Eurovision fans finally had the chance to watch Olly Alexander’s hypnotising performance of his track Dizzy at the first semi-final in Sweden, and he didn’t disappoint.
Many viewers watching at home shared how blown away they were by the spectacle, which included the singer going upside down in a box surrounded by male dancers in an unapologetically queer celebration.
However, others couldn’t help but compare the staging to an iconic 00s horror film.
As Olly was spinning around in the box, with his dancers defying gravity in what looked like a grimy bathroom setting, some X users pointed out that it looked just like the bathroom scene in the 2004 classic Saw.
‘@alexander_olly’s staging is giving Saw bathroom 😂 we just need a sliding door, a bath and a hack saw and it’ll be complete,’ James wrote.
‘Olly in the Saw bathroom???’ an astonished user called remarked, while Nathan added: ‘Obsessed with the staging of Olly Alexander’s #Eurovision performance. It’s giving the movie Saw if it was a queer musical.’
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Believe it or not, Saw wasn’t the only movie that Olly’s dizzying performance was compared to, as others also recalled Zac Efron’s spinning school hallway stunt from High School Musical 3.
Elsewhere, fans were simply left in awe by the whole thing.
‘Some of the best staging I’ve ever seen in the contest,’ a fan called Lucas shared, while another going by the X handle @cinnamongerru added: ‘OLLY YOU ATE IT UP!! Oh how UK went from Flop to true contender in a span of three years needs to be studied!!’
‘Brilliant #Eurovision 1st semi-final. olly alexander was just incredible!!! Bring on the final 🇬🇧🇬🇧,’ Annie wrote.
Tonight marked the first time that the UK has performed in a Eurovision semi-final, as the UK automatically makes it through to the grand final every year, as one of the ‘big five’ nations alongside France, Germany, Spain and Italy.
The countries that made it through to the final after tonight’s first semi-final were: Croatia, Cyprus, Finland, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia and Ukraine.
Ireland’s qualification marks the first time in six years that the country has made it to the grand finale, the last time being in 2018.
Ahead of the first semi-final, Olly spoke to Metro.co.uk and other media, where he admitted that he felt ‘ambivalent’ towards the Union Jack flag.
‘I’ve grown up in the UK, there’s a lot that I love about the UK, maybe the people and I’m lucky to have grown up in the UK,’ he said.
‘I too have an ambivalent relationship with the Union Jack and what that represents to people because it can feel divisive, it can feel nationalist, but it can also feel like a representation of what’s good about the UK and what makes it good – it’s the inclusivity, the diversity.
‘I am choosing to kind of focus on those aspects of what I believe being in the UK has given me in my upbringing as well.’
The Eurovision Song Contest Semi-Finals air on Tuesday, May 7, and Thursday, May 9, at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer. The Grand Final airs on Saturday, May 11, at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
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