Eurovision 2023: Sweden qualifies but Ireland is out of the final

Sweden's Loreen has sailed done to the expansive last of the Eurovision Song Contest, cementing her presumption arsenic this year's favourite.

The star, who antecedently won successful 2012, clasped her hands to screen her eyes arsenic it was announced she had qualified from the archetypal semi-final successful Liverpool.

Ireland were little fortunate, with the stone set Wild Youth connected their mode location aft failing to pull capable votes.

The state has present failed to suffice connected 8 of their past 10 attempts.

The continuation of that losing streak volition origin overmuch soul-searching successful the federation that holds the grounds for the astir Eurovision victories of each clip - 7 successful total.

The past clip they qualified was 2018, erstwhile Ryan O'Shaughnessy entered with his opus Together.

Ireland's Eurovision commentator Marty Whelan could not fell his disappointment.

"Everything was perfectly perfect, they were fantastic," helium said unrecorded connected RTÉ One arsenic the quality sunk in.

"There's things I privation to say, there's things I privation to share. You tin astir apt get it from the code of my voice, what I'm thinking, that this is... Ugh, this is conscionable specified a shame.

"But the votes didn't come. So we are not qualifying again this twelvemonth from Liverpool erstwhile we had large expectations, arsenic the celebrated publication says."

Tuesday's semi-final astatine the Liverpool Arena saw 15 acts competing for a spot successful Saturday's expansive final. These are the ones who made the cut.

Rock bands fared severely successful the nationalist vote, with Latvia's Sudden Lights and Malta's The Busker joining Ireland connected the chopping block.

The different artists whose travel ended connected Tuesday were Azerbaijani twins TuralTuranX and the Netherlands' Mia Nicolai and Dion Cooper.

Ten much acts volition advancement to the main contention aft Thursday's 2nd semi-final. The "Big Five" countries, who lend the astir financially to the contention (France, Germany, Spain, the UK and Italy) suffice automatically, arsenic bash past year's winners Ukraine.

Liverpool is hosting the contention connected Ukraine's behalf, owed to the ongoing Russian penetration of their country.

The interaction of the warfare was referenced passim the two-hour show. Songs similar Switzerland's Watergun and Croatia's Mama ŠČ! denounced struggle and bloodlust, portion the Czech set Vesna sang elements of their opus successful Ukrainian arsenic a amusement of solidarity with their near-neighbours.

During the interval, Ukrainian prima Alyosha performed a mournful mentation of Duran Duran's Ordinary World, that emphasised the symptom of being separated from your loved ones.

The vocalist fled to America with her 3 children erstwhile the warfare began, but her husband, Taras Topolja, frontman of the stone set Antitila, was required to enactment astatine home.

As she duetted with Liverpudlian X-Factor prima Rebecca Ferguson, substance messages from families fleeing the state flashed up connected elephantine video screens and the arena was lit up successful the Ukrainian nationalist colours of bluish and yellow.

Speaking earlier the contest, Alyosha dedicated her sobering and beauteous show to forced migrants astir the world.

The half-time amusement besides saw popular prima Rita Ora performing a medley of her hits, including Anywhere and Praising You.

She was joined connected signifier by 12-year-old Ukrainian exile Sofiia, who has present settled successful Romania. Ora said the youngster's plight reminded her of her ain family's acquisition of fleeing the Balkan War successful the 1990s "and however I volition beryllium everlastingly grateful to the UK for showing america kindness and compassion".

"Sofiia opens my show this evening playing with a ball, representing the nonaccomplishment of puerility for these mediocre refugees," she wrote connected Twitter. "We emotion you Ukraine, we each execute tonight, for you."

The evening kicked disconnected with a abbreviated video featuring celebrated faces from astir Liverpool including Wirral-born TV baker Paul Hollywood, Ukrainian Everton footballer Vitalii Mykolenko and the precocious Paul O'Grady.

The video besides contained a astonishment cameo from the King and Queen, who unveiled the contest's signifier past month.

The royal taxable continued with the opening act, Norwegian vocalist Alessandra, whose barnstorming electropop fig Queen of Kings featured a costume inspired by Britain's Queen Elizabeth I.

After that, the assemblage were treated to ballroom dancers, a Portuguese Moulin Rouge routine, and a re-enactment of a accepted Moldovan wedding ceremony.

Co-host Alesha Dixon adjacent recalled her days successful the miss set Mis-Teeq, with a rap astir the past of the opus contest.

Noa Kirel - Israel's reply to Beyoncé - received an enthusiastic effect for her opus Unicorn, and its pneumatic creation routine. And Finland's Käärijä raised the extortion with his utterly bonkers thrash techno way Cha Cha Cha.

The night's astir outrageous costumes came courtesy of Croatian daze rockers Let 3, who dressed successful leather fetish cogwheel earlier stripping down to achromatic underwear.

However, Loreen was the creator who had the arena successful the thenar of her hand, with a soaring show of Tattoo - a opus astir a emotion truthful heavy and aggravated that it becomes engraved connected her heart.

Performing successful a nude catsuit betwixt 2 elephantine LED screens, she threw down the gauntlet to the remainder of the 2023 contestants.

But implicit the weekend, the prima said she wasn't excessively acrophobic astir winning.

"No, I attraction astir creating thing that is real," she replied. "So my fearfulness is compromising, my fearfulness is that it's not authentic."