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 7 | Second Rehearsals | Second Semi-Final | Second Half | 🇬🇪 🇦🇱 🇵🇹 🇧🇬 🇫🇮 🇱🇻 🇨🇭🇩🇰

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

Good morning from Amsterdam (or well .... the Otherdam). Today it's my big pleasure to update you  - on the second rehearsals from the remaining countries in the second semi-final from home, while Jordy will be hanging around in the arena.


🇩🇰 | Denmark

Another upgraded version of the NF performance. They even wear the same outfits. What's new is that there are backings on stage that get their own shot clapping after the word 'dansegulv', which is a nice touch. Also the stage looks amazing. In the same colours we were used to, pink and green/turquoise, but there's a nice animation that makes it looks like they're standing on an even bigger stage. During the bridge Jesper runs towards the sattelite stage, but he also returns quite quickly.

No notable changes in following runthroughs, only the pyro at the last not when Laurits joins Jesper on his mini-stage. The act looks finished and fun as always.

🇨🇭 | Switzerland

Totally not the staging I was expecting for this, but that isn't a bad thing at all. As you know Gjon is standing on a white 'thing' and even has some sort of choreography. We see some very close close-ups and Gjon looks into the camera. He's selling this pretty well, vocally it also sounds more than fine.

During the bridge however for some reason his face is lit with purple light which looks a bit odd. But that's the only thing negative to mention here. This is definitely still a contender.

On the backdrop at times we see some sort of silvery water effect, which looks pretty cool. During the song part of the object he's standing on is being slightly transformed. During the last chorus white spots are lighting up from the background and the floor. It looks great and sounds amazing. It's only the purple bit that seems a bit out of place, but that's not going to break this.

There were small some technical flaws here, the shadow of a cameraman was visible and also a stagehand changing the structure on which Gjon stands in the middle of the song was shortly visible. But these are things that they should be able to fix.


🇱🇻 | Latvia

We didn't get to see the first run, but Jordy just informed me it was stopped in the middle of the song for reasons apparently not obvious. The second run went fine, she and her three backings on stage (yay for that) all in green (backings with the well-know head pieces) and a quite busy yellow-golden abstract backdrop which is also projected on the floor. I was actually positively surprised, expected it to look and sound much more hopeless than it did. Even though it's hard to make something of it and in this semi it is facing quite a hard task. 

Samanta starts at the back of the stage, a bit alike Georgia, but now in green lights. After that she joins the backings center stage. Near the end there's a nice shot from above after which they make the well-know crown gestures. The crown also features as part of the background animation, which as stated above is mostly abstract and busy. Perhaps busy enough for the singers wearing green to get a little bit lost on stage. But all in all, a very decent performance. Is it qualifying? That's probably not the case.

🇫🇮 | Finland

Yay, it was about time for some action, and we get it. The performance, as was to be expected, isn't really much different from what we saw in UMK, but an upgraded version, due to the stage being a lot more impressive. The lighting is mostly red and white. with lots of rays of light in all directions. 

Hardly anything new to tell about this one except that it looks solid and will obviously qualify. And what happens there depends on a lot of other factors, but it could actually get pretty high.

In the third run there's also (modest) pyro effects during some of the choruses. Not the most original song in its genre but well executed.

🇧🇬 | Bulgaria

So Victoria is sitting on this cliff/island thing you've all already seen. With a picture next to her which at one point she emotionally looks at. Stage is all golden lights and golden stars. Much gold in other words. And at one point there's golden sand coming from above gliding through her hands. There were some pretty odd and probably unintentional camera shots in the first runthrough. Also I wasn't fully convinced by her vocals, which seemed to be off at times. But it also seemed she wasn't trying very hard. 

Second run is much better. I called it a cliff/island what she's sitting on, but it's hard to tell what it is. It's floating in a sea which has golden refelctions in the water. And it somehow seems to be turning around during the song. 

They apparently had to cut a bit from the intro and the beginning now sounds a bit odd to me. 

All in all, I'm not feeling the winner vibe some others seem to get, yet. Which may also be because of a bit messy camera work, too much movement, I think it would have worked better if they focused a bit more on Victoria. 

🇵🇹 | Portugal

Performance starts of in 4:3 black and white, and stays like that until the end of the first chorus. The screen widens and we get colour. On the backdrop we shortly see what I suppose is meant to be Amsterdam, then we see silhouettes of an orchestra playing, including a huge piano, all this with a golden background. Near the second chorus a woman appears on the LED wall. At this point the singer walks to the sattelite stage with the woman 'walking along' with him on the transparent LED screen, which is well thought of. Stage colours are very warm (mainly gold and some hints of blue) and well suited to the song. There's also a projection of a big golden heart at one point.

His voice may not be what everyone likes, but he sounded fine for how he sounds. At least the first two runthroughs, there were some pretty ugly notes in the third ...


🇦🇱 | Albania

OK, this looks pretty amazing, from the first second. Anxhela is all alone on stage an wearing a glittery silver dress. On the backdrop we see a lot of red 'explosions', later it becomes a mix of red and turquoise / greenish blue, which may sound odd, but it looks great. During the last minute this turns into a cloudy sky. There's also some smoke on stage. Vocals are totally fine here too, as the artist must realize this *may* be what Europe actually gets to see and hear. Some reporters say 'Iveta' (Armenia 2016) and I can see some similarities indeed. Very well done, and as it was already a borderliner I feel this performance has probably pushed them to that side of the border they want to be at.


🇬🇪 | Georgia

So we're having breakfast with Tornike. Perhaps not the most exciting start of the day, as not a lot happens. Unlike reports from last Tuesday, he is now singing the song as we know it, and it sounded decent enough, even if I feel that the (recorded?) backings are a bit too loud in the mix at points. At the beginning of the song Tornike comes through the stage doors which are lit in white. They close when the starts singing and the backdrop turns into a what sort of resembles a night sky with many moving golden stars.

Coming after some heavy up-tempo stuff, the calm beginning may make this stand out. There's a box on the stage on which Tornike is sitting for the second verse. This is when we see part of the lyrics appear as projections on his face. All in all it's hard to compare as it's the first thing I've seen in full. Also the stream got cut off halfway the second runthrough ....  

I think the opening is effective, and this is important. But I'm not convinced it keeps the attention for long. Also I can't help thinking Tornike feels pretty bored by it himself.

All in all, decent, and not chanceless, but also not very eventful.

Second rehearsal: Poland to Latvia

Latvia

Red.


Hungary

Music stopped after 20 seconds, now we're hearing "I have time to go to the toilet?". Properly started after less than a minute, so I guess it's a no. A similar act to what we've seen. In the arena, this is electrifying and I finally got my first goosebumps of the year with the pyro during the bridge (am I that superficial - or was it that good?)

Malta

The on-screen heart is now about where Christabelle's liver is, still not anatomically correct but less disturbing than in the mouth. In the arena, the LED shower and laser show is spectacular, audience is in for a treat. Dancer now appears in the shower much later than in the first rehearsal, which was a good decision I think. A good rehearsal for Malta, but it would be better without the pyro.

Poland

More bad vocals. Either everyone partied late last night, or you should warn your non-fan guests on Thursday. Can crowd energy save this?

First rehearsal: Latvia to Montenegro

Montenegro

Pre-opinion: I've warmed up to this recently, but wasn't exactly keen at first. And neither did Montenegro, considering he only finished third in the first round of their NF. This won't be easy, even if it's the only Balkan Ballad competing for your votes.

First run-through: Vanja wears a suit made of silvery scales, a bit like an Atlantic fish. Has he been looking through our lunch photos? A pianist and four women in feathery dresses doing some Balkan hands around him.

Second run-through: This is all done by the Balkan Book of Choreography. Dramatic women freeze in different hand poses, then take their turns touching his shoulder lightly and turn away. He's confident vocally with the long notes.

Last run and some nice camera angles there, a shot from behind the stage while the dancers are illuminated in yellow is effective. Still not quite sure the whole package is strong enough, but I'm looking forward to his press conference.



Sweden

Pre-opinion: This is nice for the first 30 seconds or so, then I get bored. This may or may not get the typical Swedish 5th place, but there's no question about qualifying. Anything other than the exact MF performance will surprise me.

First run-through: Yeah, almost the same. I think the neon device is doing a slightly different routine, dividing into three different squares at some point, resembling the 1983 stage:

Second run-through: At the start of the last chorus we get a glimpse of the stage, until that point you don't even know if Benji is even in Lisbon. Clever, but it's not really working on me.

Pyro round (wait what?): OK they lied, no pyro. Still the same, and sounding perfectly fine as expected.

Latvia

Pre-opinion: Good singer. Looooooong song. My current tip for last place in the final (although these things are hard to predict). I will need coffee for this.

First (visible) run-through: Red dress, red stage, red lights on her head. Red lipstick. I think the concept is red. And erotic, she's making love to the microphone stand (not quite in the Lena Philipsson way) and then leaves it for the second chorus, and comes back to it. Singing well as expected.

Second run-through: Camera does a few zoom jumps during some parts of the song to match the drums going 'bonk'. She does several Eleni hair flicks and a small shoulder boob shake dance. Banking it all on her sex appeal. Does this work? Maybe, I need to find the only straight man in the press centre and ask.

Last run-through had a small mic failure, but otherwise polished and well-song. This minimalist staging may work for them after a couple of bombastic stagings, although I'm still not sure it's enough.

Lunch

We nipped outside to the supermarket and saw this. I can live in a Portuguese supermarket. #eurofishon

Day 4 of first rehearsals - Latvia to Montenegro

Montenegro

Four female  backing singers (and I suppose dancers as well) in white long dresses with over sized sleeves and fluff on the shoulders are being over dramatic and Vanja (wearing a light blue/silvery suit made of some kind of fish skin fabric?!) didn't sound too good unfortunately. This got a few giggles from the press centre, and not the good kind of giggles. 

The last two run throughs were actuallly much better, Vanja seemed more confident and vocally it sounded good now - well done!

Sweden

The Belgian press around me have started humming "Da da dance you off" even now, during set up.

It looks like Benjamin and his team are trying out more colours for the background here. He is also warming up his voice, nod and hips (the latter a lot like I imagine Elvis had to do back in the days).

Nope, no happy colours this time, the Latvian flag theme continues. The performance is very similar to what it looked like in Melodifestivalen. During MF however, I didn't notice Benjamin's shoes, I do now. They look too big for his feet! I hope he changes them.

I have to say - sorry fellow Swedes who are hoping for this to do well - I don't think Sweden will do well this year.

Second and third run - Benjamin seems to be trying on different shoes - tack Sverige! These last ones were much better.

Latvia

Latvia's lady in red did what she could with a snoozy song. This is a contrast in many ways to the previous performance, here, instead of using all the lights and all the pyro, they've decided to only use red. For everything. Lights, dress, shorts underneath the dress, lipstick... I happen to be in a red dress myself today, so I feel like Laura is my new best friend. Or something.

Latvian flag, 2018 edition, artist's impression.

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

CLOSING THE SHOW
The three presenters are on stage as are the qualified artists. A few general questions are asked in usual Eurovision style and then the show is closed. And that is also where this blog entry ends.


RECAP OF FINALISTS
The recap is in order of announcement.


FINALISTS
- Armenia
- Czech Republic
- Greece
- Finland
(six places remain now and I can feel my heart racing)
- Albania
- Slovenia
(our seventh finalist is)
- Australia
- Moldova
- Iceland
- Belgium

Congratulations!


RESULTS
'The yoda of the Eurovision Song Contest" (not my words) is introduced and Jan Ola informs that we have a valid result - or maybe he will, depending on if he can say so or not. If there is a valid vote, he will tell the two guys to "take it away".

"This is the moment of truth, the countries..." and that's where we currently end. The boys are just looking into the camera wondering what to do next.

Back, "the countries will be announced in random order".


GREENROOM
As a filler, Timur goes to the green room and interviews Australia, asking them why they are taking part. Volodymyr later also goes to the greenroom and interviews Manel from Spain. After the quick chat, we get the snippet of the song. The next artist to be interviewed is Lucie from the UK. Timur asks her how her experience of X-Factor has helped her for tonight. Volodymyr then moves on to Francesco Gabbani. It could be that they arm wrestle since "he's stronger than he looks!". The gorilla also gets a nod. We need to know more about the gorilla's movement.

Timur is then back informing us that that was three of the big five and Ukraine. If it weren't for him ...


JAMALA (AGAIN)
Jamala passionately performs another song (unfortunately we did not note the title) alone on stage. Dressed in what looks like a white poncho with multi-colored fringes.


VERKA SERDUCHKA
We start seeing views of Kyiv and a Ukrainian flag fluttering, the camera pans out and we see that it is being held by none other than Verka! Not to spoil it for you who are reading - you must watch this! It is actually quite funny! It's basically a clip of Verka and her mother, together with some other friends and family getting into comic situations in different parts of Kyiv and also a visit to Dolce & Gabbana.


VOTE WRAP UP
Apparently people from all over the world are voting! I thought it was only Europe and Australia but maybe they know something we don't! Only 60 seconds left. "All acts desperately want to be the new champion!" Who comes up with this? Oleksander and Volodymyr then start the countdown in Ukrainian from 10-6 and English from 5-Stop Voting Now! Again *eye roll*


INTERVIEW JAMALA
It's a bit confusing which microphone to use since apparently the one Jamala is holding is for singing, not talking - or so Volodymyr thought. We're therefore not sure what questions will actually be asked - or if Jamala is actually interested in answering them.

Another reminder of the artists which have performed tonight.


JAMALA
Oleksander and Volodymyr are on stage and they remind us of last year when Jamala won. She will be with us tonight with a special version of her song. Before that however, we see a montage of the voting and the 12 points to Ukraine.

9 dancers surround Jamala who is centre stage. From her nine roots are projected, each reaching a dancer. String instruments feature more heavily in this version of the winning song. Jamala does not move from the centre of the stage. No tree bursting out of her this time.


VOTING GUIDELINE
Let us just say that French does not seem to have been Volodymyr's best subject at school. Once we get the usual spiel of how to vote, and something which should resemble French, we go to the first recap of the 18 competing songs.


ITALY
Henrik is requesting some cleaners on stage. We do not know what happened and probably don't want to ask.

It seems we have a few minutes before we can continue so since apparently Jan Ola Sand has many jokes, we go to him. He's not ready yet but he'll have some for later. We're nearly done with this delay, and Henrik is asking the audience to help with the dance.

Performance: Francesco is delivering it today. With his cheeky smile he's making sure the people at home will want to jump up and dance with him. There are many shots where the audience is involved, and since it will be the fan zone you know there will be plenty of volunteers to be seen on tv. Although it was practically a given before we even stepped a foot in Kyiv, the more we go on, the less likely it is that anyone can take the trophy away from him.


UNITED KINGDOM
Since we've already seen the (Italian) postcard we can go straight to the song. However we would if we could. The United Kingdom's shell is not possible to get set up in 40 seconds, which means that the UK will have to come after a break.

This is taking a very long time so Henrik is informing that as in Stockholm, these will be 1 minute snippets of the Jury Final rehearsal. Timur is now taking over since we have "tecnical issues". He has "many questions in this emergency card". The poor guy doesn't really know what to do - it's a very long break. He therefore goes back to Alex who wants to thank his mum, but Timur says he should also thank his "daddy". Well now!

Performance: Visually this is working extremely well - could it be that the UK appear to have actually understood how to stage a Eurovision performance? Surely not! Lucie does not appear to only be the 26 year-old she is. She may be saving herslef slightly vocally in order to be able to belt out later on in the jury final however by no means failing to deliver. The only comment we could make would be that the tattoo on her right arm should be covered up but since it hasn't been yet all week, it is unlikely to be later on.


SPAIN
Spain's postcard isn't ready so they're showing Italy's postcard now. In fact, all postcards from now on are going to be Italy. It's Francesco being in a postcard with all different Francesco's (as a waiter, as a chef, as a dining guest). The fun and playfull character that he is exudes here. What Manel's postcard will be will be anyone's guess. Apparently for tonight's jury rehearsal they'll just show Italy's postcard for all countries.

Don't be fooled, this is still as wrong as it always was, we're just getting used to it more. If this was the first time we'd be seeing it the comments might be a bit different. The group still seems like they should be a supporting band rather than actually in the competition but it is what it is. Manel pokes out his tongue to the audience during the chorus. Not sure we wanted to see that.


LATVIA
Latvia's postcard is a mixture of some of the members doing rope skipping, make-up powder tasting and roof-top sightseeing.

Agnese seems to be taken by surprise that the camera is on her. I'm sure she's done this before but oh-kay. Vocally we've had better and the backing is taking over. The group are using as much of the stage as is left due to all the props but there is possibly a bit too much going on on stage. Sometimes less is more.


SLOVENIA
Omar wants to seduce you with sunglasses. He's visiting the Sports Palace where he took part in 2005 and relives some of his memories there. He then finds a cafe to have well earned drink. Hope it's not spiked. He'll need all of his wits after Armenia.

And it's already nearly over! Omar said that his experience might help him over some of the younger competitors since he has learnt things over his career such as flirting with the camera's etc. He clearly can sing and the staging complements him very well. There are some shots which could have been better reviewed but again, we need to see them with a full audience. At the end of the day, he is confident and knows what he wants - it's just a question of if the people at home want the same thing.


ARMENIA
Artsvik is in an air balloon. Not a warning for hot air though. Nice vistas of Armenia in the background.

Still sticking to the claim that this song could have done so much better with more dancers. The mystical emotion from the music video is missing from the stage performance. Vocally you can't fault her but the backing dancers are (or she is) not always in correct place so some visuals are a bit of a miss. The ending also has had a change to it. No longer is the digital eagle coming from Artsvik herself but the screen goes black and the eagle from the darkness. Not sure we approve of the change. It will still qualify however.


CYPRUS
Hovig has his head down, but then looks straight into the camera. We see him hanging in the park with his bros but also practicing hard on the dance moves. He's having fun while doing it.

This started off as being quite cheesy and bad but over the past week Hovig must have really practices his choreography and it is now looking quite good on tv. He is also singing quite well, another case of 'bringing it when it counts' and answering his critics from the first rehearsals. Also, coming after the Czech Republic is not hurting his chances. Closing the song the backdrop no longer sees a digital Hovig in mid-air, again, very good move since it did not work. With this new package, it is a likely qualifier.


CZECH REPUBLIC
Martina decided to drive to Czech TV's studio and discuss her participation with the delegation team. They then sit outside drinking juice and celebrating their inevitable win in Kyiv. Martina practices a bit in the studio, but you know she's already won... or so the postcard says.

Well, we forgot about this. Lindita has some competition for Barbara Dex. Fierce competition. This unfortunately just does not work. The colours are just no, the golden jump-suit, the half-naked people in the backdrop ... vocally Martina is reasonable enough but unfortunately we cannot see how this can turn up enough votes to see the final.


BREAK
Oleksander and Volodymyr once again flog the app. They both appear to know the inside of a gym and in this rehearsal they're only wearing tight fitting t-shirts. Very pleasing to the eye.

Break-bumper again. And Timur has nestled with fake Finland-artist (aka volunteers).

Timur is doing some emogic (emoji + magic, get it?). It goes all downhill from here as the rehearsal grinds to a halt. Some tech guy jumps into frame to hand something. Oh. They're re-doing it now. The mic seemed dead. that's been fixed now. The bit doesn't go down any better second time round. *sigh*

Luckily he now doesn't dwell and moves on to Moldova's booth. More of the knowledge tidbits. This time a relevant one - they refer to Sergej's YouTube meme-fame as the epic sax guy. And now it's Martina Bárta's turn.


ICELAND
Svala is siting on hexagonal mirrors. She didn't break any though. So she can go home and sip some coffee and sing a bit in her home studio.

Although looking like some character from a superhero comic (we're not sure which side of good she'd be on however) Svala is on point with her vocals today. Hopefully the same will be true tonight when the juries will be viewing. She does look quite lonely on stage though but add a large dancing audience and it should be fine. There are a number of wide shots and she's playing around with that cape like I used to when I was dancing around my room also pretending I was on the Eurovision stage. Good times. After a couple of years out, could this see the return of Iceland to the final?


MOLDOVA
The guys are out for a quick walk and then they go and select vinyl records. They end in a restaurant and clink their wine glasses. Then they're in Kyiv, performing for the gathered crowd.

The question we're all asking ourselves, are all three skirts going to work. We know the guys have been solid throughout the rehearsal week and their confidence is showing. They feel at ease on stage. Solid. And YES! All three skirts worked. And also the choreography is getting much better, the team must have been practicing a lot during their time here. A good reaction from us and Europe (and Australia) will likely agree.

POLAND
The Polish postcard shows the Kasia with the dogs. She's the one who let them out!!! After she decided she doesn't need them back, she goes to listen to a rehearsal of a classical concert.

The violinist behind Kasia is a bit more visible than before and there are more shots of him too. Kasia is still trying to escape from her dress but the pressure must be doing something for her since she is belting this out well - or it could just be the post-Demy effect. Kasia was in the right place again when the doves fly out from each side of her. A good reception is heard.

GREECE
Demy is in her hotel room, sipping a coffee. Next she's walking in a park as she spots some dancy guys she quite fancies. But she's not deciding yet. She first wants to explore the Greek country side a bit.  But yeah, in the TL-lamp hallway she's brought them along.

Demy still looks like a dear in headlights when the song starts. At the beginning of the first chorus the vocals go quite wrong. She tries to recover but the damage has been done. There is a very wide shot when Demy gets off the podium which works fine but then the waterfall projection Demy is very close up - a bit too close, you can practically see her womanhood! No one needs to be seeing that on a family tv show! Messy end to the song and not a great response.


BREAK
Oleksandr and Volodymyr are seeing that the social media is being whipped into frenzy. They're now reading fake tweets. Not telling you lot what they are, but they do remind the viewers of the hashtags are.


PORTUGAL
Smattering from the press centre as Salvador seems to have managed to get a postcard produced. We see him in Lissabon. Smiling a lot, but also singing and riding the tram. First performance for him on stage.

And the first time we actually see Salvador and not his sister Luísa singing. He's dressed in a black suit with black shirt and red handkerchief in left pocket. He's also wearing his accreditation but that is likely to be taken off during the show - unless we have another 2016 Moldovan dancer moment. The vocals are decent enough however they probably would have been better if he had been doing the rehearsals since in some areas they are not the best. However this simple song gains a huge reception here and it is likely to have the same in Europe.


AZERBAIJAN
Dihaj gets some cheers from the press center. She's out in the streets, but then visiting her favourite spots: Where she likes to rehearse, where she likes to hang out with her friends, where she likes to get tattooed. We also get to meet her kid (?).

Diana has her covered in a black tightened scarf which is the first time we've seen this. She is trying to be softer on the fake walls while she's banging them however it makes her looks uncertain of her strength when the song demands her to be confident in herself. Once again, amusement at the 'horse-man' having a fit on the ladder while "thorns" is being written on the wall. Azerbaijan always manages to pull stuff when needed however. The whole show is looking a lot better than what we've seen previously and again another good reaction from the gathered (fan)press.


FINLAND
Buildings seem to be sparse in Finland. The two have found some urbex site where we can see them promenading through the abandoned rooms. Oh, and of course a piano is being played.

Leena is pitch-perfect again. Even though we mainly know the show from back in UMK, it's simplicity and harmony is all it needs. It draws you in, making you want silence in the room in order to be able to appreciate it in its entirety. The camera shots being used have been clearly chosen and they bring much to the table. There is a huge applause by almost everyone present. It would be an injustice if this did not make it to Saturday.


BREAK
Oleksandr and Volodymyr are still trying to flog the Eurovision app, and its amaaaaazing features: Voting, downloading the songs and finding bios and lyrics. They just still have to mention the telephone number and you'd be forgiven to think that you've accidentally switched to a teleshopping channel. After the break bumper, Timur is quickly introducing some of the countries that already have performed. Georgia, Australia, Sweden and Albania. He tells a few politically correct facts about these.

Oleksandr and Volodymyr introduce Norma John, and thus the Finnish post card.


MONTENEGRO
Slavko is a theatre animal and shows off his spiritual home. But he's also excited as drawings of his Eurovision outfit are being made. Dancing, performing in the theatre. It's all part of who he is.

One thing you can't fault Slavko on, is his attention to the fans and his willingness to do any piece of PR he can. For his performance however, well, the beginning starts off harmless enough but there are too many elements which do not seem to make Eurovision sense. Yes we know the fans love it, however the juries will not look favorably on this entry and the regular Joe's at home will need a reason to vote for this. The vocals are not great and the spinning pony tail is still as distracting as ever. We will have to wait and see what happens with this entry.


BELGIUM
Blanche is wearing a lacy dress in the first shot. She's still a schoolgirl, so we get to see that. We also get to see that she has to juggle school with being an up and coming artist. So lots of press and gig-shots. She looks frightened in the live shot just before she's on.

Blanche is dressed in black, like her heart. The camera work is a bit shoddy, a lot of frontal shots and many many wide shots. Vocals are what we have got used to. She still doesn't look at the camera when she should. The robotic arm movements are still there but a wide camera angle helps mitigate the issue - slightly. This is however her best performance since we've been here. And there was an applause in the press centre to encourage it.


ALBANIA
Lindita shows us her fingered heart. Lots of cuts here: she's dancing performing, working out, enjoying the Albanian country side while jogging, fitting her dress, singing, playing violin... she's multi-faceted of course. Let's hope her performance is up to scratch.

Who is Lindita trying to fool with that white veil? The whole ensemble is debatable. Could this be a contender for Barbara Dex? Forgetting the attire, Lindita is singing well and the backing singers compliment her rather than overpower. The backdrop visuals may not be as appealing as some other entries' but this package seems to be getting slicker than we had seen it before - or it could be just the problem of having seen it multiple times that you just get used to it.

AUSTRALIA
Australia's Isaiah gets up - he overslept probably. And speeds in his car to his next gig. Everyone's already left (we never get to see the audience at the gig place) but they decide to shoot him performing anyway. He reaches out to us before he too appears in the now familiar TL-lamp hallway.

For the first time since we've been here, Australia has actually followed Georgia on stage. A more-confident Isaiah is trying his best but there is something missing still. It's a decent enough package with the singer connecting with the camera and vocally pretty decent but the visuals are slightly distracting - especially the one commented before when Isaiah gets swallowed by his own eye-ball. Luke-warm reception in the press centre, cheering mainly heard by the Aussie fanpress.


GEORGIA
Georgia's postcard then. Tako Gachechiladze wants us to know she's very much into transparent fabrics. It's all about make-up and fashion with her. But also about her as a singer/performer. So we see her in the studio. The TL-lamp laden hallway is the recurring theme for ALL the participants it seems.

A big pause before the song however - who wasn't ready for this? The fog is now on stage and we start closing in on Tako. Her hair still seems to be a bit of a mess, maybe she's half-way through getting it ready for tonight when it actually counts. Her vocals however are here and present. Girl can sing. Visually, like many others, this needs a large audience to be present to make it more appealing but but grand dramatic show is already enough to get most of the visual across. Another likely qualifier.


SWEDEN
Robin is being shown as he prepares but also during his pass-times, being on a motorbike. Next he suits up and finally readies himself with his dancing cronies in a TL-laden hallway.

Robin is dressed in his favourite fitted suit while the backing dancers are again in their grey/black combo. Slight error on the lighting of the front two dancers when the treadmills work them however this was quickly rectified - but noticeable. That however seems to be the only mistake made. Robin is looking like he's enjoying his time and the dancers are on form. No real worries for this entry.


16:18
They thank Sweden in their best and almost cute Ukraidish. Next they acknowledge the fans.
They banter on for a bit. Timur is going to be the greenroom Cinderella. Since he's the Eurovision nerd. Or so it is claimed.

Next they give an overview of the countries taking part in this semi final. They also mention the Eurovision app and tell the viewers not to vote just yet.

After it is established that Kyiv indeed is ready, the first postcards roll.

16:17
An out of breath Monatik announces the hosts and now we get to see them (Oleksandr Skichko.
Volodymyr Ostapchuk and Timur Miroshnychenko) for the first time. They of course say 'Good Evening Ukraine and Europe' as well as the now more familiar 'Australia'. Planet Earth also gets a mention. Though it is morning over there. You can't claim that you haven't been informed. As a side note, we don't know which is which, and to try to explain who exactly of the three is doing what over a rolling blog is like trying to explain Australia taking part in Eurovision: A futile exercise.

16:14
It took a while for the repeat to start. In the beginning of the dance act a female dancer dressed in white has the spotlight on her and this goes on and off a couple of times before Monatik appears from behind her. The female dancers are all clad in white while the male ones are in black. In total we count five female dancers and three male. "Heads are spinning!" If you say so dear. It's not the worst opening act we've seen.

16:09
Repetition of the opening act and the hosts this time will actually come in.

16:06
Monatik : Spinning - The first dance of the event. Monatik Sergeyovich is the full name of the artist. There are a number of dancers on stage with him. He thanks Eurovision Song Contest 2017 and then introduces the presenters.

16:04
Young girl dressed in Ukrainian traditional garb falls into screen. More Ukrainian female beauties of different ages all dressed in traditional garb from different areas of Ukraine end up gracing us with their presence. They represent the diversity of Ukraine. Doesn't last very long however and we are soon in the arena.

16:04
Stand by everyone!

16:03
We're getting clearance from the track that they're slowly getting ready!

16:00
Henrik is explaining what is going to happen - he seems quite excited about it all. We're not 100% sure what he's going on about but from what we heard even though now there's only 7 (somethings) when there was 25 (somethings) he doesn't mind because he's still getting paid.

15:58
We are a couple of minutes late but that is fine, gives us more time. There are some postcards which aren't ready so we're going to have Italy instead "because they paid the most money" Henrik informs.

15:56
Jon Ola Sand is there.
Henrik warns us with the final countdown.

15:55
Platforms are being wheeled on and off the stage... The press center is a lot more busy than it has been for the past week. It's almost as if something is about to happen.

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 - SLO-LAT

And so on to the final two of the first semi...

LATVIA

Nothing on the screens here for the first run through.

It's very busy, lots of green and pink and purple. Singer Agnese has hair a la Rykka.

Some of the green shapes in the background are, erm, open to interpretation. Some of us see arms in the air, Tom sees a penis. Once you've seen it, it can't be unseen.

It seems (!) we are just going to see half a run through of this one, so can't really say any more. But it looked quite neon and 90s rave-like.

So we were treated to one last run through. It's all about #PenisGate.


SLOVENIA

Black and white for Omar, both clothing and lighting. At times he is surrounded by lots of panels from that threatening overhead object which hasn't done a lot on the stage so far.

Looks like they are planning some shots of the audience waving their lighters, or phones.

OK, not all black and white. At one point it goes stars and space and galaxy. Maybe we are meant to think Omar is on his way to Mars.

This is.....fine. They are making the best out of it.

Day 6 - After Lunch: Latvia, Poland, Switzerland, Israel, Belarus, Serbia.

SERBIA
New item: Faces of various women appear on the backdrop for the first verse. Sanja is dressed in all black, as are her backing vocals. The backing dancer interacts a lot more with them than he did in the first round. Vocally stunning and the message of the song is protrayed nicely.

In the second run through there has been something happening with the dancer. We don't know if he is hurt of it something technical happened to him. We will se in the thrid run through if he comes back or if it is something to worry about.

(Voice of Consuela on Family Guy): No, no, you no worry, he come back.



BELARUS

Well, he's no longer digitally frenching the wolf - again, a good thing learned. The staging is still confusing and we are still not sure what the message is but that is what commentators are for. There are some bad camera angles still happening - you can see other cameras in some shots which definitely is not what the plan was. We don't need to worry too much either way, finalist he is not. For the first time in the 5 years that the contest has been held in Scandinavia since Belarus' debut in 2004 that the country will not qualify - in fact, it only qualified when the contest was in a Scandinavian country.


ISRAEL
Question: Will the acrobats get it right or will they have an argument on stage again? And it appears they will get it right - and they have changed the choreography a bit which is good. Hopefully they will get it right. Everyone seems to be glued to the screen when Hovi is on stage. We can't really hear the first 30 seconds of so of the song since Justs is singing his song for the 140,321st time since he arrived here and his press conference audio is higher than the screen. The presentation is excellent and as long as the hula hoop girls don't fuck it up make any errors, it should be through to Saturday.

On the third run there is a bit of an issue with the voice. He couldn't reach the high note and the look on his face after the last rehearsal says it all - he is not happy with that performance.


SWITZERLAND
The smoking armpits are still there but the hair is looking a hundred times better. Unfortunately that is where the improvements stop. Unlike Poland, there is no chance that this will gain enough votes to get through to the final on Saturday. As long as Rykka is having fun it's all that matters. The staging is quite good however, lovely backdrop to her.



POLAND
The red jacket is back! No more bare arms or silvery jacket which triggers mockery. And yes, we do have an actual third violinist who actually know what she is up to. Dinah Nah's lookalike can go back to her day job. The chello and piano are still where they were last time, piano barely visable. The lighting appears to have improved and it is not such a car crash as it was earlier but it will still need to find something amazing in order to qualify.

Actually, after I wrote that, I am thinking it could just sneak through. There are enough good but not great mid-table songs that the better presentation of today could actually get it through.


LATVIA
Just as in the first rehearsals, a good vocal permance. Simple staging, nothing extravagant. Works well on the first run. We did see Justs struggle in the last run through in the first rehearsal, will the same happen today?

And the answer is no, his voice was fine this time throughout all three rehearsals. We will be seeing Latvia again on Saturday night

Day 3 Morning - Latvia, Poland, Switzerland, Israel

ISRAEL 

Before the Rehearsal
Although most people you ask seem to like this song, neither the polls nor the betting seems to think it will qualify. So why are we enamored by this? It could just be because the singer is outspoken about who they are and are not afraid to say it as it is - quite refreshing. What we do know is that there is bound to be more profanity in the meet and greet, although 'fuck' has already been blurted by Armenia's Iveta during hers.

Rehearsal
Simple black staging. Hovi dressed in black suit, glittery black shirt and matching finger-less gloves. The camera pans out to reveal two people in a hula-hoop spinning around. There are some effects on the stage floor which probably Hovi should be in the centre of but he was not in place this time round. The spinning twosome seem to be caught by the camera having a bit of a break. This might be due to some mishap in their performance or due to bad camera shots. Elements from the preview video are seen in the blue light graphics enveloping the stage. Hovi is clearly emotional after this first rendition.

Second run - Although there are no backing singers visible, the stage floor does consist of a digital face, made from a constellation of stars, which acts as the backing singer face. Again, the two spinning artists end up stopping and arguing on stage - or at least that's what it looks like to us. Vocally a bit less good than before however maybe we should not discard this so quickly. What should be discarded however are the two acrobats who clearly are not good at what they do (again, unless it's the camera angles) and just seem to distract and annoy rather than add any value to the performance.

Third run  - The acrobats finally managed to get it kinda right, not perfect, but right. They don't argue on stage anyway. I still think having them there is too risky. The addition to this run is the pyro curtain which happens on the final chorus. Wouldn't count this out at all.


SWITZERLAND

Before the Rehearsal
Hmm... well... they have nice chocolate don't they. And mountains. Nice mountains. Having watched the Swiss selection the choice of Rykka was 'interesting'. We have seen her performances since while on promotional tours and unfortunately there appears to be a collective agreement that this will likely finish last in the semifinal. Will something be able to get pulled out of the bag this morning in order to help us change our opinion?

Rehearsal
Rykka joins the ever-growing list of singers who are barefoot on the Eurovision stage. She has decided to change her hair colour but with the lights behind her it just looks gray. She has a black top with black bedazzling going on. A light grey see-through fine-mesh skirt which leaves nothing to the imagination, at least for the legs. The song unfortunately just seems to be there, and there appears to be no real interest by anyone on what is actually being sung. Rykka appears to be pleased with herself however which is, at the end, a very good thing. It must be very disheartening going into a competition like this knowing that no one expects you to be able to do anything, so keeping positive and making the most of the experience of a lifetime is all one should be doing.

Second run - Smoke is coming from under her arms - literally! Not exactly sure what it's supposed to be adding, apart from the idea that she has smelly arm pits. I'm sure someone can answer it in the meet and greet. The other amazing fact about this song, we've started to get used to the vocal performance - which she seems to be doing actually quite well. Better than anything in the promotional tour anyway - then again, it is better production value. The stage looks a bit too big in this song however for someone who is just there on her lonesome singing about being the last of her kind.

Third run - Armpit fire is still an issue. But PYRO!!!!! OK, the last chorus, we have pyro making a round of the stage edge and then you have the curtain pyro to close the song. A bit Azerbaijan 2011 but still works. Could this possibly not end up last in their semifinal?


POLAND

Before the Rehearsal
Sources tell us that unless Poland ends top 10 in the final they are unlikely to be back next year. I would worry more about being top 10 in the semi rather than the final. However, the bookies do seem to think it will qualify - although this could also just be due to a large amount of Polish (possibly diaspora) money being placed on the Polish song giving it a fake augmented standing.

Rehearsal
This starts well. A collective laugh from the gathered press. It is a sight to behold. Michał dressed in some silver jacket over a black tank top and black jeans. Most noticeably, one of the three violinists doesn't have a violin and is just moving her hand up and down. Lovely. They should keep it! Apart from the 2+1 violinists, there is a cello and a piano. There are no gimmicks at all to the stage, keeping it very simple.

Vocally - another capable singer. Styling choice might however end up taking away from his talent.

Second run - The silver jacket is gone, this time Michał is just clad in the black tank-top and jeans. Nice big gold watch on his left wrist. The missing violin seems to have been found, but, at least to this reporter, it looks that who is 'playing' it is not going to be an actual performer on stage since even to my untrained eye it is clear she has no clue of what she is doing with the bow. Another good vocal rendition just as before.

Third run - Jacket stayed off. The piano appears to have been replaced, losing it's prominent position it had before. "There is no smoke without faaaayher" apparently. Michał is not able to keep the note this time. He also chose to not complete part of the last chorus. This could be taken of he is trying to save his voice but the look on his face appears to tell otherwise. Will today be a day of bad third run-troughs?


LATVIA

Before the Rehearsal
Well, well, well... Latvia is currently third on our scorewiz which means that many of us like it. And we all know that one question we want answered - will Rīgas Berbs finally make an appearance of the Eurovision stage?! Latvia is quite sure of qualifying this year but could it suffer from the fan hype for something which is not being considered as a contender?

Rehearsal
The feed to the press centre was not from the start of the song so it caught us all by surprise. Justs is wearing his black leather jacket, tight skinny jeans and a maroon oversized t. There are many position markers on stage but he does not seem to be using any of them (at least in this run). The staging is quite like we had seen in the Latvian selection however just more slick - red hues on a black backdrop. The bridge does change this to bright white (a bit too bright, could not see the singer). Song over and there is a deer-in-headlights moment close up of Justs' face. Still gets a decent applause by the room. But no, Rīgas Berbs is alas once more forgotten by the delegation.

Second run - We see it from the beginning which is good. The stage in fact starts in a gray anthracite - and the effects complement the song very well, simple enough to not overshadow the song which is a trap that seems to be catching people now. Vocally Justs is doing well, but we knew he can sing this song, even with the bad audio we were able to watch from the Latvian preview show.

Third run - Nothing changes in the stage, no pyro, no CO2 columns, no glitter confetti ... but he is a bit weaker in this run-through, seemingly he is forcing the notes out which is not a good thing to do during rehearsals - the last thing needed is to lose your voice. Still, plenty of time to recover if needed.

Before we Start

And so we have it, it already feels like a week but we're only on Day 3! The word around the center is that Austria and Cyprus were at the Euroclub yesterday but it seems it was more of the same in attendance figures. Your ESC Nation team decided to stay in and have a quiet night in order to be able to bring you the updates from this morning as we see them.

Day 3 Preview - will there be wolves?

As Day 3 dawns, there's really one rehearsal we're looking forward to today more than any other, and that has to be Belarus? Will Ivan have any clothes on? Will they have made good on their threat to bring live wolves with them, or are we going to be seeing holograms or even some terrible dressing-up from a backing dancer?

We're hoping for the latter, obviously, as we'll be ready for a laugh after what looks to be a rather slow morning. One of the second semi-final's favourites, Latvia, is on first at 10:00, and we're hoping they've nailed the staging like Aminata managed last year - and we'll try not to read too much into any pre-rehearsal pictures of Justs wearing a massive red dress.

After that, though, we have what promises to be a rather slow few hours with Poland, Switzerland and Israel rehearsing before we get to Belarus on stage at 1:40, after lunch. We might even make a point of attending the Belarusian press conference, if only to ask what on earth they were thinking/what happened to all those ideas (delete as appropriate).

Following Belarus we'll have Serbia at 2:20, and we'll be keeping an eye on Sanja's demeanour on stage. The visual performance from the presentation show of 'Goodbye (Shelter)' was, shall we say, rather dramatic, and we're curious to see if Sanja will be able to rein in the histrionics on the big stage, when she's singing live rather than miming. We hope so, otherwise we fear it could be rather off-putting to a European audience.

Finally, the last rehearsal of the day will be Australia. 'Sound of Silence' is another performance that we haven't seen a proper televised live performance of yet, and we're eager to see what Dami Im can bring when she takes to the stage at 5:20. Australia are one of the favourites, currently sitting within the top 5 in the bookies' betting odds - the first rehearsal of this one could bring some big shifts. Keep an eye on the blog and on our Twitter account.

And as always, feel free to ask us any questions in the comments - is there anything in particular you want us to keep an eye out for in today's rehearsals, or just interested in a Swiss backing singer? Ask it away!

FINAL - FIRST DRESS REHEARSAL (Part II)

GREECE
Professional, working all it has. We're not going to Thessaloniki which is a good thing for Greece and NERIT but she's giving it all she has and nailing it.

MONTENEGRO
I find it extremely hard as you know to write anything about this. It works. It's balkan. It passed to the final. It will end up probably bottom left or top right of the table. Everyone will go home and continue their life.

GERMANY
And of course, one more postcard I miss due to not paying attention. Oh well, surprise for tomorrow.

Ann Sophie has a new earring on her left. It's one of those songs which is good for radio but don't think it's doing too much on stage. Don't see it lighting up with points tomorrow night.

POLAND
Well, Poland was my missed country from last night's qualifyers - I obviouly put Malta instead.
 

No idea, it seems to be loved by many a person and I like it too - it was my 11th choice - but although a good song sung well, I don't see it setting the stage alight.

LATVIA
Now this is another story. I am extatic for Aminata and Latvia as a whole. It shows that if you don't give up and you try your best you will get results. Could this be a dark horse? Top 10 likely? Further up?

ROMANIA
And the kid is still there, not yet retuned to Romania. The song is performed well and Călin is charismatic with the camera. Should get mid tables.

SPAIN
Edurne goes sledging with huskies. Again, the huskies must have thanked their stars that this petite artiste was chosen for them.

Amazing! Trick of light so you don't see the first cape being ripped off ... well, you kinda do due to not great timing, but still great effect. Best performance we've seen from Spain to now. Things are working a lot better, camera angles, lighting ... should see this going up the rankings. Don't bet on a win or top 3 though.

HUNGARY
Boogying to Boggie was amazing during SF1. Solid performance again now. Came to be expected now though.

GEORGIA
Without all the make up Nina looks fresh and young. Doesn't help the effect she's trying to go for but she'll be all dolled up later on tonight and tomorrow no doubt.

Great vocals and attitude. It's a great follower to Hungary - brings back the energy to the arena and viewers. Left side of the board for sure.

AZERBAIJAN
Vocally competent but it's a repeat of what we've seen over the past few days. Last year we saw Azerbaijan does not need to be on the left. I think this will be high right.

RUSSIA
Only 8th in the Press Centre voting, Polina is nailing it. This is most likely her contest to lose.
There will be many comments whatever happens on the night, Russia win, look for the media mentioning Russia's rights and equality records, Russia lose, look at the Russian and spere media reporting on how Europe is playing a game which they will end up losing... who said there was no drama at Eurovision?

ALBANIA
Wearing a different black sparkly ensemble for the rehearsal, Elhaida looked to me in the beginning as if she had her bra straps showing - this is not the case, it's the netting of the dress.

Another good performance but not much twitching in the press centre sphere and the arena is not to be judged since they seem to be applauding and cheeing at everything.

ITALY
Another missed post card - talking about which delegations have already gone home and which not.



To be honest, coming after Russia and Albania just makes this lose it's potential. It seems like it's just *there*. Still will get to the top parts of the board but winner - maybe not so sure.

BREAK
Conchita talks to us and then the three other hosts are on stage to open the voting.

RECAP

INTERVAL ACT
A bunch of drums, and drummers for said drums, on stage. Ooh, and trumbones, and trumpets, and many other instruments.

There is a lot of commotion due to a certain angry Italian close to where I am sitting so I am missing some bits. It seems that the acts will be forming hearts. This is very weird. Have no clue what is going on. That is why the commentators have the notes from the broadcaster. There is a massive rainbow though.

Riverdance it is not. Emmelie de Forest it is not. Petra Mede it is not. This is about as memorable as the one from Belgrade. You know, the one with ... hmm... emm... yes, that one.

RECAP 2

Recap over, we have 60 seconds left to vote.

Countdown for the last 10 seconds.

Conchita sings You are Unstoppable. And continues with Firestorm.

We then speak to Conchita and later to Vincenzo who won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest for Italy back in November 2014. We see a clip of his performance and continue talking to him.

Arabella mentions Jan Ola Sand. "Hurry up Jan Ola! I'm coming!" she state! Hmm... be afraid!

And another issue. Seems like something was missed. Conchita runs back on stage to meet Alice and Mirjam who were there with the trophy.

Lots of commotion happening around me at the moment. I think Lys is here for interviews but can't see her - poor thing, she's such an old lady.

We then go through clips of winners past.

Arabella back in view. We see Jan Ola again and there is some awkward chat between the two. "This is where I say we have a result" explains Jan Ola. Ooh!

We're on the voting. For the rehearsals it's always in alphabetical order and usually the 12 get given to the next country in line. We should be going to our second voter, Armenia which just got 12 from Albania, but instead we have confusion and uncertainty.

When we call a country, we see a line, a Chain of Light if you will, from Vienna to the capital of the country which is voting. Apart from Vienna itself where thre is a big red light.

This will take a while so grabbing food.

OK, so food eaten but after 20 votes we seem to have stopped. Latvia was in the lead with Italy and Israel completing the top 3. There was a leaderboard showing you the full ranking at that point so no need to frantically count down to find out where our favourite is.

It seems that this is the end of the rehearsal. Which means we can pack up and get ready for the last night before our most sacred of nights is upon us again, and we find out where we will be flying, training or bussing to next year!

SEMI FINAL TWO - THIRD DRESS REHEARSAL

Well, just like we did for the first, we will blog a bit about the rehearsal but only minimally. Will Portugal have to sing again? Will Iceland sound as bad as it has been? Will the 10 finalists be announced any slower?

Parade
Well, we already have a mistake - San Marino was called out but Montenegro stood up and was seen by the camera. The Slovenes are too slow so Polish Monika decides to overtake them in a move any F1 driver would be proud of!

LITHUANIA
No gay and lesbian kiss in this rehearsal again. Seems like they did it for the jury final so what are we to expect tonight?

IRELAND
Not sure what's going on with her hair with this one. Never really noticed it in any previous rehearsal so I'm assuming it's a new thing. Looks like he had a bee from the honey get stuck in it and she was scratching one part of her head to get it out. No dear. (San Marino intro ...) NO!

SAN MARINO
OH WHAT A SURPRISE! It seems we've been asked to switch the flashlight of the mobile phone on in this song. No one ever saw that one coming. Totally innovative idea.

MONTENEGRO
Knez has had a rough night it seems. He's never been looking like a spring chicken but it seems him and Lys could have been at school together here. Still, he still gets the song out.

MALTA
Apparently she was quite good in the jury final which should help. This is stronger than it was yesterday for sure. It will all depend on tonight I think.

BREAK
Green is the colour of hope "as you all know". I thought it was the colour of envy. But if Conchita says hope, it's hope. Obvi.

Conchita asks the same question to Michele as she did yesterday. This time he seems to have understood. Doesn't sound like a rehearsed answer at all. Molly from Ireland is cracking up at everything. What's you name? "HA!" Where do you come from "HA!" Where are you? "HA!" - OK, those were not the questions but answers were quite that.

NORWAY
LOVESH! Easily going through. He also stays moody for long enough at the end. Want to just give him a good long snog!

PORTUGAL
Ok, obrigado. Até  já!

CZECH REPUBLIC
Great again, would love these to go through.

ISRAEL
Show me Tel Aviv baby! Come on, this has to go through!

LATVIA 
And another sure qualifier if there is any justice in this world. Latvia is a class ahead of many this year. Unfortunately not sure about any problem-giving to the leaderboard, but a true song sung by a true artist.

AZERBAIJAN
Another decent rendition. Should be able to get through - although I just realised I said this for th past three songs. One of them will end up losing out probably - which unfortunately I would say is CZ *unhappy face :-(


ICELAND
Maria is a fairy in a stage play. She's light enough I guess, can't see Bojana having had this role. Although I would pay to watch that!

When not flying accross wooden planks supported by rigging, María is one step out of time. Well, she was yesterday, today it's not as terrible as it was. Seems like she managed to get it right at the end.

BREAK
Conchita small taks to Mørland (aka Kjetil) and then quickly move to talking fashion with Debrah. She then moves to Leonor who plays golf - of course she does. Why would she play anything else?

Charge your phones Europe!

SWEDEN
When something is good you don't change it. Congrats!

SWITZERLAND
The more I listen the more I like, but that's what happens with all the songs like is mentioned all the time. You cannot come here for two weeks and then not like every single one of them - or at least part of a song. Well, except Finland. That still hasn't had any likeable moment for me. Shame they've been kicked out *giggle with look of satisfaction*

CYPRUS
Simple, likeable - still needs to shave though. But if that is as bad as I can get on this then it's a good sign.

SLOVENIA
Camera angles are still a bit weird. Raay playing the airdrums, that random woman playing the air violin ... all a bit ... random. But in a good way? I love the song to bits, one of my favs, but watching it makes me feel stupid and confused - not nice. Then again, I'm in no way representative of European good taste so what the fook do I know.

POLAND
Still want some of that cake. There has been a sever lack of it here considering we're in Austria. Bad Vienna! WORST EUROVISION EVER! 
 
Monika seems to have slept in coz there doesn't seem to be much make-up going on. It's before the watershed dearie, there are children watching! Still find myself singing along to this - harmless enough.


EUROPE (AND AUSTRALIA) START VOTING NOW!

RECAP an History moment etc.

Bit of an awkward pause after recap 2 since Conchita didn't get her moment right (only a few seconds late but it was noticeable). She tells us to go get a drink - we approve.

Voting closed.

Mix of the voting clips still makes me laugh. Love this clip.

Bianca and Alex from Electro Velvet are being interviewed by Arabella. Italy's Il Volo are next to be questioned, this time it's Alice with the microphone. Yodelling is left in the hands of Edurne and the Makemakes are last to be talked to.

Videos of the finalists.

Jan Ola confirms once more that the results are ready.

"Thank you very much Jan Ola."

Qualifiers:

01. Portugal
02. Poland
03. Iceland
04. Cyprus
05. Sweden
06. Lithuania

(this is going slower thankfully)

07. Malta

Arabella is informing us this is fake since there seems to be enthousiastic cheering in the hall. "But thank you for the cheering" says Alice.

08. Israel
09. Azerbaijan

"And the very last country to qualify for the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 is... "

10. SAN MARINO

Thank you and good night!

SEMI FINAL TWO - FIRST DRESS REHEARSAL

Opening is a mix of scenes from Semi Final 1. A voice introduces Mirjam, Alice and Arabella.

Fireworks, Wind Machene and quick costume change are mentioned!

But where are the artists? HELLO HI! Says Conchita from the green room.

Another parade in order of appearance from green room to stage.Waiting for how Monika is coming down. OK, she has helpers. But very tactfully, there is no big show of it. In fact, you need to be focusing to find it. Plus points.

All acts are now on stage "all good looking". Some more than others. We get a shout out to the direct finalists and a slight mention that 10 from the first semi have also joined. We get informed again on how to vote.

Pyro ready! Wind machene ready! And most importantly - VIENNA, ARE YOU READY?

LITHUANIA
Vaidas and Monika went bunjee jumping from a bridge over a river. And had a blast. 

His vocals are a bit off but gets better. No kissing by backing but the lead singers do. And cheer! You can hear the kids in the arena cheering their heads off. This makes such a good opener for everyone. It is a decent enough performance. I've always managed to get Lithuania wrong. Say it will fail, it qualifies, say it qualifies it fails ... I'm not playing any more.

IRELAND
Molly gets taken to a bee farm - to continue her addiction to honey. Added to her addiction to chocolate she should stay away from:

 

Simple enough staging for Ireland but is good for the song. It takes us back to how Ireland used to be when they used to simply win with a decent simple song sung exceedingly well. It's unfortunately a bit too early in the draw though I think. Molly smiles at the end, that simple sweet smile of a young artiste. Deserves good things.

SAN MARINO

Anita and Michele get taken to the Opera. They have a nice dance together dressed to impress. 

The world is still spinning in the wrong way - which probably doesn't make much difference to people - but to me it does. IT'S WRONG. There is so much chemistry between these two. You can see they love eachother so much. Really, warms my heart and I can say I feel jealous. I wish someone cared for me as much as the spark between these. I also won the lottery three times in a row and have been told by HRH Prince Harry that William is thinking of leaving Kate for me. 

MONTENEGRO

Knez goes finishing. Well, can't see him bungee jump or scale down buildings can we. Nice easy sport for him to do.

Well, this is still doing as well as any Željko song. I quite believe we will see it on Saturday. Staging, singing, lighting, performance - all works.

MALTA

Aber goes jumping out of a plane. She said she always wanted to do this ad it gave her the opportunity to do so. It was freezing. 

Coming after Montenegro this just seems, lacking. It's a shame since she is such a sweetie but the Maltese will need all their Saints and Demons routing for them in order to get this through. Then again, a couple of people said it will qualify. So I choose to believe them.

BREAK

Conchita talks to Michele noting that she remembers him from last year - giving the points for San Marino. Michele doesn't understand the question. Fail.

Next in line for a Conchita question, is Molly who is asked about bingo (reference to numbers). Cinchita is shit at maths.

NORWAY

Kjetil and Debrah go on a lake using some (I guess) traditional wooden boats. They go meet some friends. No drowning anyone, still no clearer on what this terrible thing was that he did.

Pure class. The camera work is great. Now, think of how little you will see with the numerous flags in the way. Just a little bit of a smile too quickly on the ending, Kjetil needs to remain moody for just a couple of seconds longer for the effect to take hold. 

PORTUGAL

Leonor goes rock climbing. And gets all the way to the top. Well, congrats dear. 

It's grown on us. But it took the best part of three months. Three minutes will not be enough for the viewers at home. To get into it I mean, to switch over three minutes is more than enough. 

CZECH REPUBLIC

They get a key and walk over a feckingly high suspension bridge to get to a castle. Václav is clad in a knights outfit including helmet.

Marta was at the euroclub last night and said that Václav was feeling a bit unwell but you wouldn't know this listening to the two. Works great and we so want them to qualify - from all the artists I think these are the ones who want it the most - just so they can show what the Czech Republic can do. 

ISRAEL

Nadav is taken to spray paint a cable car. He does a good job and then enjoys a ride to the top of the mountain in his artwork.

The kids are loving this. When I first head this I was thinking no, just no. but now ... such a yes. Big fat yes. 

LATVIA

Aminata goes running through the streets and forms 'art' with her and her friends aruond the town. They select parts of town, walls, corners, holes, and fill them with their body ... it will make sence when you see it - and it's a good idea. 

Vocally it is great. Visually it's good. If Latvia do not get through with this then we know there is something very very wrong with Europe. What else do they need?

AZERBAIJAN

Always seems to be one postcard I totally miss due to some reason or another. Unfortunately this time it was the Azeri one.

The act is second to none. Great backdrop and the story flows and makes sence. Elnur sings well, and the backing accompanies him well. Should find it easy to qualify.

ICELAND

Mistake. The yshowed the postcard for Austria instead of the postcard for Iceland.

Awkward start. Starts too low. María gets back in eventually. You'd think we had northern lights every day in Iceland.  She's not managing to get many of the important notes. Has she broke? How will she become unbroken?! Comic genious I am!

 

BREAK

Apparently, 99% of Icelandic TV viewers watched ESC last year. Great.

Norway is next to be interviewed. Conchita then shuffles her way to the Portuguese table. Her Portuguese is a bit rusty - as is Leonor's answer. 

4 famous words - EUROPE, CHARGE YOUR PHONES. Only a few more songs to go.

"Hej to Sweden!"

SWEDEN

Måns is dressed in somethin that looks like a spacesuit. He is accompanied through a cave inside a mountain. The scenery does look moonline - which is why I guess the suit is there.

He is a bit too quick singing the first verse. The package is still exceedigly good, but with songs like Russia and France what will be chosen on Saturday? We are taking it for granted he is there. Huge roar of cheers from audience in hall and in press centre.

 

SWITZERLAND

Mélanie went ice hockey playing on a frozen lake. Lovely. Frosty the Mascot and all.

Her time to shine - apparently. I think Europe will disagree.

CYPRUS

John goes paddle boarding down a river. He seems thrilled about it. Good ol' John.

Another performance which went simply well. Will it be enough to see him through to Saturday though? Bets are open.

SLOVENIA

Where would they take the Slovenes if it wasn't going to be with Lipizzaner horses? Raay and Marjetka laugh and pet the horsies and then these go galloping though the field.

It's a great song but some of the camera work is a bit - well, not my taste. It looks like there is just something a bit missing. It will still qualify though.

POLAND

Monika gets taken to make tier cakes. We approve. Now let us taste it please.

Nice camera work and strong vocals from Monika but I don't know if this is enough to be in the top 10 on Thursday - which is a shame. 

BREAK

"Europe start voting". Recap over we go back to have information melanges about Eurovision and Austria. Austria seems to have invented the world. I thought that was the Greeks. I was mistaken it seems.

Plugging of the DVD and CD. And off to recap number two.

After the recap, jus over 60 seconds left to vote.

We love Arabella: "If you haven't voted yet, you only have ... wait ... look... blablabla seconds left to vote!" She can stay.

Arabella and Alice close the voting after a countdown. 

Mirjam then takes us to a mix of clips of when voting went wrong or the best moments from the voting past - you couldn't leave out "I don't have it". Loving this. 

We then have a chat with Monika from Poland. Well, her stand-in anyway. No pun intended, that's what they're called. Then on to John from Cyprus. And Måns also will get a quick interview.

Arabella talks to Amber, while Alice then talks to Maraaya. "Thank you and good luck". 

Back to the seven direct finalists. Alice announces the big 5, the special guest and the winner of last year.

The cut to the video for these did not work. 

They then need a microphone and start talking in German. Since I don't speak it ... 

This was the light check and now that it's done we can continue. "Question is, with what?" asks Arabella - again, I need to be her fan.

Repeat of the dialogue previously covered, and videos now work.

Mirjam is with us once the videos are over. She asks Jan Ola if the results are ready. He tries to say something but she doesn't hear him. He repeats that the results are ready. 

"That sounds good" replies Mirjam. Arabella and Alice are on stage behind the podium ready to inform us of the 10 qualifiers. Alice speaks in German so no idea what she is going on about.

01. Latvia

02. Switzerland

03. Sweden

still too fast

04. Slovenia 

05. Norway 

06. Lithuania 

07. Iceland 

08. Portugal 

09. Ireland 

"... and the very last country that made it to the grand final of the Eurovisio Song Contest 2015 is ... " 

10. Montenegro

It is the largest final ever with 27 countries competing. They do the whole "Good morning Australia, Good night Europe." and it's done.