Loreen

We’re only hours away from Loreen’s performance of ‘Euphoria’ in Baku. The moment we’ve all been waiting for – and most certainly Loreen will qualify for the final. According to an article in today’s Aftonbladet, Loreen believes that Buranovskiye Babushki’s ‘Party for Everybody’ will win on Saturday. Yesterday, I wrote about the fierce competition between the babushkas and Loreen.

“Something happens in the soul when you see them,” Loreen told Lotta Bromé in an interview on P4 Extra, a radio show. Several news papers (incl Aftonbladet) have also highlighted the arrival of Loreen’s mother, who came to support her last night.

DN’s Hanna Fahl highlights Lithuania, Norway, Estonia, Ukraine and and the Netherlands as entries to look out for. DN also reports that Loreen’s support for human rights activists in Azerbaijan has enraged the local government. According to Aftonbladet, the news agency AFP reports that Ali Hasanov should have told the Azeri media that the EBU, the European cooperative organization which organizes Eurovision Song Contest, should prevent the competition participants to meet the “anti-Azeri groups.”

Christer Björkman, the leader of the Swedish delegation in Baku argues that neither the EBU, SVT or Loreen has violated the rules of Eurovision Song Contest.

“It is rather he (Ali Hasanov) who have done it. The rules are crystal clear. One should not make political statements in the context of the competition and it has Loreen not done. She has the enthusiasm and commitment entered into various organizations as a private person and she has every right to do. However, it is not correct to try to restrict people’s freedom of speech,” he said.

I’ve blogged about Loreen ever since her Swedish victory until her arrival in Baku.