Israel and Estonia impress on “judgement day” while Bulgaria loses territory

“Israel and Estonia made a good impression on this first “judgement day” of rehearsals”, says Polish Eurovision expert Maciej Mazanski. No less than 4 (!) favorites for Eurovision victory all took the stage on the same day.

According to Mazanski, Estonia had a strong showing. “I was not convinved about it before coming here, but today she was really strong.” William Lee Adams from Wiwibloggs agrees. “I am so relieved for her that her dress is here. Enough with the drama! We want to just listen to her and fall in love with her beautiful voice.”

On a busy day with many top favorites competing right after each other, most attention still went out to Netta from Israel. “She was good today too,” says Adams, “but I would like the chorus to stand out more.” Professional gambler Daniel Gould disagrees: “This was perfectly fine for Israel. Still well up there to win the contest, although nothing is decided just yet.”

Bulgaria loses territory

“Bones” by Equinox dropped massively in the betting odds after a disappointing first rehearsal. Journalists at the press center all agree it was a bad day for Bulgaria. “There’s no emotional connection,” says Daniel Gould, and Mazanski was not impressed either. “The studio version is so good, but I expected much more.”

With bookmakers, the chances for Bulgaria almost were cut in half. They went from 8-1 to 15-1 at Betfair and the day is not over yet. Sacha Jean-Baptiste, staging director for Bulgaria, will have to pull out all the stops to get Equinox back on track for the competition. “However, rehearsals have just started and as we all know, it is not over yet. Bulgaria has lost the battle but not yet the war,” says Steef van Gorkum, chief editor for ESCDaily.

Steef van Gorkum: “Watch out for Czech Republic”

Van Gorkum does not fully agree with the sentiment in the press center. For example, Czech Republic received a lukewarm reaction today, but Van Gorkum is still hopeful. “The concept is there. The Czechs have outdone themselves with a great plan. I just hope Mikolas recovers from his back problems.”

Daniel Gould supports Van Gorkum’s opinion on Czech Republic. “Today was a really important day for them and medical issues aside, they got through it okay. They are still very much in it, together with Israel.”