hand at music, at least three of them, because Nikki isn't there yet. There she is, Nikki is allowed to make an announcement, dancers and fireworks are coming. A spectacular start!
The moderators also welcome us from the Ahoy Arena with 3,500 spectators in the hall. The mood is great, for 3 hours the crisis can be forgotten and the music can be enjoyed.
Let the Eurovision Song Contest begin! So we start with Elena from Cyprus. I give points for all songs, feel free to comment on the performances!
01. Cyprus: Elena Tsagrinou - "El Diablo"
The choreography is as good as ever, and of course nothing has changed in the performance for the semifinals. A catchy song that is ideally suited as a prelude to the show, to whet your appetite for more, which is still to come today. Of course, Peter Urban can't refrain from the Lady Gaga comment on Cyprus - let's see if that will go down well with the German audience.
5 out of 10 points
02. Albania: Anxhela Peristeri - "Karma"
At Anxhela everything was right from the start, but I don't know to what extent starting number 2 is a sign for Albania that it was probably only just enough for the finals in the second semi. Nonetheless, a good performance from Anxhela, who will definitely give everything to score a lot of points for Albania.
6 out of 10 points
03. Israel: Eden Alene - "Set Me Free"
Eden Alene brings the dance spirit back to the Ahoy Arena. Her outfit fits, as does the choreography of the dancers. After Albania, of course, a vote catcher, maybe she can also score a few points with the juries with the highest note in the final.
5 out of 10 points
04. Belgium: Hooverphonic - "The Wrong Place"
Is Belgium the Dark Horse of ESC 2021? Geike delivers again vocally and also visually impresses. I think the camera work is particularly well done. In addition, the dark stage design with the bright light effects, which creates a great atmosphere. In the juries this will (hopefully) give our Belgian neighbors a lot of points!
8 out of 10 points
05. Russia: Manizha - "Russian Woman"
In between you can see how the audience in the Ahoy Arena rises from the stands. The mood is excellent, Manziha in top form and literally shines. The song will not only go down well in televoting in Eastern European countries. Maybe it really is enough for the top 5 place I guessed?
06. Malta: Destiny - "Je Me Casse"
I run the risk of repeating myself: But Destiny also delivers to the point today. Her voice is great, she is in a good mood and gives everything to bring the ESC victory to the Maltese island.
7 out of 10 points
07. Portugal: The Black Mamba - "Love Is On My Side"
I like the Portuguese song more and more every time I listen to it. A great performance that is just incredibly well staged. I'm excited to see where this ends up.
8 out of 10 points
08. Serbia: Hurricane - "Loco Loco"
With Serbia, the hall really rocks - and "Loco Loco" does exactly what it's supposed to. That could give you a few points in televoting, right? Maybe also from Germany, after all, the title was already in the YouTube trends.
5 out of 10 points
Now a quick switch to Nikki presenting the winners of the #EurovisionChallenge. Nikki called some past winners and asked about the winners' trophies. Emmelie de Forest's is broken, Duncan's has it cleaned every week.
09. Great Britain: James Newman - "Embers"
With Great Britain, things remain fast and at the same time different. The trumpets as stage props are definitely an eye-catcher, otherwise somehow not enough happens for me for the uptempo track “Embers”? Let's see if Great Britain finally gets more points again - they really wish they could.
5 out of 10 points
10. Greece: Stefania - "Last Dance"
The elaborately staged performance is also in the finale, there are no problems. Vocally Stefania delivers again, according to the home game in the Ahoy Arena there is a lot of applause for the young Stefania at the end.
6 out of 10 points
11. Switzerland: Gjon's Tears - "Tout l'univers"
Everything has already been said and hotly discussed about Switzerland's performance. Gjon simply delivers vocally. Switzerland will be up front, I have no doubt about that. How far ahead and even the victory? That is the question today.
8 out of 10 points
12. Iceland: Daði og Gagnamagnið - "10 Years"
Short mood picture: Daði og Gagnamagnið are great in my house - the hall is raging! Wow, that has to give a lot of points, doesn't it? I really hope that Iceland will at least make the top 10. Top!
9 out of 10 points
13. Spain: Blas Cantó - "Voy a quedarme"
As beautiful as the beginning is - why this disco change in the second chorus? But you can tell how emotional he is and that he sings this song from the deepest conviction. It remains to be seen whether the high notes at the end are absolutely necessary.
5 out of 10 points
14. Moldova: Natalia Gordienko - "Sugar"
The second half starts with... phew, Moldova. Didn't she get the microphone for a moment? Well, that was the only moment that made me sit up and take notice. Vocally it's just not on the level that many other acts offer here, no matter how styled the performance can be.
3 out of 10 points
15. Germany: Jendrik - "I Don't Feel Hate"
What a great performance by Jendrik! I think I speak for all of us in wishing Jendrik all the very best. It was light, happy and simply refreshing - exactly what the ESC needs.
I don't give any points for Germany because of bias.
16. Finland: Blind Channel - "Dark Side"
The green room goes along with it, and the audience goes wild too – Blind Channel obviously found their audience at the ESC. Let's see if the Wacken support brings points for the Finns in the televoting. In any case, they transported the energy from the song to the stage, that's for sure.
7 out of 10 points
Edsilia is at the top of the commentary boxes - but Peter Urban is there from Hamburg. Edsilia chats briefly with the Danish and Russian commentators and then the show continues
17. Bulgaria: VICTORIA - "Growing Up Is Getting Old"
That was one of Victoria's strongest performances in Rotterdam. Simply a great performance, their message and the stage design come into their own.
8 out of 10 points
18. Lithuania: The Roop - "Discoteque"
The Roop in their A-Game – every move, every note is spot on. This song, the whole performance, is perfected from start to finish. At the same time, Vaiodotas and his band simply remain natural – just The Roop.
10 out of 10 points – winner vibes
19. Ukraine: Go_A - "SHUM"
With Go_A, the entire appearance simply scores. No wonder this is going viral on YouTube and Spotify. In any case, we have to reckon with the Ukraine – no matter how many points there are – in the voting, they will end up far ahead.
7 out of 10 points
20. France: Barbara Pravi - "Voilà"
Peter Urban's announcement alone is already worthy of a win. This performance leaves you speechless, you can tell her emotionality with every note. "Voilà" is a self-written work of art and that is simply present in every moment. In addition to this reduced but captivating performance, the energetically staged finale. If France wins again, it will be this year.
10 out of 10 points with asterisks
21. Azerbaijan: Efendi - "Mata Hari"
Back to catchy beats with an ethno vibe – with Efendi everything has actually been said. The choreography rehearsed, the singing not too flashy (and not always so sure?).
5 out of 10 points
22. Norway: TIX - "Fallen Angel"
The most powerful moment for me is in the bridge, where TIX takes off his sunglasses. Knowing his story is really a special moment. The song sounds well known, but with the message it has a much stronger effect.
7 out of 10 points
23. Netherlands: Jeangu Macrooy - "Birth Of A New Age"
With the tailwind from the Ahoy Arena, Jeangu Macrooy delivers a great performance. His musical tones bring new diversity into the finale again. It doesn't matter where the Netherlands ends up, Jeangu will definitely continue his music career in the Netherlands after the ESC - good luck to him!
6 out of 10 points
24. Italy: Maneskin - "Zitti E Buoni"
Was that the winning performance? The hall also rages at Italy, fire and energy are in the performance - that should cause enthusiasm throughout Europe and Australia. The ESC could be the start of a career for Måneskin that will spread far beyond Italy.
8 out of 10 points
25. Sweden: Tusse - "Voices"
At the beginning, Peter Urban speaks of an “Only Teardrops” copy – am I the only one who hasn't noticed that at all? Otherwise a solid performance from Tusse, even if he seems a bit lost after Italy.
6 out of 10 points
26. San Marino: Senhit feat. Flo Rida - "Adrenaline"
It's that time again - we have the last of the 26 performances. Senhit is allowed to close the show this time and delivers the necessary adrenaline with Flo Rida. A round conclusion, there should be a few points in the televoting for San Marino.
6 out of 10 points
That's it! We saw all the performances. Who did you like the most? Were there any surprises? And the most important questions: Who will win and how do Germany and Switzerland fare?
Immediately there is already the first fast run and the telephone lines open. For me there is a very short break, then it continues in the live blog.
Who did you vote for? I have to click through now, but I will settle on France and Lithuania.
Here's a live picture of Benny and DP from the press center, the atmosphere seems to be boiling over there - these are the decisive moments in the final.
The first interval act is coming. Namely "Music Binds Us" by Afrojack, Wulff and Glennis Grace. I'll use the time to vote - if you haven't already, take the chance! This year every vote could really make the difference, it's more exciting than it's been for a long time. By the way: A great interval act, I think the integration of the Erasmus Bridge (which I stood on during my trip to Rotterdam in autumn 2019, my only trip to the ESC host city so far) is really great.
After the Intervalact there is another fast run. It can still be voted on, so get out those cell phones and let's get started!
A third episode of Nikki's Eurovision Tutorials revolved around tips on how to deal with the voting - stay cool, focus on the essentials and don't drink too much during the process!
We also got to see the stage construction in the Ahoy Arena in slow motion. Before the corona pandemic, Edsilia is now in carpools with former winners – including Ruslana and Anne-Marie David. Lordi thinks the latter is great, but she doesn't want to make friends with the outfits.
It can still be voted on. Next up are the rooftop performances with Lordi, Mans Zelmerlöw and we'll also hear new music from Duncan Laurence. Before that, a hymn of praise to the Eurovision fans who have remained loyal to the contest as ever.
This is now the third and probably last fast run.
Next switch to Nikki and Edsilia, now the mentioned rooftop performance. It starts with Mans and "Heroes". In any case, you can see that it was at the beginning of the year when the performances were recorded, Mans with scarf and jacket. Now teach-in with "Ding-A-Dong", who won for the Netherlands in 1975. Also Sandra Kim with "J'aime la vie" (winner for Belgium 1986) is there. The locations are really great. Now "De Troubadour" by Lenny Kuhr from 1969. Next up is Helena Paparizou with "My Number One", winner for Greece in 2005, with dancers of course. And now: Lordi! That was a banging finish for these amazing rooftop performances recorded over the rooftops of Rotterdam.
And now comes Duncan Laurence, who unfortunately cannot be in the arena. He performs "Arcade" as well as the new song "Stars", which gets a lot of applause from the audience in the Ahoy Arena. The out-of-space appearance comes mainly with "Stars", which literally seems to be performed between the stars, is beautifully staged.
Now the countdown is running, the last seconds of the voting window are shown as a dance – that hasn't happened before either.
It can no longer be voted on. The result is within reach. Edsilia is in the green room with Destiny from Malta who is very tense but happy to be around.
The transition to the new EBU supervisor Martin Österdahl. He verifies that the results of the jury voting were submitted correctly - "you're good to go"!
I try to document all 12 points in the jury voting as well as some short interim results. Now it's time to keep your fingers crossed for Jendrik!
Let's go in Israel... 12 points to Switzerland! Congratulations to Gjon's Tears!
12 from Poland to San Marino! This is a surprise.
12 from San Marino to.. France! The first 12 to Barbara Pravi.
12 from Albania to… Switzerland!
12 from Malta to… Albania!
12 from Estonia to… Switzerland! Gjon's Tears is ahead with 57 points.
12 from North Macedonia to… Serbia!
Top 3:
- Switzerland 63
- France 50th
- Italy 32
12 from Azerbaijan to Russia!
12 from Norway to Malta!
12 from Spain to France!
2 points for Germany from Austria! 8 to France, 10 to Switzerland. 12 to… Iceland!
Switzerland is ahead with 90 points, followed by France with 78 and Malta with 61 points.
12 from Britain to...France!
12 from Italy to Lithuania! No points for Switzerland.
12 from Slovenia to Italy!
12 from Greece to Cyprus!
12 from Latvia to Switzerland!
12 from Ireland to France!
12 from Moldova to Bulgaria!
12 from Serbia to France!
12 from Bulgaria to Moldova!
12 from Cyprus to Greece!
12 from Belgium to Switzerland!
After 22 of 39 juries, France is ahead of Switzerland with 140 points with 145 points. Edsilia in the greenroom with Gjon's Tears, who is second. Nikki is with Barbara Pravi from France, who is pleased that two French language songs are up front.
It continues with the remaining jury evaluations.
It goes to Barbara Schöneberger to us - to Germany! 10 to Switzerland, 12 to FRANCE!
12 from Australia to Malta!
12 from Finland to Switzerland!
From Portugal 12 points to Bulgaria!
12 from Ukraine to Italy!
12 from Iceland to Switzerland!
From Romania one point to Germany, only 6 for Moldova. 12 points to Malta!
12 from Croatia to Italy!
12 from the Czech Republic to Portugal!
12 from Georgia to Italy!
12 from Lithuania to Ukraine!
12 from Denmark to Switzerland!
12 from Russia to Moldova! 0 for France.
12 from France to Greece!
12 from Sweden to Malta!
12 from Switzerland to France!
12 from the Netherlands to…… FRANCE!
The top 5 of the jury:
- Switzerland 267 points
- France 248 points
- Malta 208 points
- Italy 206 points
- Iceland 196 points
This much is clear – nothing is decided here at all. The tension is close enough to touch. For the moment, Gjon's Tears is ahead for Switzerland. Jendrik is 25th with 3 points, Great Britain last with 0 points.
Now the time has come and the results of the public voting will be announced.
First the points for UK, then Germany, then further up.
Great Britain… zero points.
Germany… zero points.
Spain… zero points.
Netherlands…. zero points.
4 times zero points from the audience.
60 points to Norway.
82 points to Serbia.
35 points to Albania.
33 points to Azerbaijan.
13 points to San Marino.
63 points to Sweden.
44 points to Cyprus.
62 points to Moldova.
162 points to LITHUANIA. 12 points from the German audience.
3 points to Belgium….
20 points to Israel.
218 points to Finland. Finland is now at the top.
Now the top 10 audience votes. It's really exciting - who wins?
Greece… 79 points.
Ukraine… 267 points now ahead with 364 points.
Russia… 100 points.
27 points to Portugal.
30 points to Bulgaria.
Iceland gets….. 180 points! Iceland is now ahead.
Italy…………… 318 points. That's 524 points.
Malta, France and Switzerland are still left.
Will Italy win?
Malta…. 47 points.
Switzerland and France remain. Italy is ahead.
France gets….. 251 points. Second place for Barbara Pravi with 499 (!) points currently.
Switzerland needs 258 points to pass. Drama Drama Drama! Who wins?…..
For Switzerland there is…. 165 points!
ITALY WINS THE EUROVISION SONG CONTEST 2021!
Måneskin with "Zitti e buoni" the winners of this year's ESC. That's a word. Congratulations! After 31 years, Italy wins the ESC.
Måneskin are preparing backstage to perform their winning title again. And TIX and Efendi are currently meeting in the green room - what's next? We will keep at it...
So next year we're off to Italy!
Måneskin address the whole of Europe and Australia: "Rock'n'Roll never dies!"
At the end there was the winning performance "Zitti e Buoni" and that was it, the 65th Eurovision Song Contest 2021.
Now the first continues with the afterparty with Barbara Schöneberger and musical guests, Michael Schulte, Zoe Wees and others will perform again.
Thanks to everyone who took part and commented. Have a nice evening, however you end it and have a nice Pentecost Sunday!
We hope to see you again at 8 p.m. for ESC Compact LIVE on YouTube. See you then and buona notte!
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