Last night Eurovision 2009 kicked off in style with the first semi-final, which saw fantastic performances from the likes of Malta, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Armenia and Iceland, all of whom have qualified for Saturday’s final along with Romania, Finland, Sweden, Portugal, Israel and Turkey. All of whom earned their place in Saturday’s line-up, although it was a pity to see Switzerland miss the cut. Oh well, maybe next year? The running order for the final as it stands has created a marvellous opportunity for the UK who are not only singing third from last (regarded as a very strong place in the running order) but are now sandwiched between Finland and Romania, the weakest of last night’s qualifiers, and both of whom have uptempo songs which will make Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ballad stand out all the more.

Related: Eurovision Semi-final Part One | Eurovision Semi-final Part Two

But enough of that, it’s time to start looking ahead to the second semi-final on Thursday, and competition in this one is fierce. Today we’ll look at the first half, then the second half tomorrow……

CROATIA – Lijepa Tena by Igor Cukrov featuring Andrea
As a separate entity Croatia have never won Eurovision although as part of Yugoslavia they scored a victory in 1989 (which meant the UK had to settle for second place. Again). They’ve done well in terms of qualifying from semis (probably thanks to a helping hand from their neighbours) but are another one of these countries which don’t actually do much to set the scoreboard on fire when they do make the finals. And it doesn’t look as though that’s going to change this year, to be honest. Igor Cukrov’s ballad is pleasant but about as formulaic as they come and could prove just too dull for voters outside of the Balkans. It could qualify with a stirring performance but I suspect this one may just miss the cut.

IRELAND – Et Cetera by Sinead Mulvey and Black Daisy
Ireland of course have an enviable track record in Eurovision, having won the contest no less than seven times and dominating the Eurovision stage in the 90s, with victories in 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1996 (they yielded to Norway in 1995 with a song which sounded, well, Irish). They also remain the only country to win twice with the same performer (Johnny Logan in 1980 and 1987). Lately though, what’s gone wrong? They did well with Brian Kennedy in 2006 with the sort of ballad that has led to success in the past but last year got so disgruntled with the whole thing they voted in a comedy song by irritating puppet Dustin The Turkey, and subsequently crashed and burned. This year they’ve gone back to basics and have opted for a fast, catchy and very contemporary pop-rock song by a girl band. Which by rights should do well, except competition is great and word of mouth from rehearsals in Moscow is not good. Looking unlikely to qualify at this stage, which is a real shame.

LATVIA- Probka by Intars Busulis
I’ll admit I have a soft spot for the Latvians, probably because they brought indie rock to the Eurovision stage in the shape of their 2000 debut My Star (still one of my favourite Eurovision songs ever). Since then they have won (with Marie N in 2002; and it was the subsequent contest in Riga which saw the UK score their infamous ‘nul points’ with Jemini), come close to winning again (in 2005) and become renowned for being seriously quirky (I refer you to 2005′s The War Is Not Over featuring sign language, the robot puppet accompanying 2006′s acapella song I Hear Your Heart or even last year’s ridiculously camp pirate disco number Wolves Of The Sea. This year they have done it again, coming up with possibly the oddest song of the contest, a kind of offbeat pop-punk anthem sung by a mad-eyed performer. Part of me thinks this will do very well indeed;then I have to remind myself to stop being so silly.

SERBIA – Cipela by Marko Kon and Milaan
Serbia first appeared in Eurovision as Serbia and Montenegro in 2004 and had a smashing debut, finishing second to Ukraine. In their first outing independently from Montenegro in 2007 their ballad Molitva actually won the whole damn contest (you may recall last year’s was in Belgrade). Not a bad track record so far then, but it’s worth noting they have treated the whole thing terribly earnestly up to now, sending the same kind of overblown ethno-ballad every single year. Until now, that is. The closest thing you’ll get this year to a novelty entry, Cipela (‘Shoe’) sees a portly Michael Moore lookalike with a shock of blond hair growling his way through a bouncy folk tune accompanied by an accordionist. It sounds like Barry White might have sounded if he’d specialised in East European folk music instead of smoochy RnB, but that’s beside the point. It’s utter rubbish but it’s so nice to see the Serbs doing something a bit different and lightening up that I have a bit of a soft spot for it. It could be the one which causes them to miss out on the final for the first time but I have a feeling that won’t happen.

POLAND – I Don’t Wanna Leave by Lidia Kopania
The Poles had a smashing debut when they first arrived in 1994, finishing second, but have struggled to make much of an impact since. Last year they scraped through to the final but did almost as badly as the UK (and that’s saying something). This year, they’re one of many countries to opt for a solo ballad-singing female, but this is so dull that it’s likely to be stomped on by a cavalcade of far superior songs. Which brings us nicely on to…..

NORWAY – Fairytale by Alexander Rybak
Despite being synonymous with all that’s bad and dodgy about Eurovision (probably due to the fact they’ve scored ‘nul points’ on no less than four occasions), it’s easy to forget that Norway have actually won the contest twice, in 1985 and 1995, and have had some of the most interesting entries of recent years (who could forget their glam rock effort in 2005?). This time they have the hottest favourite for years, a catchy and very memorable folk tune by Belarussian born, Norway-raised Rybak (that’s him in the photo), a Harry Potter lookalike who plays a mean violin. Surrounded by Cossack dancers and winsome female backing singers, this will doubtless be spectacular and there’s no question of it making the final, but can it live up to its early promise and win? Very possibly, although the amount of serious competition out there would suggest they by no means have this contest sewn up.

CYPRUS – Firefly by Christina Metaxa
Another long-standing participant who has never won, Cyprus are this year pinning their hopes on one of the youngest singers in the contest, 17-year-old Christina, who will be singing a song penned by her brother. Well, sort of singing it anyway since her voice isn’t actually that strong if footage of the national final is anything to go by, and coming so soon after the favourite this looks destined to fade into the background. Better luck next year?

SLOVAKIA – Let T’Mou by Kamil Miculcik and Nela Pociskova
Let’s welcome back Slovakia who haven’t taken part in Eurovision for 11 years. On the strength of this weedy duet, we suspect it could be another 11 years before they return. Next!

DENMARK – Believe Again by Brinck
Back in the 80s Denmark were one of my favourite Eurovision countries due to their tendency to send identikit bouncy pop cheese almost every year. Eventually they stopped this, sent the Olsen Brothers in 2000 and scored one of the biggest surprise victories in recent Eurovision history. As for this year, well if this modern pop song has a slightly familiar ring to it, that’s because it’s co-written by Ronan Keating. It’s a bit too Love Is A Rollercoaster for comfort but it’s a great, solid tune which should breeze through to the final (a full house in the final for Scandinavia then…..) and possibly even score a top ten finish.

SLOVENIA – Love Symphony by Quartissimo
Poor old Slovenia. They have tried anything and everything to secure a place in the final but it’s only happened once since the semis started, and more often than not they sink without trace. (given the likes of Macedonia sail through, often with inferior songs, you have to ask yourself why). As for this year…..it’s an unusual effort, largely instrumental – think four blokes standing on stage playing what sounds like the theme from Casualty rearranged for violin and you’ll get the idea. There’s also a lady singer but she spends most of the song wiggling in silhouette behind a curtain a la Tales Of The Unexpected before finally emerging to sing the last verse. Just weird, and not destined to make it out of the semis….