The betting odds are clear, at least at first glance: Luxembourg is unlikely to qualify for the big Eurovision final on Saturday. However, Belgian candidate ESSYLA faced similar odds in the first semi-final on Tuesday, yet she made through.
Nevertheless, predictions for the remaining nine candidates were spot on.
After the great Luxembourg comeback euphoria of 2024, Eva Marija's participation is already the third in the new era. And one can feel that the 'wow factor' is gone, the bonus almost used up.
We're indeed not among the four or five favourites in the predictions [...], we are somewhere in the middle", admits Elisabeth Conter, head of the Luxembourg delegation.
Asked about how Belgium made it through despite low chances beforehand, Conter stressed that Eurovision is always good for a few "surprises".
A new feature this year is that juries also have a say in the semi-finals, which could work in Luxembourg's favour, as it did for Belgium.
Eurovision also thrives on the little stories, and perhaps Eva Marija will manage her own fairytale
She is receiving support from former Eurovision champion Alexander Rybak, who won in 2009 with his violin-driven song Fairytale. In an Instagram post, he reinterpreted Eva Marija's Mother Nature in his own style.
Two songs that, at first glance, have little in common are nonetheless connected by something special: the violin. It is precisely this sound with which Rybak convinced the fans and jury back in 2009.
And now, years later, he supports an artist who is also trying to stand out with a similar sound.
