On Tuesday evening, Lithuania’s Silvester Belt with his song Luktelk qualified for the Eurovision final.
Fifteen countries performed their songs in the first Eurovision semi-final on Tuesday, but only ten qualified for the grand final.
Besides Lithuania, Serbia, Portugal, Slovenia, Ukraine, Finland, Cyprus, Croatia, Ireland, and Luxembourg also qualified for the next round.
At the press conference after the first semi-final, Sivelster Belt was asked what he would say now to his little self. Previously, the singer spoke publicly about the bullying he experienced as a child.
“I want to say to all the bullies: ‘I know you were struggling and I’m just sending love. I love you from all my heart.’ And to my inner child: ‘You little boy, you went through so much. I love you so much, keep going and never give up’,” Silvester Belt said.
A journalist from neighbouring Latvia asked Silvester Belt whether singing in Lithuanian on the big Eurovision stage was the right choice.
“Initially, like most Lithuanians, I thought we should send an English song because no one would understand, no one would care [about a song in Lithuanian]. But to be honest, the only people in the world who think that we should sing in English are Lithuanians. The rest of the world is saying that Lithuanian is a beautiful language. I have no regrets, and it adds mystery to the song,” he said.
In total, 26 countries will compete in the Eurovision final on Saturday. Ten more songs will be selected in the second semi-final on Thursday. Meanwhile, the “Big Five” countries – France, Spain, the UK, Italy, and Germany – as well as the host Sweden go directly into the final.
Lithuania’s Silvester Belt will perform in the first half of the Eurovision final on Saturday.
This year, the Eurovision is taking place in Malmö, Sweden, after the country’s Loreen won the song contest for the second time last year.
Lithuania debuted at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994. The country’s best-ever result was sixth place in 2006, when LT United performed their song We Are The Winners in Greece.
Watch Silvester Belt’s qualifying performance:
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