Semi-Final 2 Eurovision Song Contest

This programme contains scenes of Repetitive Flashing Images.

Greetings from Stockholm, Sweden and welcome to the second semifinal

Tonight, 18 more acts will be taking to the stage to win those final ten

I'll tease you with one gem you've got to look forward to -

Plus in homage to our new home on BBC4, we'll be giving

you an insight into the world of Eurovision, Scandi-drama style.

And more importantly, you lot at home get to vote

If you missed the first semifinal, shame on you.

Nevertheless, in a nutshell, we're at a venue called

The Globe Arena and the theme of this year's Eurovision

So on Tuesday night, 18 countries competed

and the ten who made it through to the final were-

Azerbaijan, Russia, The Netherlands, Hungary, Croatia, Austria,

Armenia, Czech Republic, Cyprus and Malta.

Iceland didn't go through. A real shock for everybody. They are saying

this is possibly the toughest Eurovision Song Contest ever,

tonight. You didn't tell me that, Scott.

That is what they are saying. There could be more shocks and surprises.

Look a at this, lovely Sweden. Friends getting together.

# Somebody rowing a boat # Spreading all over the country.

They are good hosts. They put on a good show.

Fabulous. We are having such a good time. Look at them, they look fun.

It's like an enormous golf ball in the middle of Stockholm, the Globe

Arena. Oh... Hipster, looking worried. Here

we go. Welcome to the Eurovision

Song Contest 2016! Sweden's hottest new double act,

Petra and Mans are back. Did you know Petra is a certified

Stockholm city tour Now, brace yourselves

because you are in for one heck Welcome to the Eurovision

Song Contest 2016! Yes, good evening and welcome

to Stockholm and to Tonight, ten more songs will be

chosen for Saturday's Grand Finale, and you, together with your national

juries, have got the power. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE.

And my name is Petra Mede, but tonight is not about us.

Well, it is for a few more minutes, but then we turn our focus

... Petra! It is not only about us tonight! Soon, we focus

towards the artists, the composers and you, the audience.

An audience that is constantly growing bigger and bigger.

Now Australia is part of the contest and this year,

the US and China is broadcasting the show live!

So to all our new viewers - a very warm welcome!

And all these newcomers from all around the world must be

looking at us right now thinking the exact same thing.

Yes, I'm sure they're thinking, "What are these people doing?

"And who is that beautiful woman on stage?"

"And why is her son standing next to her?"

"And why doesn't he just shut up and sing?"

Well, these are all fair questions, especially if you're watching

What is this wonderful Eurovision Song Contest thing?

Well, let us try and explain it to you.

It's a multinational competition, with a collaborative mission, so

much like the Olympics in a way... # Sure it is rather less athletic

# Less energy gettic # More colourful and what is the

word # Theatrical

# We make music and friends with every nation

# And brunt the hosting TV station # To help to sure up a post-war

Europe in 1956 it all began # The set rather uncertain was

nothing about a curtain # Seven countries and a cameraman

# Then it started growing # Now Australia is ours

# We are a black hole sucking in the stars

# We take over the world and then conquer Mars

# That's Eurovision # It's a celebration of our culture

# The highlight of our year # And a victory that can catapult

you # Look at my career

# So we see # You get to share the stage with me

# We are all excited # The fans United

# All the way to Rome # At Eurovision

# No derision, wherever you come from

# Here is home # I get bullied at school

# We when we we get to together # We don't feel it at all

# As when we come together, that's Eurovision

# To get your song disgraced # But when Sweden gets 12 points

from Norway # It is clearly good taste

# That factor, the whacky, the weird # Celine on a tractor, the beard

# Pirates and penguins # Puppets on strings

# These are a few of my favourite things

# The singers come together # Like song birds of a feather

# They hope and pray and beg # They wait in the green room

# Wishing competitors break a leg # The impact of a show one cannot

overstate # It's a source of debate

# But it's something you either love or hate

# That's Eurovision # And the interval act is your one

big chance TORP to fail, to live up to... Riverdance

# Where else can you hear Luxembourg and silence in a made up tonbe

# Slovak # You Iranian

# Slovenia # Ar mainian

# Bulgarian # Georgian

# Bosnian # German Italy East Anglian

# French, Polish # Although I do not check, Swahili

is # But Eurovision is a language we

# # Eurovision

# You could be a hero # Of our time

# At the Eurovision family # We do it would you say single

handedly # This is my Eurovision

# His Eurovision # Your Eurovision

# Gabriela Guncikova is our guest # At the Eurovision Song Contest! I

mean, seriously. Fantastic! Nick Willcox tweeted

saying: Can that opening win the whole contest. It was twinkling and

hot. I love the Eurovision uberfans as well. So good.

I guess that is basically all we need to know.

But one more thing, the voting. Yes, of course, tonight... Oh, gosh.

Look at you, you are not even tired. I feel like I run marathon in high

heels. Tonight it is up to you to decide which ten countries are the

best to come to the final on Saturday.

So from tonight's 18 countries, only ten will make it

through to the Grand Final on Saturday, and the good

news is that viewers in the UK can vote tonight.

As always, you can vote by phone and you can also vote via the App

Voting won't open until all 18 acts have performed, so please don't vote

before then as your vote won't count and you may still be charged.

For full terms and conditions, and details of how to get

the Eurovision App, visit the website at bbc.co.uk/eurovision.

Just a reminder that some of tonight's performances contain

OK, then! Let the competition begin. We are straight off to Latvia. This

is Justs. We would love to hear what you think of tonight's performances.

Please get in touch via the Eurovision website, Facebook or

Twitter. Do you have the Fig Rolls out? Got the fizzy drinks out? Are

you crafting? In a blanket? Have you come in from work with your socks

and suspenders on? What are they? Come on, they are for keeping up

your socks. Now, this guy is lovely. I talked to

him a couple of days ago. He is singing from the heart it is Justs

from Latvia with Heartbeat. # And things I did

for sure were wrong # Feeling again that

you're breathing with me # I learned by heart

You're not my own # Feeling again that

you're breathing with me # Feeling again that

you're breathing with me # Feeling again that

you're breathing with me # # Feeling again that

you're breathing with me # I was genuinely scared at the end. I

loved the jacket just off the shoulder, there. It is kind of

casual? Patrick on Twitter says, "That was the campest opening I've

ever seen a derision and that is saying something". It certainly was.

Next, Poland, this is Mishal Szpak, and before going on stage, he downs

a raw egg to help his vocal performance. I'm an advocate of

that! Sorry. I get it. Sorry, carry on! He's also a big fan of leggings.

You with their well. He was standing at a bus stop one day and a man

turned to his girlfriend and said, "That is how girls should wear

leggings". He took it as a massive compliment and possibly some of the

worst lyrics in this year's contest. Color Of Your Life, this is.

# When loneliness is knocking on your door

# Everything you loved just disappears

# And when you feel that everything is lost

# You need to know there's no life without tears

# No-one is forever beautiful and young

# Everything you know just disappears

# Fame and gold are nothing you can be sure

# When there is no love in your heart

# The choice is yours who you really want to be

# So when you feel that everything is lost

# You need to know there's no life without fear

# Every day we must fight with the wind

# All these things are just empty desire

Wow, a bit like an cheetah without the make-up. David on Twitter says,

"Somewhere, a circus ringleader is missing his code"! Barely came up

with a great line early on Twitter, I'm not going to take your Jokanovic

credit you, that would be bad. Disses reedy-macro for Switzerland.

She's going to be singing barefoot. We have had five barefoot winners of

your original including sandy Shaw in 1967, in 2003, 2008 and 2012 and

in 2013 as well. But will it give her the winning streak? Celine Dion,

of course, a past Swiss winner, from Vancouver. Rykka also hails from

Vancouver so no pressure! By the way, does anybody have a fire

extinguisher? You will see why in just a second. This is Switzerland.

# And it's stronger Stronger than water

# Deeper than reason Longer than time

# Here we are at the end of the movie

# It's a whole new world and we're facing the fire

# This is paradise Turn off the searchlight

# Standing tall at the end of the story

# It's a whole new world and we're facing the fire

# Here we are now with nothing to lose

# I know without love We won't pull through, oh

# Cos deep in the night there is a light

# It's a whole new world and we're facing the fire

Imagine a planning meeting for that. "So, You walk out on stage and your

armpits are on fire!" That's really good, let's do it. "Human Smoke

machine", says David on Twitter. Get in touch tonight on Twitter. No one

even came to put her out! I know, she's left their standing, very much

on fire. One of the most popular contestant in Stockholm this year,

he's made friends with everyone, he is Hovi Star, one of the biggest

stars in Israel and his voice is on lots of Disney songs in the Hebrew

versions of movies like Prison and Cinderella. He and his team have

tweaked to this song four times before deciding on the version you

will hear. It's been revamped a lot from the original. Israel qualified

for the final last year but did not for the previous four before that so

he has really wanted to go through tonight. Lots of people like this.

Hovi Star for Israel, Made Of Stars Noble.

# You speak, I listen I'm your friend

# Like there's no floor and there's no ceiling and

# Dance with me like we are made of stars

# We are made of stars Cos we are

# Dance with me like we are made of stars. #

He is rocking that flock of seagulls hairdo. The dreams that you dare to

dream really do come true, thank you, your! Very strong and talking

fair, I would like to introduce you to Ivan from Belarus. So much to

say. Listen, get your heads out of the mini Scotch egg selection

because there is a man in the bath, singing to a wolf coming up shortly.

Actually naked. For a little bit and then you see him with the soup.

Lovely Ivan, a bit Game Of Thrones or three B from Friends? Maybe not

close-up. Good eyebrow, though. -- FEB from friends. This is Ivan from

Belarus with Help You Fly. # I will help you learn

how to fly, how to fly # Do you remember

when you were younger # Now all the questions

and no direction # I will help you learn

how to fly, how to fly # Free, leave all the madness

behind, far behind # It's time to heal

you from the pain # I know that you've

been the hunted # I will help you learn

how to fly, how to fly # Free, leave all the madness

behind, far behind # If I can fly

# I will help you learn how to fly, how to fly

# Free, leave all the madness behind, far behind

Aaron on Twitter says he is sure that guy was on Jeremy Kyle this

morning. I don't know why there is a baby

there. Wow!

Thank you to Ivan from Belarus, with song number five.

You know, it was first rumoured that Ivan was going to perform live

on stage totally naked together with wolves, but unfortunately,

the EBU decided it was against the rules.

All my Christmases have come at once. That was absolutely

marvellous. Now we saw him compete successfully in the first

Semi-Final. I am here with Douwe Bob singing for the Netherlands. Douwe

Bob, hello! How you? Hello. I'm well, how are you you I'm well. You

are not