Sawt Falasteen - Aussie star, Danish clubbing ode through to Eurovision final

Australia and Denmark, which qualified late Thursday together with 13 others, are among the favourites to win the 70th edition of the world's biggest live televised music spectacle.

The glitzy gathering, typically reaching more than 150 million viewers, also mirrors geopolitical tensions -- much to the dismay of the organisers.

As in the two previous editions, the presence of Israel is sparking controversy, drawing an unprecedented boycott this year by five countries, including top financial contributor Spain.

Besides Australia and Denmark, Albania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Malta, Norway, Romania and Ukraine secured the last 10 places in the showpiece extravaganza at the Wiener Stadthalle in the Austrian capital on Thursday.

They will join Finland, Greece and Israel -- among the favourites which qualified on Tuesday -- and others in the 25-country final.

- 'Phenomenal' -

"We have nothing like this in America, and I think Eurovision is phenomenal because it brings everybody together," Tory Huflar, an American fan, told AFP after Thursday's show.

Australian fan Grace Casper said it was "an amazing thing to see... it's a very different experience to see it in person."

The show featured a pre-filmed segment in a lecture theatre with presenter Victoria Swarovski rebutting the question: "Why are there only gays at the Eurovision now? Have they taken over?"

She went through the history of Eurovision embracing the LGBTQ community but declared "No takeover detected".

Eurovision director Martin Green told reporters beforehand: "It's timely, and I think it is a message to the world that we, for 70 years, have given a voice to the voiceless and welcomed the disenfranchised.

- Finland overall favourite -

In line with the final, this year, the semis were decided by public televoting and also by professional juries.

While waiting for the nerve-shredding results to be revealed, the crowd danced a mass Viennese waltz.

Thursday's concert saw Switzerland's Veronica Fusaro tangled up in red webbing, Londoner Antigoni singing the sultry "Jalla" for Cyprus and Ukraine's Leleka hitting some ear-shredding high notes.

Bulgarian pop singer Dara got the party started with some highly choreographed dancing on "Bangaranga".

Romania swung the show into heavy rock on "Choke Me", which caused a minor furore in the Eurovision build-up over the lyrics.

However, singer Alexandra Capitanescu, a master's student at the Faculty of Physics in Bucharest, defended the song's meaning.

"Unlike the classic heart, which represents romance or cute love, the anatomical heart suggests vulnerability... and emotions that feel intense, physical and almost painful," she insisted.

Australia has appeared at Eurovision by invitation since 2015, and Goodrem's performance went down well with the more than 10,000 fans in the arena.

The 41-year-old had a string of international hits in the early 2000s and sang "Eclipse", evoking a romantic alignment of the planets.

Goodrem stood on top of a glittering piano, then soared into the air on a riser as sparks fell from the ceiling.

"It's higher than it looks!" she said afterwards.

"We've got the stage and then the piano and then the lift up. I can see the whole room. I definitely get a great vantage point up there."

Denmark's Soren Torpegaard Lund is gaining traction with "For Vi Gar Hjem" ("Before We Go Home"), plunging the crowd into the world of nightclubs.

"I did a little wave around and just hearing the roar is crazy. I've never played for so many people," said Lund, whose background is in musical theatre.

Saturday's show will open with Denmark. Finland, considered the overwhelming favourite by bookmakers, will perform 17th.

Five countries, including Spain and Ireland, have decided not to take part in this year's edition in protest over Israel's war in Gaza, waged in retaliation for the October 7, 2023, attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.

A few dozen people gathered in central Vienna on Thursday to show their support for Israel.

On Friday afternoon, a pro-Palestinian event is being held in central Vienna, with a concert and speeches, in parallel with Eurovision rehearsals for Saturday's final.

L.Hussein--SF-PST