On Tuesday night at Stockholm's Globe Arena, 18 countries performed in the the Eurovision Song Contest’s first show – the semi-final qualifier for the first 10 spots in Saturday’s final. Just before midnight, the ten qualifiers were announced: Azerbaijan, Russia, The Netherlands, Hungary, Croatia, Austria, Armenia, Czech Republic, Cyprus, and Malta.
Although Finland did not make it to the finals, Finland's entry for 2016, singer Sandhja, was remarkably positive.
“I’m not disappointed,” said Sandhja, wiping away tears but smiling following the announcement of the results.
“...Everything that was meant to be happens. Everything is a learning experience and (each cloud) has a silver lining,” she said.
“I’m proud of my team and we've done a great job,” said Sandhja, who plans to stay in Stockholm for Eurovision week to cheer on the finalists.