Eurovision 2011: It's once more unto the breach, dear Jedward

Eurovision Song Contest / Eliot Pollak / 11 May 2011 /

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"Expect the big beasts such as Ukraine and the Republic of Ireland (yes – even with Jedward dragging their name through the mud), to sail through. Israel are also likely to progress to the final – nostalgia is second only to campness when it comes to Eurovision popularity."

The Euro song wars heat up with semi no.2 where those pesky Irish brothers are likely to be a highlight (seriously)

In Tuesday night's semi-final, Serbia, Russia, Switzerland, Georgia, Finland, Iceland, Hungary, Lithuania, Azerbaijan and Greece, all booked their place in Saturday night's Dusseldorf ding-dong.

On Thursday evening, the second semi-final will grace our screens (once more live on BBC3 with Cox talking balls), and this truly is the big one: Jedward, Dana International - the line-up is as camp as a row of tents.

In addition to the Irish nuisances, those who enjoy national stereotypes, and assume all Eastern Europeans sing like Borat, will no doubt enjoy the Belarusian entry Anastasia Vinnikova, with her catchy track 'I Love Belarus.' Don't we all.

So what lessons can we learn from the first semi-final, to aid us in our betting? (Again, most of the liquidity can be found in the 'to qualify' market, hence we heartily recommend you focus attention there.)

As predicted earlier in the week, if you don't sing in English, you're probably going home. It is rumoured that the Cypriot, Macedonian and Bulgarian entrants will be massacring a tune in their native tongue tomorrow evening, so it could well be Khairete, Dogledanje and Dovizhdane to them. Thank you Google.

Expect the big beasts such as Ukraine and the Republic of Ireland (yes - even with Jedward dragging their name through the mud), to sail through. Israel are also likely to progress to the final - nostalgia is second only to campness when it comes to Eurovision popularity and those who remember Dana storming Birmingham in 1998 with 'Diva', may give the old girl/boy/thing another chance in the voting.

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