Congratulations Azerbaijan!

They've only been in the contest a few years, but it hasn't taken Azerbaijan long to win it!

Congratulations to Eldar and Nigar who won this year's Eurovision with "Running Scared".

Italy came second with Raphael Gualazzi and "Follia D'Amore". Not a bad result either after their 13 year absence. Welcome back Italia!

Baku 2012 anyone?

Eurovision Semi 1

Last night we successfully managed to predict 8 of the 10 qualifiers from the first Semi Final. We didn't pick Lithuania (who did?!) or Georgia, having plumped for Turkey (how did it not qualify?) and Poland.

Time now for us to watch the first dress rehearsal of the second semi, which is probably harder to call.

It's all getting very exciting now!

Time for the UK

Let's take a look at the United Kingdom now. The staging includes 4 large video screens with footage of the Blue boys.

The screens can also make the words I CAN.

The boys all sounded in good vocal form, although we're a little concerned about the backing track. For some reason the track is stripped down a lot for the first chorus, which seems strange. The first chorus needs to be strong and bold, and, at the moment, it doesn't hit the spot.

Good, but not quite there yet. But that's what rehearsals are for....so let's see what tomorrow brings.

France - 12 points?

The favourite now, Amaury Vassili from France, with the opera ballad, Sognu.

An utterly brilliant backdrop of rolling clouds and Amaury's faultless vocals could see a French win for the first time since 1977.

Although there are some that think the song may be a little sophisticated for televoters, it's great to see France in with a real chance of victory.

Ding Dong - the big five enter the stage

It's Saturday and the so-called 'Big 5' have entered the building.

But five of semi 2's countries rehearsed first this morning, including Eric Saade for Sweden and Dana International for Israel. There's been talk that Sweden is below par - tosh! This is the Melodifestivalen performance on the ESC stage, and it's going to be in the Final. Smashing!

Eurovision winner 1998, Dana International, gave a competent rehearsal. She's not got the best voice, and we are disappointed that the routine used in the national final (with the five girls in long dresses) has been ditched. Even with a diva-like strut on the catwalk at the end, we're still on the fence about whether this will qualify. But, you've got to hand it to DI, she's good value for money, and her press conference was a riot.

News on France next!

Everything is sounding good to us!

Rehearsals continue here in Germany, and, to be honest, there aren't really any acts who are giving bad performances. From Friday's batch we particularly enjoyed Iceland and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

During Iceland's press conference we were treated to a medley of past Eurovision hits by the multi-talented Sjonni's Friends. And Dino Merlin told us about his previous Eurovision experiences back in 1993 (Dino wrote Sva Bol Svijeta, and loved the orchestra in Millstreet) and 1999 (Dino sand Putnici with Beatrice, and had a great time but the venue in Jerusalem was much smaller).

From other rehearsals Hungary is sounding good, although we're not sure the stage presentation is quite as strong as it could be; the song's video is so good that it's a hard act to follow.

Austria is also gaining a lot of support. And, although the song doesn't really appeal to us, it has to be said that vocally Nadine is brilliant. We're expecting it to qualify now.

The day ended with a fan party at the Euroclub, where no fewer than 23 acts performed their songs.

Excitement is building today as the Big 5 enter the fray. Check back later for our thoughts.

By Georgia!

We went along to the Georgian party last night, held in the Euroclub. Initially it didn't look like we were going to get in, but with a little patience and some assistance from our friends at esc.kaz (thanks guys!) we enjoyed a fabulous evening of Georgian hospitality.

In addition to a performance by Eldrine, we heard from the Georgian entrants from 2007 and 2010. Both Sophos were in great voice!

Also spotted amongst the crowd were Stella from Norway and Paradise Oskar from Finland.

The night ended with a Eurovision disco, so we had a nice little dance....

Will Vella bring Eurovision to Valetta?

The final rehearsal we saw yesterday was Malta. Glen Vella has a really good voice and the routine works well. Quite whether One Life is strong enough to qualify remains to be seen, but if prizes were given out for effort, then this would be among the contenders.

One thing you can't deny is that Glen is the life and soul of the party scene here in Germany. He's having a great time, and seems to be thoroughly enjoying his Eurovision experience. Good on him!

Superb Serbia and Rousing Russia

A word now on Serbia and Russia.

Nina sings Čaroban, and it's brilliant! The psychedelic backdrop is the perfect accompaniment for this retro track, and we're in no doubt this will qualify.

Alexej Vorobjov and Get You is also impressive. This is one of the few songs this year that employs quite a bit of stage business. There are big screens that move around and everyone on stage has lights on their shoes and on the back of their leather jackets.

Pole Position

After a night at the Euroclub, Eurovision Express is now in the thick of things watching the rehearsals from Semi Final 1.

First up this morning was Magdalena from Poland with Jestem. A very good performance, which has an excellent chance of qualifying for the Final. Slick choreography, fantastic vocals, this is a modern Eurosong near its best.

Norway next. The fabulous Per Sundnes, host of the Norwegian MGP, popped over to us and threw some Stella Mwangi badges at us. Stella and her fellow 5 performers gave a joyous performance, and, although we have doubts about whether juries will like this, it should definitely garner its fair share of televotes.

Planet Jedward lands in Germany!

Irish entrants Jedward had their first rehearsal today. The guys were full of beans and interacted with fans and journalists before hitting the stage.

They gave aq good performance with a fantastic backdrop which features the boys in silhouette minus the bouffant hair-dos.

The onlookers seemed very impressed with the unexpectedly good vocals and sound and the visual presentation was remarkably good too. They even sang at thier press coinference and delighted the assembled throng of journalists. Ireland should qualify with this bouncy number!

Well done boys!

Germany, we have arrived!

Eurovision Express has arrived in Düsseldorf, and after dropping our bags at our apartment we made our way to the Arena.

We got there in time to see Romania's Hotel FM rehearse Change. The lead singer sounds great, and the chances for this entry to qualify look good. It is quite an old-fashioned sounding song, but is very instant.

Estonia is currently on stage, and we'll soon make our first foray into a press conference.

Apparently tonight there is a Turkish party at the Euroclub which we'll hopefully pop into...although we may need a nap after getting up at 4.45 this morning!

Semi 2 - our final 5 qualifiers

Yesterday we revealed that we thought Sweden, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Belarus, Denmark and Romania would qualify to the Final from Semi 2. Today we predict who might take the other 5 spaces.

First up is Dana International from Israel with Ding Dong. This is a tricky one, because at the Israeli national final the vocals weren't good, but neither was the sound equipment. Initially we thought the Eurovision winner from 1998 might not make it to the Final, but we're now more optimistic. Ding Dong is old school Eurovision, and in a semi that, particularly at the beginning, doesn't appear that strong, a catchy song may be enough to qualify.

Latvia next. Musiqq sing Angel In Disguise. Yes we preferred Banjo Laura, but the Latvian entry could do quite well. It seems pretty credible as a song, and if the two guys give it their all, they may well engage some of the younger viewers. Definitely a worthy effort that deserves a place in the Final.

Another Baltic country, Estonia, is the following song on our list. Rockfeller Street by Getter Jaani is one of the most modern and quirky songs in the Contest. We're sure juries will reward it and slightly more adventurous televoters will love it too. It's very high in the betting, but quite whether it's an absolute winner is debatable.

Spot number 9 goes to Ukraine, partly because it is Ukraine. Just like Greece, Ukraine has hardly put a foot wrong in Eurovision terms over the past few years. They could well have won the Contest if they had sent Smile, but Angel, sung by Mika Newton, may well just squeeze them through to another final.

And finally, Ireland! Yes, we think the Jedward boys will qualify. Infectious, lively and pretty modern, Lipstick is a really good pop song. Jedward don't have the best vocals, we know that, but their personalities should make up for a lack of singing ability.

So there are our predictions for the two semis. With rehearsals now well under way, it's going to be exciting to see if our opinions change!

Eurovision 2011 kicks off!

Eurovision 2011 is underway! The German city of Dusseldorf plays host to 43 competing nations. Eurovision Express will be arriving in Eurovision land on Wednesday, so look out for our reports! In the meantime may we recommend that you follow rehearsals through our good friends at All Kinds Of Everything via their blog here.

Semi 2 - our first five predictions

Time to turn our attention to which songs we think are most likely to qualify for the Final from Semi 2. We'll reveal - in no particular order - our first 5 countries today, with 5 more tomorrow.

First up we reckon that after one year out, Sweden will be back in the Final this year. Popular by Eric Saade wouldn't have been our first choice from the songs in Melodifestivalen, but it's very catchy, is slickly choreographed and the glass smashing gimmick comes just at the right time. Fingers crossed there's no Schalgerfiasko this year!

Staying in Scandinavia our second prediction is for Denmark. Again A Friend in London's song, New Tomorrow, wasn't our favourite in the Danish national final, but it's anthemic, engaging and likely to appeal to juries and a wide cross section of the voting public. And if they keep the big blow up balls in the presentation so much the better!

Our third choice is Belarus. Controversial, eh? Well not really. Anastasiya Vinnikova sings I love Belarus, and we think it's just really good fun. It's one of the few old style Eurovision songs in the Contest, and juries might not be too generous with their points, but we think viewers will enjoy the sheer exuberance of it all.

Next up is Bosnia-Herzegovina with Dino Merlin and Love In Rewind. We're not quite sure exactly what this song is about, but as soon as we heard it we loved it! It possesses one of the strongest melodies in the Contest, and we love the over exaggerated mannerisms in the performance. We don't see it winning the whole thing, but it deserves Top 10.

Our final prediction today is Romania. Hotel FM are unlikely to replicate the top 3 position that Romania scored last year, but this song should have broad support. Yes, Change sounds like it wouldn't be out of place in a mid 90s UK Song For Europe, but what's wrong with that?

Be sure to check back tomorrow to see who we think will join Sweden, Denmark, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Romania in the Final.