  10 countries make it through first Eurovision semi-final May 15, 2019 - 11:34 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The first semi-final of Eurovision, Europe's largest entertainment event, kicked off at Expo Tel Aviv in Israel on Tuesday, May 14. . France, Germany, Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Israel have been pre-qualified for the Grand Final, meaning they did not compete on Tuesday. Traditionally the host country, along with the "Big Five" in Europe, automatically qualify for the final, euronews says. The 10 acts that earned the most points and qualified to participate in the final on Saturday are: Greece – Katerine Duska Belarus – Zena Serbia – Nevena Bozovic Cyprus – Tamta Estonia – Victor Crone Czech Republic – Lake Malawi Australia – Kate Miller-Heidke Iceland – Hatari San Marino – Serhat Slovenia – Zala Kralj and Gašper Šantl The event was opened by 2018 winner Netta Barzilai from Israel, who kick-started the show with a rendition of her winning song "Toys". Armenia's representative, Srbuk, will open the second semi-final on Thursday.   Top stories Ara Aivazian said Azerbaijan continues the traditions of Turkey after seizing territories and forced Armenians out. The creative crew of the Public TV had chosen 13-year-old Malena as a participant of this year's contest. She called on others to also suspend their accounts over the companies’ failure to tackle hate speech. Penderecki was known for his film scores, including for William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist”, Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining”.   Partner news |  Latest news Viva sees growing demand for cloud services  In recent years, medical institutions are starting to make use of Viva’s cloud servicesTurkey replacing term "Central Asia" with "Turkestan" in textbooks The Turkish Ministry of Education is replacing the term "Central Asia" with "Turkestan" in textbooks.Armenian, German presidents meet in Berlin Armenian and German Presidents Vahagn Khachaturyan and Frank-Walter Steinmeier met in Berlin.Armenia assumes presidency of Mediterranean Network of Regulatory Authorities The Commission on Television and Radio of Armenia said it expects productive cooperation in various formats. |
