Our predictions for the second semi-final

After watching rehearsals for the second semi-final this is who the ESC Nation bloggers predict to qualify tonight:

	SM	EE	CZ	GR	AT	PL	MD	IS	RS	GE	AL	PT	BG	FI	LV	CH	DK
Ben	X			X			X	X	X			X	X	X		X	X
Jonas	X			X	X		X	X	X				X	X		X	X
Jordy	X			X			X	X	X		X	X	X	X		X
Roger	X			X	X			X	X			X	X	X		X	X
SamB	X			X	X		X	X			X	X	X	X		X
Sild	X			X	X		X	X			X		X	X		X	X
Yair	X			X	X		X	X	X		X		X	X		X

Full marks for San Marino, Greece, Iceland, Bulgaria, Finland and Switzerland. Mixed feelings about Austria, Albania, Moldova, Portugal, Serbia and Denmark. At least two of those twelve of course will definitely miss out.

We're unanimous in predicting Estonia, Czech Republic, Poland, Georgia and Latvia will not make it to the final.

Are we up for a shock though? We'll know in about six hours. Enjoy tonight's show!

Fishy Predictions for the Second Semi-Final

A last-minute, foolish decision to kick out Sweden in favour of Romania in my prediction for Tuesday's semi-final resulted in getting 9/10 right, instead of my first ever 10/10...

So can I make up for it today, I wonder? Unlike Semi 1, I've been thinking for weeks that Semi 2 has ten quite clear-cut qualifiers, and while some have improved or gotten worse during the rehearsals in Rotterdam, I don't think any of these changes have massively affected the qualification chances. Hence there are no weirdass, last-minute alterations in the list below - now watch that being the foolish decision...

I find it a bigger challenge to dig out a semi winner among this bunch than ten qualifiers, as I don't really think anyone has it in them (except Denmark, of course! 🕺). There's about four that feel like they should come 3rd, so I guess it'll just have to be one of those.

1 Bulgaria | It's not really for me, but it clearly is for many others, and I can't fault the performance, so here we are.

2 Iceland | Just to make sure I don't get disappointed when this does better than it deserves, let's just make sure I expect the worst, eh? I truly couldn't stand Think About Things last year, so it was no big surprise this was equally awful, seeing as it's pretty much the same content in the same wrapping. There was a couple of months of glorious relief when far less people seemed to take to 10 Years than to Think About Things, but then somehow people were sold again as soon as they stepped onto the Rotterdam stage and did exactly what everyone knew they would because they always do, dressed exactly like everyone knew they would because they always are. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

3 Switzerland | I never quite saw this as the winning candidate that the odds suggested a few weeks ago, but after seeing it in full in the dress rehearsal yesterday, I also don't think it's any less of a winner now than it was before, despite the somewhat controversial staging, outfit and hand-move choices. Maybe the staging somehow fits it perfectly, and finally shows off the song for what it always was? I'm not entirely sure what that is, however...

4 Greece | Great songs shine through no matter what, but there was no need for that complicated staging.

5 San Marino | I don't think Mr Rida's appearance is making much of a difference as such (whether he's famous, unknown, a has-been or what, would any of those lead to people voting en masse either way?), but it does seem to make Miss Hit very happy and cheerful that he's arrived, which I do think might make a difference.

6 Austria | It's just good, and it shows.

7 Finland | This will certainly have its audience, even if it'll probably have shrunk considerably by Saturday.

8 Albania | Unsurprisingly I've loved this for half a year already, and for once it seems I'm not completely alone in appreciating a shouty and dramatic Albanian lady. Could it be because they've included a [gasp!] tune and a [double-gasp!] structure for once?!

9 Moldova | Quite varied reports from rehearsals, but I'd say it's a strong enough song in its own right. And considering the people behind it, I'm expecting some calls to have been made.

10 Denmark | Pretty please?! 🥺

11 Serbia | I wish they'd gone a bit more overboard with this, for something as loud and chaotic, it comes across surprisingly boring on stage.

12 Portugal | Yes, it looks very good on stage. But let's not forget it's still a godawful song with a godawful voice and a godawful ponytail under a godawful hat.

13 Poland | There are some bits of the song I really like, but no no no. So amateur and average I don't even think UK would've sent it.

14 Latvia | I can easily imagine any of these last four ending dead last - it really is about time we get a four-way tie for last place like in the sixties, isn't it? This one is both awful and glorious though, so might manage to convince some freaks to vote for it. It could even be me 😳

15 Czechia | The sooner he doesn't qualify, the sooner we can elope 🥰

16 Georgia | Feels almost too obviously last to end last.

17 Estonia | Most things would seem bleak after Senhit and Flo's colour explosion, but it's as if they've arranged meetings to think of ways to make this as bleak and forgettable as humanly possible, and even forgot to attend those meetings. I challenge you all to hum this tomorrow at lunch. I'd offer a reward for those that manage, but it feels way too hypothetical to bother.

Day 6 | Second Rehearsals | Second Semi-Final | 🇦🇹 🇵🇱 🇲🇩 🇮🇸 🇷🇸

This will be a rolling blog, each country in running order, so please refresh to update.

Well, hello. Jesus is popping off to heaven today which means I have time to do a bit of blogging. Hope I can remember how.

But while we're waiting for Vincent Bueno to finish his lunch, let's take a moment to remember his grandma, Kay, from Eurovision 1965.

🇷🇸 | Serbia

Hajde da ludujemo.

Wear black, they said. It will look classy, they said. Stylists have been wrong before.

Struggling with this one. They sing well enough and gyrate all over, but the whole package feels a bit empty and without the necessary joy. Maybe it's just the lack of pink and purple that's confusing me.

Sanja serving some "C'mon Ahoy" realness during the bridge.

Nah, I'm just not feeling it and I'd really like to. It ought to be a right boppy banger.

So that's over and out from me for today. If you're very lucky I'll make another appearance soon, regardless of Jesus's travel arrangements. Jordy will be back to deal with the finalists. Tot ziens!

🇮🇸 | Iceland

The silhouette start is MAGIC. I wonder if they wrote the unnecessary slow bit at the beginning of the song just to include this?

I know I am meant to be bringing fresh eyes to this. But well, we all know the routine by now.  Excellent on camera, this should sweep up plenty of televotes. Juries, hmm, maybe less so? 

But anyway, me during this performance:

Ooh. And unexpected pyro.

🇲🇩 | Moldova

Good news: Natalia has safely removed herself from Kirkorov's lap. Although the fixed grin is still there.

She looks very comfortable singing this and I think will turn it up a notch when it matters. Does feel like she's very much in rehearsal mode. Some of the shots are a bit strange when she's turning on the turning thing. They film her from the side or back and it seems like the timing is a bit wrong. And the "body talk talk talk" choreo looks like she just needs the loo.

Impressive looooooong note towards the end. Not sure who's singing it though. 🤔

Camera work tighter in some parts on third run-through, but less tight in other parts. Hmm.

Dunno. It remains a bit of a let-down when you think of what might have been, with a huge prop and some more fun. Song is still a fave of mine but this performance is more low-calorie sweetener than a delightful sugar cube. 

So here's a delightful sugarcube I prepared earlier.

🇵🇱 | Poland

Talking of lights. But these are less impressive and can't distract from...well...I'm fairly tone deaf, but even I can hear those tones. 🙀

"I'll make it through..." We'll see Rafał, we'll see. Even with shades on. There's precious little to say about this. There's a bit of dancing, he takes his shades off and puts them back on. It's even more half-hearted than Azerbaijan. 

At one point he seems to be standing in the middle of the pyro.

Seriously, if that was the ride of my life I'd be asking for a refund.

🇦🇹 | Austria

This is very competent and he is in fine voice. I'm really not a fan of the song, but did wake up with it in my head the other day. If that means anything at all. Note to his Amen sister: It's possible to sing and walk at the same time.

Song really shows off his voice, much more so than I imagine last year's song would have. Not that I can remember last year's song, but anyway. Simple staging with some gorgeous white then purple then orange lights and a catwalk thingy that I'm worried is going to surprise him by moving like Sakis' giant stapler. 

At times he is trying to emote a bit too much. He should leave that to Vasil.

This starts with some lovely dry ice mist. He sings so clearly, the death and funeral lyrics can't be ignored and that could be a bit off-putting.  Vincent is clearly fishing in jury waters, and it worked for Cesár in 2018 with a similarly bland piece of competence, so who knows?

Gosh, this is a lighting orgy ❤️

Second rehearsal: Macedonia to Finland

Finland

The I ain't scared part was so high pitched that only winged chipmunks could hear it. Was this intended? (answer: still don't know, but it kept happening in the next runs). Saara herself is in good vocals, the colour scheme stands out in this semi, but the backwards fall in the end is still not symmetrical (which annoys my pseudo-OCD to no end)

Greece

So, no prop. It's just her in a sea of blue. Her hand is blue too, as if she's been playing with gouache. But some of the smoke and light effects look really nice. How does this sound? No idea, I watch the first run in the arena and it was full of loud Greek fans. Back in the press centre for the next two runs, there's some ouch notes there near the end.

Austria

Stopped the first two runs during the first chorus because of technical issues ("the rope was in front of my legs"). Third run and Cesár still not looking comfortable for some reason, there's also a diagonal split screen effect that feels out of place. This looked better in the first rehearsal. More technical issues, this time with the lift, and they stop again. A full run, finally, but there are still camera issues, and he is seen releasing his own cable. Clearly there is some work to do.

Croatia

There's some kind of smudge camera effect, not sure it's intended (update: it's not). This comes off as professional after Macedonia, but I'm very sleepy during this, as is much of the press centre.

Macedonia

It may not be the usual Macedonian car crash, but it's still all a bit unprofessional, with some Barbara Dexism going on with the backing singers and Marija's post-change outfit. Lost is very much the right word here I'm afraid.

Day 2 of first rehearsals - Macedonia to Greece

Time to eat. So far the food in Portugal has been super delicious. This is what Yair and I had last night:

Greece

Yianna is alone on stage, wearing a long white dress with extra fabric that goes down to the floor at the end of the sleeves. It covers everything except a small rectangular peek gap at the waist and a circle in the back. A mainly blue stage makes it all extra Greek in combination. A lot of blinking lights going on. Slightly shaky on the vocals at the end.

During the second run the vocals were good all the way through. And either I got used to the blinking lights, or there was not as much of that.

The last run was just hacked by a Macedonian press conference! They like skiing in the Austrian alps apparently. I just like Austria.

Austria

Cesár, wearing a sweater and trousers in three shades of silvery grey, starts off standing on a big platform. The effect of that and a hologram of his face made the press people here go Oooohhhh! This also got the best response in here from what we have heard so far. I was quite affected by it too!

I got goose bumps during the second run through as well. Such a great performance (and song)!

Croatia

Franka seems very confident and sings the song very well. The performance gave a well rehearsed impression. Her dress is a black fitted long one, made of  lace with a lot of different patterns and many see through parts... See through lace - another theme for outfits this year! And there's a wind machine.

The second run through was spot on as well.

Macedonia

After about 30 minutes of waiting, we finally got to see Eye Cue rehearse. Unfortunately we just got the last run through. Something was weird with the sound, at least in the beginning of the song, a lot of extra echo. If it was intended, it is a bad idea... Marija's in a cute pink short dress with a lot of extra fabric in the back (back and jacket details seem to be the thing of this year). The stage was blue and yellow, and sometimes just blue, she was dressed in . Nothing that stands out really, not great, not bad.

Tourist information is all we are getting in the press centre at the moment, so here's a little taste for you - another photo from our historic tram experience yesterday.

First rehearsal: Macedonia to Greece

Greece

Pre-opinion: This stands out for me in this semi line-up, in a good way. But it will need to be staged with an 'atmosphere', and it won't be simple with this kind of stage.

Set up: Yianna is in a clean white dress with flappy sleeves that reach the floor.

First run: Oh. :-/
She's all alone on stage (more hidden singers..), which I think wasn't a great idea as she doesn't carry it visually by herself. She just flaps her sleeves about and looks robotic. Vocally fine until the last few lines, which made us squirm a bit.

Second run: Some improvements here, vocally and visually. The blue background and white dress make it look very Greek, at least. There's some light effect projecting on her dress during the drummy bit. She still looks lonely there, but they're on the right track with the vocals, at least.

Third run: We only got a few seconds of it, then the feed switched to the Macedonian press conference. Overall, they still need to work on the sound mix during the last chorus, but should probably sound good on the night. This is roughly how the whole thing looks:

Austria

Pre-opinion: I really like this one, but it depends on a strong backing choir for this to do well. And it better be visible too, because Cesár hasn't looked too comfortable on his own so far. ORF have a good record for doing their homework lately, so I guess I don't need to tell them that.

First run: Fabulous. He's on a futuristic platform that reveals itself dramatically, backing choir sounds great (they're behind the platform, we can only see their heads). Silver shirt that flatters his body really well. Giant hologram of his bust and face appears. He jumps off the platform and walks about during the bridge. Some wows and an enthusiastic applause from the press centre.

Second run: I should add he's wearing a neck mic and shakes his arms during the "I'm shaking til I fall down" part. The platform is quite a thing, it's a two-level device that lifts, both parts have lights. The top part looking like an alien spaceship. I both love it and fear green men will emerge from it and invade me.

Third and run and still looking and sounding great. If I were to say something negative about this, it would be that Cesár needs tighter trousers.

Croatia

Pre-opinion: There's not a lot of opinion, really. Most of us struggle to remember it's there. Can they do anything to change that?

First run-though: Dark stage. Backing singers are off-stage. Franka sings well, but not a lot happens, apart from a wind machine. I guess they're planning the focus will be on her facial expressions, trying to look 'crazy', but in this run-through it's all very mechanic.

Second run: First shot is on her stretched hand, slowly revealing her face. She uses the mic stand until the 'talky' bit, then she pulls it out, walks about for a bit, then goes back the stand. Some yellow lights in the back. The camera shows her from every possible angle, when it runs out of angles it does it again. Sound mix is absolutely fine, it sounds a lot like the studio.

Third and last run: They're trying a sound effect during the talky bit that makes her sound like she's on a walkie-talkie. There's also smoke that shoots from behind the camera when she goes 'skyyyyyyyy'.

To sum it all, this is... fine

Macedonia

Pre-opinion: One of my favourites this year, finding the change of styles fascinating. But well aware that this is a difficult song to sell, and adding Macedonia's staging track record and the live performances of this I've heard so far, chances are against them.

(still not started, on our screens at least, we're getting views of Portuguese forest bike trails)
(screens are on, looks like we get to see the last runthrough only)

So, it's not the carcrash many feared (hoped?). A standard Pop performance, with Marija walking about and interacting with Bojan and the drummer, and sometimes joining the three female backing singers/dancer in the chorus dance from the music video. Vocals are ok most of the time. Best part for me: the backings snap their fingers! It's very loud in the sound mix, so possibly an added sound effect (guess that's allowed...?)

The routine and outfits very much remind me of Karma's final performance from Dora 2003 .


Bom dia

Lisbon is so lovely! The historic trams aren't just a sight, they also take you to nice neighbourhoods your foot probably won't. If you're a smoker, however, you're never allowed on the metro.

Eurovision Hotties World Cup - THE FINAL

It's second semi-final day, but it's something more important for two of tonight's performers - it's the final of the ESC Nation Eurovision Hotties World Cup.

In the hours leading up to tonight's live show, Nathan Trent and Imri Ziv will be competing on Twitter to judge who is the hottest male artist in this year's competition.

32 guys have been whittled down to two over a number of rounds - who will emerge victorious in today's final? Will it be the wholesome, boy-next-door looks of Austria, or the Instagram thirst-magnet from Israel?

Enjoy the pictures below, then vote in the poll at the bottom of the post and make sure you're following our Twitter feed for the results later.

#eurovisionhottiesworldcup - THE FINAL! Who's the hottest guy at #eurovision 2017? @imriziv or @uptrent? Vote now!

— ESC Nation (@ESCNation) May 11, 2017

[LIVE] Semi 2 : Dress Rehearsal 1 - live reporting

That's it for this rehearsal, people!
Was really fun to see how everything clicked together.

Me signing off!!

OUTRO
The 10 winning songs are being shown once more.

GOING THROUGH
-Israel
-Serbia
-Bulgaria
-Belarus
-Malta
-Ireland
-Austria
-Croatia
-Romania
and finally...
-Switzerland!

FAKE QUALIFIERS
Volodymyr announces Jon Ola Sand as the Mr. Miyagi of Eurovision. Does that also mean he can catch flies with his chopsticks? Before Eurovision once again turns into a cut-throat business, Volodymyr reminds the performers how amaaayzing they are and how great it is that they were allowed to perform in Kyiv.

INTERVAL ACT
The interval act is something dance-y. It's all very interpretative but looks slick because everyone is wearing black clothes with some red ribbon accent. In background of the predominantly percussion backtrack you can hear female voices singing Tatar-style melodic lines. Ukrainian horns warn us of Ruslana's arrival, but luckily for us, for the time being, she's not showing. Then it all ends.
Before we are officially introduced to the leftover finalists for next saturday, Timur gets to chat to Belarus.

VOTING COUNTDOWN
'They say time flies when you're having fun' Time was very slow today, I felt. Maybe there's a button to speed up time in a special app. The Eurovision App isn't the one though. After the countdown, they're talking to Macedonia.

VOTING REPRISE 2
Just before the second reprise Poland is being interviewed. Nothing earth shattering happening here...

VERKA II - The Rise
We now see Verka and mom live the independence of Ukraine, Dana International and eventually her taking part in Eurovision. Again, some of the years mentioned in the captions don't add up, but don't let that spoil your fun watching this.

VOTING REPRISE
Oleksandr and Volodymyr are bantering away as their life never depended on it. In any way the reprise soon follows.

HOST COUNTRY: UKRAINE
O.Torvald are bringing their show with gusto. They really enjoy performing out there. A bit screamy here and there, but I'm glad this type of song is in this year's final.

BIG FIVE: GERMANY
Same story for Germany in the camerawork department. But at least it starts really interesting enough. Sadly it quickly descends into dullness. Although I really like the stark architectural backdrop they've gone for, I feel a splash of ONE extra colour could've lifted it a bit. In this run there was new pyro too.

BIG FIVE: FRANCE
Alma is a bit breathy in the English bits during the first chorus. I feel that the camerawork could've been much tighter on Alma. The graphics are impressive in themselves, but do nothing to emphasize or help how amazing the song is. Instead it's almost off-staging the French entry.

ISRAEL
Imri's big hurdle throughout all of his rehearsals has been getting the vocals right. In this rehearsal he's much more in key. Occassionally 'just' getting away with sloppy singing. But dancing and singing at the same time is a challenge after all. If he repeats this in 6 hours, he'll be qualifying with ease.

ESTONIA-AH-A
What can I say, I love the 80s throwback. Koit seems to have finally mastered his cues and the entire thing is, to paraphrase mister Sofabet, a Telenovella fest. And they'll all repeat it on Saturday.

LITHUANIA
Victorija is wearing very long razorsharp white fingernails. If she would have a blackboard she could torture us all by scratching those of it. Instead she's singing her song. She sings it well though, and it's well performed. Well, as in, fully committed to annoy us for three minutes.

BULGARIA
I wish Kristian would stop hiding his mouth behind his microphone. Just keep it a tad lower. Still not sure of the line graphics that appear on-screen. I don't feel they add much. The more I hear the Bulgarian song, the more I feel it's a dull dirge. But he's quite good, being such a young singer.

BELARUS
The sound mix is off here once more. The male voice sounds much clearer. Kseniya is also a bit more shaky on the vocals. I would so love this to qualify, but they will need keep everything much tighter.

BREAK
Timur again singing his prepared script.

SWITZERLAND
That yellow... thing. Someone get me a bucket of anthracite gray paint now. Vocally she's fine, though in the high notes she clearly lacks power. Or confidence. I like this song in fact, but the dress isn't helping her. After the bridge, she tries channel Mariah, but sadly only Isaiah shows up. Luckily only us press center fanalists are the one subjected to it. Gosh. Not sure about this one.

NORWAY
Joust and his song 'Grab The Moment' is of course the streetcred that Eurovision has been craving ever since the mid 70s. However after Croatia it just seems a bit too mellow. The boys themselves are doing it fine, but I feel myself getting annoyed by the long fast sweeping cameracrane shots. Also not helping Norway's chances is the mumbling during the bridge. At this point in the show, it comes across as filler.

CROATIA
If San Marino was the appetizer in the car crash department, then Croatia is a full-on three course meal. But I adore it. Hope it qualifies, because I feel saturday night needs this. To be honest, I don't think Croatia's camerawork has improved since the last rehearsals. Still Jacques pulls it off. What 'it' is exactly, still remains to be determined.

SAN MARINO
They are very good! 'Nuff said.

IRELAND
Brendan is not doing well vocally. He sprinkles his performance with singing 'just' under the melody. The backing vocals are also all over the place. He was MUCH MUCH MUCH better during last rehearsal session. At least he's a way better body language performer than some of his age cohorts in this competition. It felt as something was wrong in the sound mix.

DENMARK
The backing vocals open the song a capella and the vocal balance is not there. The female voices in there just sound too shrill. Anja is moving professionally on stage, selling the song well. A bit slippery on some of the end-notes, but she's a great singer anyway. Songwise it's such a shame, just because she is so great. Pyro-curtain to end off the song.

HUNGARY
Joci Papai still looks a bit 'Blanche-y' when he starts his song. But I feel that he, just like Blanche, seems to have found his comfort zone on stage. And at the latest by the rap bit he's actually winning me over with his performance. Happy for him, but not feeling the song. But that's only me.

BREAK
Gosh. Timur's English is horrible. As he rambles off his Eurovision facts, he sings his phrases in a totally artificial manner. Luckily his bits are being kept to a minimum.

NETHERLANDS
Talking about vocal powerhousing. Although one of the sisters starts a bit early. The trio seem a bit more nervous than they have been throughout rehearsal week. And it's a bit audible in the voices. By the bridge they've all composed themselves and are vocally back on track. I seem to have noticed a few faintly flat notes. But nothing to be worried about.

ROMANIA
Finally! It's Romania. And nothing too soon. Not really fond of Alex's sleeveless jacket. Nor am I wild about the child letters that spell 'Y - o - d - e - l - i - t' on the big screen. It's harmless, unpretentious fun until the bridge, where they show that vocally they mean business. This is sailing through.

MALTA
We got the wrong credits. Those of Romania.
Claudia still has her breasts projected on the gigantic videowall behind her. This is Slovenia 2017 territory. Competent, yet somehow sleep inducing.

MACEDONIA
Macedonia's postcard has a bit 'NOT FOR AIR' message slapped over it, meaning this isn't the definitive version for the show tomorrow.
Backings aren't pitch perfect, but to the untrained ear they'll sound okay. I think Jana is doing well in this rehearsal. The entire package isn't in the top tier though.

AUSTRIA
Nathan is his impish self throughout the entire performance. I feel that he'll go full on energizer bunny once the arena is filled with a responsive audience. For now the rehearsal is almost faultless. A bit slidey on the wailing, but apart from that smiles all round.

SERBIA
Tijana starts and the sound mix in the press centre is off. The music sounds way too harsh. She looks great this rehearsal. I wonder if the hair will stay the same. Vocally on the cusp of being shouty, but still powerful enough. Ok, now she does cross that line into shouty territory. She ends her song with overemphasizing the last 'p' in deep.

INTRO
The host boys are on stage now. Oleksandr takes the word. And again the guys try to be funny. They'll get it right by tomorrow evening. Also, they're still heavily relying on their cue cards.

Next they 'freestyle' with some musical instruments. Oleksandr is quite good with his flute. Volodymyr likes to handle an accordeon.

Hahaha! They're Ukrainifying some of Eurovision's best known hits. :-)
Awww... a glitch in the sound tape and they have to restart. Volodymyr calls out for his accordeon. Henrik keeps his cool as always. They restart.

Oleksandr's flute is called sopilka. Whatever you say Oleksandr. But keep playing it please.
So, the Eurovision hits... first Euphoria, which is actually quite nice and epic in traditional music style. Next up is Fairytale, which already sounded quite folksy. So not too much of a stretch there. Third hit is 'My Number One'. Think the male choir in 'Moja Stikla'. That kind of singing.
Wow. Even 'Rise like a Phoenix' gets a treatment. It's nothing short of impressive! I like!

As this is the first dress rehearsal, they get to do this intro act a second time. As the production team sets everything up for the second go, Oleksander occupies himself with the logistics of swapping his musical instrument with the cue cards. Quite ingeniously he suggests that one of the Ukrainian grannies has them stuffed in their skirt. It sounds more ridiculous than it is, really.

During the second go, 'Rise like a Phoenix' gets pyro during the final.
A few more hiccups in the transitions - The choir has to leave the stage immediately. But that's what rehearsals are for. Did you know that you can vote using the Eurovision App? It's like a Eurovision party.

16:05
The show starts with traditional dressed young Ukrainian ladies similar to Semi 1. I 'think' they're different but I can't be sure.

16:02
Still waiting. What did I rush for?

15:57
Right. So a bit later than usual.
I'm by myself this afternoon, so it won't be a verbatim report. Only the stuff worth mentioning.
Think performance, camerawork and the likes. For a description of the postcards, well, you'll have to wait for a bit more than a day.

Day 6 - 2nd Run Through : ARM / SLO / LAT / SRB / AUT

AUSTRIA

Oh Nathan! I warn you from the start, he can't do anything wrong in my eyes! But the damned light and camera people can! There is no longer the über-cute cheeky turn to camera right in the beginning. HOW DARE THEY! Also, Omar Naber is singing the Slovenian version of On My Way in his press conference making it a bit difficult to listen to Austria's rehearsal. RUDE. The not-so-invisible box is back, however this first rehearsal is without the heavy fog so maybe it will be 'invisible' at some point.

2nd Run - This is too sweet! It gives you cavities. Which from memory is what I have written for Austria last year too. What is it with them and sending candy recently? Unfortunately however we can't say that today's singing is a masterpiece. The high notes are not so high and the visuals are not as good as Monday. One more run through to maybe redeem himself but Nathan needs to be more on form than this in one weeks' time or it could be a bit of a challenge.

3rd Run - Slightly better but not amazeballs. And the invisible box is not invisible at all. In fact, it's more of the 'in your face' kind. #magicfail


SERBIA

Tijana just looks so alone on stage. Even when the dancer comes on for that short while it doesn't really help much. She also looks slightly stiff which just adds to the awkwardness. Vocally not the strongest, the camera does what it can but in general this is not the best we've seen from Serbia by far. Neither is is Cipela, but it's not one of their better packages.

2nd Run - Read above.

3rd Run - "Won't somebody save [her] tonight?" It is Serbia after all so let's not discount them since that would be silly, but I am struggling to find reasons to vote for it.


LATVIA

One and only one question needs to be answered - is the penis still there?! Answer - NO!

Agnese is dressed in a white and black techo-spacey number with boots going, in the words of Loreen, "up, up, up, up, up!" The props on stage have been changed slightly, especially that which created penisgate a couple of days ago. The Freedom Monument is now filled in and the stars are made a lot more visible, no mistaking it for a flacid shlong any more.

2nd Run - The backdrop colours are mainly black and white for most of the start of the song with green lighting coming from behind. This then turns into a technicolour mess during the chorus. Props are all in neon colours - pink, green and blue. All in all a decent performance but is it strong enough to reach Saturday night? The juries are unlikely to go for it so it will need a large televote to really stand any chance.

3rd Run - And the final run through we get to see the smoke but no pyro. Boo.


SLOVENIA

Omar seems comfortable enough on the stage. The usage of the chandelier is working well and Omar connects well with the camera. Although alone on stage, he does not look lost which is an improvement on quite a few of this years' contestants.

2nd Run - Another good performance. He is confident and comfortable and he shows it. The lighting of the stage also enhances the song well. I've never really been in camp Slovenia this year but this could be my mistake in my predictions.

3rd Run - He's flirting with the camera! We approve! The only thing we can fault this on is the distinct lack of pyro in places where it so obviously should be. Not that it actually needs it, but who ever had it for the need of it? Why wouldn't you have it if it is available? So if you're reading this my dear Slovenian delegation - PYRO!


ARMENIA

Clad in black, Artsvik and her two backing dancers and visually immaculate. Clearly they did not stay at Euroclub until 2:30am yesterday night. Someone might have, but not them. The choreography and staging is looking very sleek, much better than in the first rehearsal (which as you all know is what a first rehearsal is all about). Vocally she is perfect, no faulting, and even the many movements which were not so rehearsed (or so it seemed) on Monday have now been corrected - especially the 'Vishnu' one where the two backing dancers are behind her and she has now three sets of arms.

2nd Run - No real major comment to make from the first. It's qualifying - not that that was ever in doubt.

3rd Run - The this that I love about third runs is that you see what it should actually be looking like. And now we have dry ice and pyro! Hell yes we do! And it works so much better as a full package! I'm still not fully convinced by the pink digital eagle bursting out of Artsvik and flying across the screen at the end of the song (you'll understand what I mean when you see it) but it does have meaning I guess. For those who didn't know, Artsvik means 'baby eagle' in Armenian.


MORNING TRAGEDY

So, first of all I wish to apologise to everyone for the delay in the blog today. Although arriving on time, we have been experiencing technical difficulties in such that the laptop decided it had to update for over 30 minutes (and counting) so we have now gone on to the general PCs instead to at least get some content out. This comes in addition to the technical issue with the Uber taxi who forgot to say that we had arrived at our destination and continued to drive around Kyiv after dropping us off ... and charging for the pleasure. Uber support, here we come! But enough about the shitty start to the day! On to the songs!

Day 3 - SRB-AUT-MKD-MLT

MALTA

Most things would have sounded vocally good after Macedonia, Claudia sounds amazing. The strong voice means you almost don't notice it's another woman in white with a blue backdrop.

Another one using images of her self on the backdrop. Including a very off-putting close up of her chest, it looks like she's standing in her own cleavage.

Unlike all the other singers alone on stage, Claudia doesn't look lost.

This feels very much like a potential qualifier. But they need to rethink the backdrop and maybe do something at the end. It just stops.


MACEDONIA

She does, indeed, dance alone.

To quote Paul - "it's okayish". In fairness, that's more than we were expecting.

Vocally she's getting worse each time, but is adequate.

The dance moves are as cheap has hell though. Looks likes she's auditioning for a job at one of the gentelemen's clubs nearby.

You have to hand it to Jana though - giving hope to amateurs everywhere.


AUSTRIA

Very few of this year's singers can work the camera like Nathan. Some excellent close-ups to start this when he is sitting on a crescent moon, with lovely purple storm cloud type backdrop.

After the first chorus he jumps off the moon and moves around a bit being cute and smiley.

Backing singers appear (YAY!) towards the end with Nathan back on the moon and then *gasp* runs on the air!

It's all very cute, maybe too cute? Nathan doesn't look very elegant when he mounts his moon, so need to work a bit on the camera angles.


SERBIA

She's in white and the stage is blue. On her own for a lot of the song, then open-shirted male dancer appears and flounces around.

Awkward moment at the start of the final chorus when Tijana manages to sing without even opening her mouth due to the unseen backing vocals.

This staging is very generic and unexciting, although there are a couple of nice overhead shots with swirling watery images on the floor. Tijana is singing as well as anyone can at 10 in the morning.

Feels like a very long three minutes. She's on her own on the stage for too long and when the dancer arrives he doesn't bring very much. On the positive side, Tijana does comes across as quite likeable/votable (despite some unflattering face contortions).


****
Good morning.

It's day 3 of rehearsals, and we'll get to see the first half of semi two. For the occasion the air conditioning in the press centre has been set to "Austrian mountain".

Eurovision Hotties World Cup - Semi-final 1

Do you follow ESC Nation on Twitter? If you do, you might have been following along with our Eurovision Hotties World Cup, our mission to find this year's hottest (male) Eurovision contestant (or host).

We started with 32 guys in contention in the group stages, 16 of whom made it through to the knockout rounds. Now, after the round of 16 and the quarter finals, four competitors remain.

Semi-final 1 - Nathan Trent vs Francesco Gabbani

The first semi-final is a battle between two very different hotties, as fresh-faced innocence from Austria takes on the personality and charisma from Italy. Francesco came into the competition as one of the favourites, but hasn't had an easy journey to the semi-finals. It was tight between him and two of our hosts in the second round and the quarter final, and in both cases he only just squeezed past Timur Miroshnychenko and Volodymyr Ostapchuk. By contrast, Nathan's had a much smoother run, which culminated in beating Hovig with almost 75% of the vote in the quarter finals.

Take a look at the photos, and vote in the Twitter poll below, which closes this evening.

(We initially intended to introduce shirtless pics at this stage of the competition, but, well, there aren't any. Not that we could find anyway. If you know better, please send them our way on Twitter or by letting us know in the comments.)

Vote, and make sure you're following us on Twitter for the results!

#eurovisionhottiesworldcup Semi-final 1. Vote for your favourite #eurovision hottie

— ESC Nation (@ESCNation) April 30, 2017

The borderliners - My Semi 1 Prediction

I have to admit, I'm finding Semi 1 one of the hardest semis to predict in a number of years, and that's for the simple reason that there are so many songs that, for me, are right on the borderline of qualifying. To put my thoughts in order, I thought I'd write about them.

For me, there are six songs that are definitely through in Semi 1, and four that are definitely out. That leaves seven in the borderline between 8th place and 14th place - so three of them have to qualify. Those seven songs are Greece, Hungary, Croatia, Azerbaijan, Austria, Estonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, and for me, they fall into three pairs (plus Greece). So let's take them in their pairs.

Battle 1: Azerbaijan vs Austria
The two young girls who haven't impressed vocally in rehearsals. I've always really liked Austria, and have tended to be quite firm in my belief that it's a good song, and that will be enough to carry it through. However, with a lot of competition in this semi-final, and so many things working against it (the language, Zoe's vocals, the cute-and-likeable vs annoying-and-precocious debate), I now think it stays in the semi. Azerbaijan, by contrast, has never impressed me as a song - I always found it quite ordinary, and I think the staging is also quite underwhelming. But they have more friends, and what's possibly quite a generically appealing song.

Battle 2: Hungary vs Estonia
Two boys singing darker songs. Hungary have been quite well-thought of since 'Pioneer' was chosen, both in predictions and betting odds, but I've never seen it. I always found the performance from A Dal quite uninteresting, and it doesn't sound like Freddie's done much to change that in Stockholm. It'll all depend on if Europe sees something more than I do. On the other side of the battle, Estonia have changed their performance for the international final, and reports suggest it might be over-complicating things now. I do think Hungary is slightly more accessible as a song, but Juri might have enough appeal - and who knows what juries will make of it?

Battle 3: Croatia vs Bosnia-Herzegovina
The Balkan nations - is there room for both of them in the final? Croatia have tumbled down the rankings over the past couple of months, and even more so after seeing the planned stage performance. I always had Bosnia-Herzegovina down as a non-qualifier - just too Balkan as a song, and potentially not a very vote-friendly look (that's me trying to find a kind way of saying that Deen looks weird). But as Bosnia always do, they've come with a strong (if slightly odd) performance in rehearsals, and may surprise us once again. I told myself I'd never bet against Bosnia qualifying after 2010 - perhaps I should take that advice tonight.

And then there's Greece. As a song, it should be doomed - but on the other hand, the last time they entered a combination of rap and singing in a mix of languages, which we'd all assumed was hopeless when it was selected, it went and won the semi. I'm always wary of counting Greece out.

So, I have to make a choice... here goes:

The qualifiers:

1. Russia
2. Iceland
3. Netherlands
4. Armenia
5. Malta
6. Czech Republic
7. Cyprus
8. Hungary
9. Bosnia-Herzegovina
10. Estonia

And missing out:

11. Azerbaijan
12. Croatia
13. Greece
14. Austria
15. Montenegro
16. San Marino
17. Finland
18. Moldova

The not-press opinion - FIN, GRE, MLD, HUN, CRO, NED, ARM, SMA, RUS, CZE, CYP, AUT, EST, AZE

OK, this was it for me. Nothing to do with Samra and my ears. If you want my opinion and some (badly written) info on the rest of Semi 1, refer to my previous blog post. If you prefer well-written posts, then try the other bloggers of this website. Will be back for the other semi and the songs I missed from them.

Azerbaijan

First live performance, like in the actual stadium, ever for me was Samra Rahimli performing amazing Miracle. Certainly not the wisest choise I've made. But since I really love the song... And then again, she improved each time, also having very weak moments though. Loved the pyro show in any case.

Estonia

I expected something darker from them, but instead they went city-lights and Casino Royale. The camera closes in on him and then there's some prop with a card appearing and disappearing a couple of times, before he throws it to our direction. The end shot is a close-up on his face, but he obviously doesn't know what to do with it. He tries to be still, then smiles, then does a half-wink (like something is irritating his eye). I need to see this once more to be more descriptive.

Initial shots are well thought of, he appears to the right side of the screen before walking towards us, while the camers pans from above. Some far shots are closing in on him from the side. He has some issue timing the hand moves, they are looking a bit weird. Far shot closing ing again for the second verse. Camera then rolls around him slowly. Then he does the card thing. The card is thrown better this time. A nice red spade/heart shape on the floor. Nicer ending shot.

Austria

Long break followed Cyprus, I think we won't see this many times actually. Camera zooms to her smiling face. Then approaches her again from afar as she's walking towards us. Another close-up during the first en chante. She's a bit breathy. Many close-ups again, usually zooming out and showing the wonderful flowery backdrop. It comes across very optimistic, but then she misses some notes and the feeling is gone. Camera switching from far to close shots regularly. Then some more mid-distance ones. For the last sentence, it zooms out quickly. From some point on she looks really straining with keeping up with the notes. Not very sure about this.

Last run and nothing much changed. A cute thing is her interaction with the backdrop during the second verse, where moving her hands creates red roses in the back. Vocals again a bit strained (but then this is her third run, so she is tired). For the bridge, the camera rolls around her and she makes good contact with it. The last part was really shouty and strained unfortunately. Must improve to qualify, I see it just missing out as it is now.

Day 5 . Russia, Czech Republic, Cyprus and Austria

Yesterday I spent the day at the Euro Fan Café / Euroclub (it really is just the same thing this year, just different names depending on the hour of the day) and watched some meet & greets. More about that later. Now back in the press centre to watch some rehearsals.


Austria

Another singer who is completely alone on stage although we can very clearly hear her backing vocals. The staging backingdrop is interesting though and she carries it off alone pretty well. But there's also no reason whatsoever why the backing singers couldn't just as well have been somewhere on stage. It would have worked nicely with this staging. And would have made it stand out a lot more among all the solo singers being completely alone on stage.

Zoe's pink strapless princess dress suits her well. It would have been awkward in any other performance, but in this fairytale backdrop world it looks nice. The performance is visually memorable, but the question is whether it's really exciting enough to give the song that extra boost.

Cyprus

The song starts with a close-up of Francois. So close that we can even see him spitting while singing. But he's handsome and he's got nice arms, so all is forgiven.
He's wearing a very lose flowy knee-lenght black sleeveless cardigan, over a tank top and black trousers. It looks very modern and fashionable, yet suits the rock feel of the song. The other members are mainly in black as well, but they're in the dark most of the time so we don't see them a lot.

Vocally it sounds fine, but it's hard to hear in the press centre as the volume is low and there's a lot of noise coming from San Marino's press conference.

Second run-through, and we can hear things a bit better. Basically, he's not the best singer in the world, but it's perfectly adequate for the song. Of all the rock-inspired entries this year, I think this will be the most approachable to the general viewers. As it has a very distinct and memorable melody. And the staging isn't too weird or gimmicky, so it might stand out among all the technically advanced entries.

There's a lot of armpit flashing going on. And (unlike Moldova) he's kept just the right amount of hair there. It's trimmed, but not clean-shaven. And no stubble. 


Czechia

The colours of the stage really look great. Blue and pink. She has an interesting necklace that looks like a robe with some sort of big rock crystals attached to it. The dress is a plain white top with a peplum around the hips. And a white flowy bottom, which catches the colours of the lights.

She sings it more or less perfectly, even if holding back a little bit. Everything is simply both very pleasing both for the eyes and the ears. I dare to say that of all the pop ballads this year, this one works the best on stage.

As so many others, this one hides the backing singers. But unlike most of the others that like to pretend that their singer can produce 6 different voices at the same time, I think it kind of works for this one. Due to the darkness of the song and due to how the stage is lit, it doesn't come across that weird that she's alone on it.

Russia

It's pretty much the same as before, with the difference that Sergey is a lot more sweaty today. I still think the performacne is way too much. Especially as the projection screen doesn't always work perfectly. The "steps" that are supposed to be invisible, are very much visible. And the projections are a little bit off-sync sometimes. Still time to fix that though.

If this performance had been in any other year, it would REALLY have stood out. But since about half of the entries this year are using some kind of 3D projections or holograms, this staging may not come across as impressive as they had hoped. But Sergey does really manage to sing it well enough in spite of all the climbing he has to do. Something not everyone using similar staging effects manage to do. And I'm pretty sure it's by far competent enough to get the votes of everyone who already love Sergey and the song. In the countries where he's already popular I can't see him getting much lower scores than a 12. The problem is though, so far I haven't really heard anyone who isn't a Eurovision fan or a Sergey fan say that they like the song... And will this performance convince them?

Day 5 Afternoon - Armenia, San Marino, Russia, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Austria

AUSTRIA
Unfortunately still so sweet it gives you cavities. I can definitely see why some people really like this however I cannot say that I am one of them myself. I wold not be so totally surprised if it does not make it to Saturday and neither would the bookies. No sign of a treadmill anywhere.


CYPRUS
The cages have remained (which I don't believe was actually up for debate). In-ear still appears to be an issue for some acts. There are hardly any graphics of wolves appearing any more which is a good thing. Vocally not completely there but it works fine for the song. Is it enough or not however that is another question.


CZECH REPUBLIC
Wearing the dress from the first rehearsal, Gabriela is lit up a bit differently. Still vocally on cue. The song presentation is spot on. It will be really unfair if the Czechs do not see the stage on Saturday.

I know the post is small - but there is not really much to say about the entry - it simply works. J has written more so also check that blog to see comments!


RUSSIA
There are some evil people in this room. There was a large applause due to the technical mishap of Russia. The song started about four to five seconds before the technical image which meant that it was all out of synch. The song was stopped before the first chorus starts since there is no point continuing. Remember, each act has a specific amount of time and can do as many runs as they wish, however, once time is up, it is up. How long before Russia are back up and running?

Second run and this one goes a bit better technically but there are some mistakes which can be seen. The camera angles need to be exact in order for the effects to work but this is not happening yet. Likely however that these little tweaks will be done before Tuesday. And well, would this be in doubt even if there are some errors in it?



SAN MARINO
Well, Iveta he is *not* but he is still having a great time. The backing dancers are clad in silver while Serhat is in a maroon suit. He keeps on doing it so we believe it will happen - at the end of the song Serhat throws his hat into the crowd. We expect it to be on ebay within the week. What we unfortunately do not expect is to see him on stage on Saturday.

It seems that the afterbiib will consist of one goers. Russia on stage now.


ARMENIA
Iveta is lookin HOT! Hot and FIERCE! (OK, I promise that is the last time I write that). The projections to me are still not working but it has received a warm applause by the gathered europress. I am needing to start counting since to me they appear to all be qualifying now. Armenia however is not only qualifying due to my dubious taste but because it is a good song which is well produced and presented extremely well. The videos you will be watching soon will reveal the staging and the outfit and enough will be said.

Only country to only perform once. The screen came back up but it was definitely not Iveta on screen.

Day 2 Rehearsals - Czech Republic, Cyprus, Austria, Estonia

ESTONIA

Before the rehearsal
Last year Estonia was one of the countries we were wetting ourselves over. This year a bit less.

Rehearsal
Starting with a long shot, the camera moves closer to Jüri who is centre-stage. He is dressed in a blue suit over a white shirt, no tie and - at least for the rehearsal - glasses. There is a card theme. The backdrop is black and has red hues. In the central line you see a red diamond, heart and spade. In his act, Jüri will skillfully pull cards out of his sleeve. I did not notice if it was multiple or the same one - will pay more attention later. Unlike Eestilaul and the promotional tours, there is no hints of the preview video in the staging. This new setup works well for the song. Vocally did not give goosebumps but still received an applause from europress.

Second run - The card suits are white. I'm sure they were red before. The ace of hearts is brought out from the chest pocket of the suit which gets thrown to the audience. However, soon later a card also appears from the sleeve. We did not see if it was another ace of heats or not. Twice there were audio issues, albeit very short, during this rehearsal. Less of an applause than the first run but this could be due to the Czech meet and greet happening now.
 

AUSTRIA

Before the rehearsal
Oh Zoë, sweet sweet Zoë. This song appears to have mixed opinions from betting and fans. Fans seem to think it will win while the best you can currently find this is at 50:1. I personally don't expect this to set much alight but I have been proven wrong on many an occasion and this could just be another one to add to the list. It is one we've been waiting for though.

Rehearsal
Starting on a plain blue-lit stage, Zoë clad in a peach frock with silver-embroided and studded top section. As choreography, there isn't much to talk about. She just stands on stage in one spot while the camera does all the work. Backdrop is exactly as per the preview video, flowers, butterflies and all. The floor does light up to continue the effect and in essence Zoë is on a pathway in this colourful land.

Second run - Much the same as the first - only this time the wind machine blows parts of her dress a bit too much which needs to be calmed down. A good rendition.

Third run - Nothing much new to comment about. Zoë interacts with the background, at some point 'creating' a rainbow. She's enjoying herself however which is nice to see.

Merci et bonne chance Autriche!


CYPRUS

Before the rehearsal
Well, Cyprus this year brings us a song which is a crowd splitter. I personally am on team like but that could be because I appear to like everything nowadays. Apart from Leto Svet which someone who shall remain nameless keeps on singing the chorus of.

Rehearsal
The guys, apart from lead singer Francois, are behind personal cages. Not all have four walls however which kind of defeats the point of having a cage in the first place. The song starts with a close up of Francois which some might enjoy more than others (again, I'm in the like category). Staging is what you could have expected - pink, flowery, loads of hearts everywhere. Not. Dark, moody and very 'rockish' (well, for a Eurovision entry).

WOLVES - there are WOLVES! And no, they are not Belarussian, and the group is not naked, but they do have wolves. It is filmed and I'm not 100% sure if all of them are real or some are digital but the end shot is of a close up of a wolf's head which then bleeds into a close up of Francois' to keep the connection between the lead singer and the wolf.

Second run - Definitely some digital wolves. The howling is getting slightly better. Thankfully we know they are just playing around with what works - there was a shot which really, really, and I cannot stress how much really did not work. A face-on outline of a wolf head with Francois filmed inside it. This then turns into a profile - but, at least in this shot, it just looked amateurish. I am quite sure the delegation will not be using it.

Final run - Dry ice arrives. First 'error' - Francois couldn't complete the second chorus, he seems to have been pointing to the floor (dry ice) but there didn't seem to have been that much to have made an effect on vocal chords. No pyro and hardly any wolf shots.
  

CZECH REPUBLIC
 
Before the rehearsal
The Czech Republic (or Czechia as it will be known) is one of the countries whose fortune has not been great at Eurovision. Last year we were all routing for them but alas it was once again not their year. This years' presentation however does seem to be sparking more positive attention and it will be time for the nation to taste the atmosphere of the Saturday night stage. 

Rehearsal
The music starts and we see Gabriela walking to the front of the stage. She soon stops the run-through though to ask about markings on the ground (which we hear will not be there) in case she needs to try and remember where to position herself. She will.

Dressed in white, the stage has elements from her preview video - namely the colourful triangles. Vocally capable, Gabriela does the run through professionally and does seem to have done her homework. Run over, the gathered press (which admittedly aren't huge in numbers) cheer.

Second run - Gabriela has a HUGE crystal necklace on. There are definitely backing singers but we cannot see them. There is a reason why Gabriela needs to be in the right position on stage - again, a case of singer and stage interacting. The backdrop for the last chorus is of falling flowers - the same that she laid on in the preview video. Another applause once over.

Third and final run - Due to camera angles we cannot confirm the effect but it appears that the pink blob composed of multiple triangles which is seen slowly falling towards the ground at the back of Gabriela in the intro slowly moves accross the floor towards her. We believe the effect is that on the first chorus this blob should have just reached directly underneath her and then bursts outwards from the central point, filling the rest of the floor with trianglular lights. Coming after the huge extravagance of Russia, this is an excellent choice.

The night before
Well, if I could type super fast I would give a recap of what happened last night at the Euroclub. But I cannot type that fast and watch rehearsals so the long and short is : Much space, few people, small dance, Serhat.

Day 2 Preview - from Czech Republic to Sweden

The second day of rehearsals will naturally follow the countries set to perform in the second half of the second semi-final, which means we're in for a busy day with a number of performances to look forward to.

Indeed we start with three entries that we're very eager to see on stage. Czech Republic are on first at 10:00, and we're looking forward to finally getting a proper live performance of 'I Stand' from Gabriela Gunčíková. We've been given absolutely no impression of how they're staging this, but as long as she's not sitting for the whole song, we're happy.

Czech Republic will be followed by Cyprus, and it'll be interesting to see how their vocals come across tomorrow. We've seen a number of live performances in which the lead vocal of Francois Micheletto have seemed either strained or weak, and this is a powerful song that will need a vocal to match if it's to climb up the scoreboard on Saturday night. Immediately after Cyprus we will have Austria. Austria are certainly one of the most borderline qualifiers and, even though we've seen a live performance of it in the national final, somewhat of an unknown quantity. Zoe's been practising walking on a treadmill for the past couple of months, and it's going to be very interesting to see how this one comes across. Cute and charming? Or twee and precocious. We'll do our best to judge.

We're also really looking forward to seeing what Azerbaijan come up with tomorrow - they're certainly not known for their understated stagings. And later in the day at 3:00 we have Iceland. Now, when Russia came on the screens a few hours ago, the first thing that crossed the minds of everyone in the press centre was 'hang on, these projections look like Iceland's did in the national final'. Have Iceland come up with something else, or is Greta's gimmick going to wind up looking rather so-so after Russia? If so, it could really hurt the Icelandic chances.

Towards the end of the day we have Malta, who are almost certainly going to come up with a performance that is BIGGER THAN EUROPE. And Ira will be followed by Frans, the hosts having been allocated a rehearsal position at the beginning of the week, presumably to fill a gap with a delegation that are already present in the host city. We can only assume that we'll see a repeat of the Melodifestivalen performance from Sweden.

That's it! Join us (as the Danes would have said) from 10:00 in the press centre tomorrow, and as always, feel free to ask us any questions in the comments below or on Twitter.

FINAL - FIRST DRESS REHEARSAL (Part I)

We've got 10 minutes before the first dress rehearsal for the final starts. Excitement aplenty!

Te Deum was playing in the background. We didn't have a screen view bbut now we have two guys on stage - the same which were prepping the audience up the last couple of days for the semi finals.

Seems like we're running a bit late, this is not part the of the show - unless we wer in Italy, it seems like something you would be able to see on Italia 1/Canale 5 or RAI1 on a weeknight.

The 'warm up' guys are still there ...

Still haven't started... nearly 10 mins late.

Te deum played by an orchestra in a marquee in the grounds of the Schlossbrun. We then get treated to a classical piece and then the intro to this years' building bridges.

Starting the show with another mix of last years' announcement of the winner - Austria.

We then go on a tour of Austira with the theme being circles - or at least that's the only connection I can see between the clips.

Circles, bubbles, running people, smiling children, all result in one sphere arriving at the Weiner Stadthalle and a real sphere travels down from the ceiling to the stage where it meets a violinist playing Merci Chérie and then flows into Rise like a Phoenix. During this performance the back of the stage opens up to reveal the orchestra.

Conchita rises up from under the stage.She sings the theme song of this year - Building Bridges.
Also joining her are the three other hosts - Arabella, Mirjam and Alice.

Conchita flies up into the airand is suspended over the audience moving from the podium to the main stage. In come the Vienna Boys' Choir. We move into a rap moment and the kids start waving Austrian and Australian flags. Really, this Australia stuff is starting to get to me - and I never really cared about them taking part, I thought it was a nice one off.

The stage is now for the 27 competing countries, however there was no announcement of the countries so the Slovenes were a bit 'do we, don't we' moment. They decide to take a leap and the camera moves on to Serbia, but the music is then stopped. Arabella then says "it seems that you don't need to rehearse but we do!"

"Good evening Europe!" and then music ... at the wrong time... so all three presenters laugh. Conchita looks pissed.

There is no mentioning of indicidual countries this time, just all come down at the same time.

Once all acts, flag bearers, remaining dancers and any other person wanting to go on stage has managed to get there, we continue singing Building Bridges. And the music stops.

"What a fantastic opening [...] thank you to our 265 artists here on stage"

Next we have the building bridges clips wich people were asked to submit. Not a "down down low" in sight.

Informing about the voting and we're about to start.

SLOVENIA
Extremely confident and compitent. Sounds like you're hearing the studio version. For someone who only qualified last night, Marjetka is doing very well. "Danke" and "Hvala".

FRANCE
Lisa is dressed in old Imperial robes and is having high tea. A picture is taken for her to keep.

The cameras failed right at the beginning. Director needs to be careful, rookie mistake. Still going on though, doesn't seem important enough to stop the show.

Lisa is not singing at her strongest, but we already know her philosophy - they need two good rounds, the one tonight and the one tomorrow. This is just a rehearsal.

ISRAEL
Nadav is not wearing his Golden Boy outfit - unless he wants to overly promote Nike t-shirts.

Some cameraman from NRK is blocking my view. But people seem to be clapping. It's good but maybe he's saving himself, maybe he partied too much last night ... maybe it's just getting a bit 'we've seen this already'? What am I saying? It's still fun!

ESTONIA
Something happened - so instead of listening to Estonia, we have facts about Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest read to us by Arabella. I am not sure if this is a rehearsal for 'should anything go wrong' or if it is actually just going wrong.

It seems it is going wrong. There is a technical (camera) issue. The three presenters are trying their best, but stand up comics they are not. Feel sorry for them. But oh well, it will be fine on the night.

Estonian postcard again - let's see if it works this time.

This time we get going.

Good performance, she doesn't cry but maybe it's not worth her while in this one.

UNITED KINGDOM
Bianca and Alex go flying drones at night with magical sticks - or at least that's whatt they want us to believe.

The pack has been covered by the fur throwover. Song is really not going anywhere. Need to grab that coffee? Why not use this as your break? Wouldn't be surprised if this came last. I think it will still receive points from Australia and Ireland but not many from anywhere else.

ARMENIA
Coming after the UK can only help Armenia. Another good performance and the circle is being nailed now. Should do decently well.

LITHUANIA
Harmless enough. Not going to do exceedingly well but not going to be really low in rankings either.

The more amazing thing I saw during this performance was that some delusional being has voted that the UK would win. I want whatever they're having please, and the suppliers' address. Danke. 

SERBIA
Bojana is lovely, you can see she's enjoying every minute of that stage. And so are her backing. I do hope she does really well on Saturday. 

NORWAY
Well, Debrah is trying on the Princess Merida look from the film Brave (2012). Good on ya girl! Why bother doing hair and make up for this... not like anyone is watching!

BREAK(Y)?
Not sure if this was a break or another issue. But we have a reminder of the voting numbers for the songs. And then we go to Måns. Is it just to build up suspence or is it to get the props on stage?

SWEDEN
Måns is also not worrying about costume. He's wearing a simple grey t which isn't as body hugging as his ensemble from yesterday but we get to see his arms which we enjoy.

He's not doing all the notes but that's could be for the usual two factors - tired from last night and saving for tonight. It's not an easy job doing this you know!

CYPRUS
Can Cyprus do another Lisa Andreas? This year probably not, but I can see this being top 10. Many artists are probably asking themselves the same question since thy didn't qualify last night or from Tuesday.

AUSTRALIA
Guy goes surfing in a freezing mountain river. He managed to get a cold because of it. But apparently recovered.

"This is one tough act to follow" until the EBU decide to bend all their rules when it suits them once more. I am not one for fairness and equality in the world but I am against two-faceism. If you have a rule, stick to it. Why don't we let the guys from FIFA manage - it seems they have the same ethos.

Having said that, this will do well, and if it wins so be it. But let us please keep it a one off.

BELGIUM
Again, this guy is amazing. He basically did the whole thing himself - song to choreography. And he is closing in on Italy in the betting odds. Expect good things fom this guy shortly. Could he be as big as Stromae?

AUSTRIA
Austrian postcard just shows us around Vienna. Nothing exceptional for the host country. Preferred some of the others.

The piano is on fire once more. Big cheer in the hall and press room - as can be imagined. Many 'mainstream' media representatives are now here and they are mainly Austrian.

BREAK
Arabella talks to Conchita - and congratulates her on a great job at the green room during the previous days. But, we also find out that she was at Eurovision previously - as part of the backing vocals for France 2008. We all laugh - not.