The first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest took place on Tuesday evening in Vienna (May 12)
Rylan Clark and Angela Scanlon are part of the Eurovision presenting team for the UK(Image: BBC)
Eurovision fans were left furious after one act failed to secure a place in the grand final.
The first semi-final of the song contest – taking place in Vienna this year – took place on Tuesday (May 12), and audiences were captivated by Tamara Živković, who delivered the song Nova zora to represent Montenegro.
Nevertheless, Montenegro was amongst the nations eliminated, alongside Estonia, Georgia and Portugal. San Marino, represented by Culture Club icon Boy George, also didn’t progress, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Viewers watching the BBC broadcast in the UK, where Graham Norton, Rylan Clark and Angela Scanlon are the presenting team, were far from pleased with the semi-final outcome. Many insisted Montenegro had been “robbed” following its performance.
“Very sad for Montenegro,” one viewer posted on X, while another commented: “I’m sorry for Montenegro, they really deserved the final!”
Viewers thought Montenegro was ‘robbed'(Image: Screengrab)
“THEY ROBBED MONTENEGRO,” another person declared on the platform, formerly known as Twitter.
“MONTENEGRO out NO ONE TALK TO ME,” expressed another spectator, as somebody else maintained they “should have gone through”.
“Absolutely no words,” raged another fan. “Tamara and the Montenegro delegation did everything. There’s not a single thing they could’ve done better, the performance was perfect. Most robbed entry of the decade.”
“Cancel the contest,” one viewer joked, while someone else questioned: “How did San Marino and Montenegro fail to get through?”
Boy George didn’t make it into the final
Despite the disappointment of some eliminations, fans were delighted for the acts that progressed. “My favourites are in the final and I am very happy with that,” said one viewer.
Ten countries secured their places in the final during the semi-final, including Belgium, Croatia, Finland, Sweden, Serbia, Greece and Israel. Lithuania, Poland and Moldova also advanced to the next round.
As one of the Big Four nations, alongside Germany, France and Italy, the UK has been guaranteed an automatic place in the Eurovision Song Contest final.
This year’s UK representative is electronic musician Look Mum No Computer, whose real name is Sam Battle, who will take to the stage to perform his track Eins, Zwei, Drei.
The final of the Eurovision Song Contest is on on BBC One on Saturday May 16 from 8pm