Rob Watts, who was at the semi-final in Vienna, told BuzzFeed News that he noticed many more pride flags in the audience during Russia’s song than in any other performance. "We were all told to be nice to all the countries 'no matter who is in charge.' We were asked not to boo anyone."

Laura Cress, who was with him, said: "The crowd liked the song a lot more than last year, sadly there seemed to be much less resistance. Apart from the extra flags everyone around us actually really liked the Russian entry."