Six moments from the Eurovision final we can’t stop talking about
Italy's Måneskin rocked the stage with 'Zitti E Buoni'.
Switzerland and France battled it out in the top two spots for much of the jury votes from each country but when the public vote was cast a winner was decided: Italy.
Måneskin was quite a wildcard in this year's competition and it clearly struck a chord, with the public vote boosting it up to 524 points.
It was a clear winner ahead of runners-up France, Switzerland, Iceland and Ukraine.
The rock group's track Zitti E Buoni is a surprising entry to a competition that generally hails all things Europop.
A shock winner and it's all down to the public vote which blows the competition wide open each year. Wonderful chaos.
Last year’s favourites proved their popularity once again by claiming 378 points and the fourth place in the competition, and all from their hotel room.
Iceland’s Daði og Gagnamagnið performed their fun song 10 Years through a pre-recorded clip after a positive Covid-19 test scuppered their plans for a live performance.
One member tested positive for the virus although the other members received negative results. They withdrew from performing in the live contest.
Instead, the group watched the show from their quarantine in their hotel rooms, far from the backstage antics and fun their fellow Eurovision contestants were enjoying.
San Marino advanced to the final for the third time ever thanks in no small part to the presence of US rapper Flo Rida.
Flo Rida was involved in the writing on their entry, Adrenalina, and took part in the performance with singer Senhit.
Is this like a backdoor system for the US to get involved in Eurovision?
It's unlikely he'll be back though, he and Senhit looked unimpressed with their total points received.
The opening song to the 2021 Eurovision was a spectacle of fire, but many viewers noted a similarity with a well-known pop song from 2008.
In a very ‘My Lovely Horse’ moment, people on Twitter were quick to point out similarities between the Cyprus entry, El Diablo, to Lady Gaga’s anthem, Bad Romance.
If you didn’t notice, here’s a video that compares the two tunes.
I fully believe that Germany’s song was the second most unifying entry in this year’s contest: everyone hated it. (Most unifying was the zero points for the UK from both jurors and public voters alike. Ouch.)
From the overly-cheery tune that was described by many as akin to a jingle for an irritating children’s television programme to the frankly bizarre hand costume that both annoyed and offended as it moved around, fingers a-flap.
Occasionally the index finger of the ‘peace sign’ would be stuck down and after looking though Twitter it seems many viewers did a similar gesture at their screens while the song was on.
Nul point (from the public vote, anyway).
We’ll begin with the standard disclaimer: sure it was no Riverdance.
Music Binds Us was a sweet display for how music connects us and makes us believe anything is possible. It followed a young couple across the city where they were joined by an orchestra, a legion of dancers, and a host of singers as they travel across a bridge to the Eurovision stage.
On stage, we heard a rendition of David Guetta’s Titanium with fire displays, choreographed moves and sheer enthusiasm.
It was a mood-boosting act and thoroughly enjoyable.
