Polish Eurovision act Blanka qualifies to Saturday's Grand Final

The second semi-final of the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest was held in Liverpool, northern England, on Thursday (May 11, 2023) - followed by a press conference with the winners.

Ten of the 16 countries performing went through to Saturday's Grand Final.

Poland's act Blanka was amongst those to qualify. She said the most ''amazing moment'' during the Eurovision journey had been ''feeling the support from the fans.''

''On the other hand, I think the most challenging was how many hours we had to spend at the rehearsals because we worked really, really hard to make Poland, my country, proud,'' she told a news conference in Liverpool.

Along with Poland, the other countries who succeeded on Thursday were Albania, Cyprus, Estonia, Belgium, Austria, Lithuania, Australia, Armenia and Slovenia.

In good spirits at the news conference, Australia's rock band Voyager talked about their future, saying they hope to become a well-known Australian band.

"I'm hoping to become the next Kylie Minogue," joked drummer Ashley Doodkorte.

Representing Cyprus this year is Australian Cypriot Andrew Lambrou, who was full of praise for Voyager and said that sharing a stage with them was a ''beautiful moment.''

''Life is a crazy thing. And to be in this position now with Voyager on the other side of the table, and we're both going to the grand final, this is something that I'm never, ever going to forget.''

All the acts should be proud of themselves, Lambrou added.

''Credit to every single person on this table today and all the other acts that perform. This is such a demanding, beautiful thing, the Eurovision Song Contest.''

The ten qualifiers from Thursday join the qualifiers from Tuesday's (May 9) first semi-final, 2022 winner Ukraine, and the "big five" - Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain - in the Grand Final at the weekend.