The Netherlands must try to qualify for the final of the Eurovision Song Contest on Tuesday evening. Fifteen countries compete for ten spots. Will the Netherlands manage to finish in the top ten?
Our country has had a good dress rehearsal. Journalists were allowed to watch for the first time. The act of Dion Cooper and Mia Nicolai is enchantingly portrayed. It surprised the press in a positive way, but there are still vocal points for improvement. In that respect, the background singers brought to Liverpool have been a good move by the team behind the Dutch entry.
The main competitors are Croatia, Sweden, Israel, Norway, Finland and the Czech Republic on Tuesday night. They seem almost certain of a place in the final.
Victory
Swedish singer Loreen is aiming for victory in Liverpool. Eleven years ago she already won the Eurovision Song Contest with the song Euphoria and this year she wants to follow in the footsteps of Johnny Logan and take a second win. “I was asked for it,” she says. “And there was a good song. I participate because I love the Eurovision Song Contest and for my audience.”
Sweden is currently at the top of the bookmakers. In Liverpool she has time for everyone and she wraps every journalist around her finger. Still, it was still a job to get the stage act in order. She uses an installation where she lies and stands in the middle and the buddy she used in the Swedish final didn’t fit on the Liverpool stage. “I don’t just give up. It had to work out,” she says. With her song Tattoo she is now in the Dutch charts. “I didn’t know that and that’s good for me.”
Insane act
Most insane act to perform on Tuesday night comes from Croatia. It’s complete anarchy on stage, with rockets and performers in their underwear. They sing about a mean little psychopath, a dictator. The band Let 3, which has been around since 1987, has an enormous track record in the Balkan country. The members of the band, all in their 60s, are women’s and LGBT rights advocates. The country comes up with an anti-war song, singing that mom bought a tractor.
Let 3 is known for obscene live performances and their lyrics are often provocative and vulgar. In 2006, the Croatian police band imposed a fine because its members performed naked, which they themselves contested. The fine was only a few tenners. And in 2007, the band members simulated sexual acts on stage, dressed in folk costumes from Serbia and Albania.
The best was saved for last on Tuesday night. Finland comes up with a song in their own language that most closely resembles a mix between a schlager and a rock song. But the fun splashes off the screen when Finnish singer Käärija grunts in the song Cha Cha Cha get lost in a dance with four flamenco dancers.
Dutchman
The lyrics of the song are about a man who uses pina coladas to drink up his courage to dance at a party. One of Finland’s dancers is Jesse Wijnans, a Dutchman who gained fame in our country with his participation in the popular TV show Dancing with the stars . He also works with illusionist Hans Klok.
Tuesday NPO 1, 9 p.m