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: Armenia to Norway

Norway

Alexander apparently has the flu (according to sources around the press centre), which shows. He looks tired and sweaty as from a fever. He does still put out a lot of energy in his performance, so as long as the flu doesn't get any worse, I'm sure it's nothing that more make up won't fix.

The microphones are still on during the time between the runs, in the first break, Alexander was "trying to find the left one"... In the second break he seems eager to sing again, asking "Can we try it NOW?".

He stayed in key, but you could tell he had to struggle to hit the higher notes, especially during the last run through. Time for Alexander to get back to the hotel and rest, I think! And time for lunch for the rest of us. I'll be back in an hour.

Cyprus

The fans/press in the arena are cheering for Cyprus during set up, making our desk at the press centre giggle. As confident and over the top as before. For the on-screen "dragon in the knees effects" they are still trying different things. First run had the red fire balls at her knee level, for the second run there were yellow flames starting from her waist (and a bit higher than that during the third run). I think the latter version looked better.

The crew is now taking a few minutes to fix microphones, before Norway is on. The microphones are still on, I'll let you know if they accidentally say something interesting!

Ireland

There was a slight problem with Ryan's microphone for the first couple of seconds. I could not spot any crew members this time though! Second run: the sound/microphone problem was fixed as well.

Switzerland

The ZiBBZ are sounding good today. The performance is super similar from the first rehearsal round, with the woman ZiBBZ standing on the bass drum at the end of the song.

Armenia

The ratio between shots of the planks and shots of Sevak seems to have changed slightly, we now get more close ups of him. This makes it feel a bit more personal, which is never a bad idea.

Good morning everyone!

Today I'll be your voice from the press centre/arena for the first part of the day. Yair also wants to see Portugal in day time! Like Yair did yesterday, I will focus on any news or changes from what we saw at the first rehearsals.

I went with Roger to visit Sintra yesterday, which was stunning. If you come to Lisbon and spend more than just a few Days, I definitely recommend a visit!

View from the Queen's terrace at Pena Palace, Sintra.

First rehearsal: Finland to Switzerland

Switzerland

Pre-opinion: I failed to notice this when it was on the Swiss final, and it hasn't really grown on me either. It seems to have a lot of avid fans, so maybe there's something to it I don't hear? And if the Armenian stage concept is stones, can they just leave them there?

While we wait, I'm reading this fun blog at escgo, putting all those hysterical reactions, including mine (ok, especially mine) into perspective.

First run: Woman ZiBB with strappy black top that reveals a lot and pink hat. She drums a bit and then throws her stick and starts to walk about the bridge. Oh no, she's doing the "I want anybody who's been hurt put your hand up" thing. Invisible (male?) backing singers doing oh-oh-om, but nobody's helping her and her vocals are on the harsh side. Man ZiBB alternates between drumming and playing the keyboard.

Oh, and she takes her mic stand to the bridge, walks across half of it and back, then picks it up. The mic stand has long pink straps, when she walks it she carries it low enough for it to mop the floor behind her. That's Swiss efficiency.

Second run: Better vocals now. I guess the best thing going for it is Woman ZiBB's figure (she worked hard for it, I can tell) and perhaps being more colourful than the previous entry, by default.

Third run: I think they've worked out the sound mix issues, and she doesn't sound harsh anymore (thanks to backing vocals). She's now holding a flare while she asks us to put our hands up. Well not all of us, just those who have ever been hurt.


Armenia

Pre-opinion: Another one I enjoy, and he's a good singer, although the performances I've seen so far were a bit tame (including the NF one), and they're going to do better than this to stand out. Curious how they'll do the high pitch qamiiiiiiiiii in the end, which has so far been assisted by pre-recorded bits.

First runthrough: He's standing inside a circle of long stones of uneven length, looking like remains of an ancient shrine, or a modern genocide memorial. Backing singers not visible (boo). It's all very grey/black until the 'climax' bit where we see some red lights. I'm not entirely sold on the concept, but he may still carry it on his charisma.

Second run: There's a heated debate on the ESC Nation desk on whether these are stones or wood planks (we may have to ask your opinion). The performance is much of the same, all very grey with a bit of red. Wind machine (a must with this song title) makes Sevak's top flap about.

Finland

Pre-opinion: The fan world seems to have gone from "OMGZ pop diva so winning" to "such disappointment, NQ". I was always in the middle about this: An OK Pop song with an OK performer that might earn itself a spot in the final in the right circumstances.

Setup: Triangles is the theme (but not in the Gabriela Gunčíková way). A platform made of tringles of purple neons, on top an eight-pointed star made of more triangles, and Saara (the only non-geometric shape in here),

First runthrough: Saara lying on the platform in a glittery black top and long boots, she has two male dancers who may have neck mics, but I only hear female singers ain't scared no more. Very purple and turquoise everything. It was very much the bubblegumy pop performance expected from this, Saara falling backwards and caught by the dancers is a nice ending.

* oh, she's not lying on the floor, it's a vertical circle and she's tied to it as it rotates. Pretty cool, but there's a lot of upside down head in this. Can she handle the blood rush?

Second runthrough: Dancers tried to release her from the disc, but couldn't quite do it fast enough. They need to work on that. Pyro geysers during the last chorus. People near me are not impressed, but I think that this staging suits the song, at least.

Think of this, but with fifteen tons of Swarowskis. And no knives (they're on the list of prohibited items, thankfully):

Third and last run: Pyro curtain! And more shooting pyro we haven't seen before. Those of you who like pyro will love this.

Day 2 of first rehearsals - Finland to Switzerland

Switzerland

It might be a sign of mental disease, but this outfit reminds me of another animal skeleton, a beetle skeleton. It's a short leather top with that pattern, that she's wearing. A pink hat tops the outfit off. We get a tour of the stage, that is, there's a lot of walking around on it. And as Yair already wrote, the vocals were not that pleasant to listen to (no disaster, but no relaxataxi either).

The top, mentally unwell (?) artist's impression...

Second and third run went better and better. Still, I had a hard time focusing on the song/performance. It just doesn't do much for me.

Armenia

Sevak is surrounded by a circle of painted "3 tum 4" (quite thick planks) in different lengths. He looks pretty lonely in there. Yet another blue/dark light setting for the stage. I don't have much else to say about this performance. It didn't stand out in any particular way, other than being good promotion for building material.

The outfit is what I am focusing on during the second run. It is a dark grey well worn bathrobe looking long coat. I do believe there's some wind machine action there as well, it just doesn't have much effect on the thick material of the robe.

Looks like there won't be a third run for the eyes of the press from Armenia either. Rumor has it (at least from Greece, but it must be a general thing, surely) that means something awesome beyond words will happen, that they don't want to show us just yet. My guess is that pyro will set the planks (or whatever they may be) on fire and - or - the wind machine will get a boost of power and blow them off stage.

Finland

Saara performs in high glittery black boots and a short sparkly black dress with a statement piece silver necklace reminding me of a fish skeleton! There might have been some technical problems in the beginning of the song, the vocals were quite low in volume. She did a good job, even though it must be difficult being upside down in the end!

Second run through shows that fish skeletons can be dangerous, dancers can get caught it them trying to help singers off spinning discs! Although, catching dancer doesn't have to be a bad thing.

In the third and last run Saara put herself into even more danger, through pyro which she was a lot closer to than the recommended minimum safety distance. It was quite an effective end to the performance! Finland gets a good round of applause from the press centre.

[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 7 - 2nd Run Through : CRO / NOR / CHE / BLR

BELARUS

Ksenija is wearing a different number to what she did on Tuesday but Arciom is wearing the same. Cameras are working well however wouldn't say excellent yet. The backdrop is still just a lot of random but that's not always a bad thing. Everything in me wants this to qualify however trying to take a balanced view on it, the likelihood is debatable. There are a few strong songs in this semi therefore what would make the people at home vote for this over something else?

2nd Run - This needs the crowd to be in the arena dancing and having fun together. It would be great if the audience wasn't packed like sardines in that standing area and actually had enough space to have a little boogie around. Still, the duo sing well and show that they are having the time of their life on that little boat on stage. This is what Eurovision should be about, artists knowing that this is probably the most that they will ever be able to achieve internationally, enjoying every moment they have on that stage, hoping and praying to bring pride to their nation. Belarus! I salute you!

3rd Run - Lovesh!! I know, I know, but there is something cathingly energetic about this song which just wants to make you get up off your seat and dance. Hopefully this gets conveyed to the audience at home since I doubt the juries will be very impressed by it. I guess we just have to wait and see until Thursday.


SWITZERLAND

The team stuck to the same wardrobe they did during the first rehearsal. Maybe they didn't watch it on video? Maybe they didn't read the comments? Maybe they forgot to bring another dress? Whatever the reason may be, it is not good enough. The rendition of the song itself is what we have been used to - mediocre. Miruna however decided not to sing the last chorus and instead lets the backing singers handle it. In the meantime she starts giving us an example of how she can't reach high notes. Maybe not the best time to start experimenting with these choices but let's see if she keeps them in a few moments time.

2nd Run - Well, the good news is that it didn't get any worse. But nope, the screaming is still there.

3rd Run - Well, no pyro but the wind machine makes a very strong comeback in this song. Wouldn't be surprised seeing the poor girl blown away! Or at least her dress. We do need to ask however; "Who though that this stage design was going to work well? When did someone think, 'Oh yes! Let's dress her up as Big Bird off Sesame Street and have yellow and pink backdrop! It will be totes amaze!" Whoever it was, please can we get the number of who is supplying you with your stuff?


NORWAY

We have more graphics projected on tv screens. Most of which are just harmless what could best be described as pink interference glitches but there are moments in the chorus where these digital heads appear to be screaming, assuming this is portraying the 'voice in [his] head'  however it does not work at all. No one is impressed by it. We're all in agreement however that the national final performance was much better and that something has been lost since then.

2nd Run - A respectable run but nothing to write home about still. Those graphics need to go since they distract rather than help anything. It's strange since visually this should be exactly like it was in MGP but it isn't. Two NQs in a row for Norway?

3rd Run - As with MGP, Joakim is not lit up for the bridge - not everyone is pleased at this. And there is no pyro for Norway further reducing it's chances.


CROATIA

We were supposed to have a run but Henrik asked to "cut the music" since the lighting didn't seem to work. He then said "it's a dark song!" to which we all laughed.

Take 2 - Well, that was an experience! The camera has been changed quite significantly from the first rehearsals, only sometimes working in their favour. The backing dancers were on stage for the whole song last Tuesday but now only appear from "Don't let go!" onward. Jacques is wearing a leather suit jacket and is delivering well. This did not get the reaction it did a few days ago however. May we have thought it better than it actually is? That never happens here in Eurovisionland does it?

2nd Run - Oh, so they are playing with cameras again. This time the beginning is back to as it was on the first rehearsal. Backing dancers are wearing dark grey suits with black t-shirts while the two guys playing instruments are also in dark grey suits but this time with white t-shirts. This worked better than the first run today. Still not sure about the shot with three Jacques - right head, left head and actual Jacques - but I guess they know what they're doing ...

3rd Run - We're playing with cameras still - something we can't really say much about since at the end of the day this is what rehearsals are for. It would be nice if they stuck to something though. Pyro is available in this song also and adds that little bit of fairy sparkleyness which was deeply missing up to this point! The laughter erupted when Henrik states "we're currently counting you as one person but we're looking into it". #croatiaskandal


LUNCH

The canteen upstairs is improving bit by bit - maybe due to the competition downstairs next to the male toilet. But today was a lovely dish of chicken drumsticks and rice. Tasty rice too. Gnam gnam!

Day 4 - SMR-CRO-NOR-SUI

SWITZERLAND

Yesterday was blue+white day, today is yellow+purple day.  In this case the yellow is the singer's dress and mic stand.  She's on a giant plinth with steps which she descends. This could get precarious with the long flowing dress.

Vocally just about adequate. We're back to the hidden backing singers.

They don't seem to want us to see very much in the press room today. We've only seen half a run-through of this after only one or two of the first three. We've usually had three or four of each song.


NORWAY

And back to normality and more or less a carbon copy of the MGP performance.

Lots of purple light and not a lot going on in the middle section. There's a risk everyone will spend these three minutes talking about Croatia.

There is some live backing vocal here, but also the digitalised voice thingies to some extent.

It's competent. But maybe a tad dull.


CROATIA

Long time since there has been so much laughter in the press room.

Let's get the vocals out the way first - they are perfect.

Jacques does the duet by looking left, looking right depending on which voice (and getting it the wrong way round at one point). It looks quite silly. And then there are some very camp hand movements.

Backdrop is sunflowers and rainbows. Strangely, no unicorn.

Three backing singers help out, both vocally and visually (particularly the one in the middle). It ends with a bit of Molitva-esque touching.


SAN MARINO

Valentina is in da club, wearing a baseball cap and with her little shoulder bag she didn't want to leave in the cloakroom. Jimmie removes his jacket for the final chorus to show us his arms.

Bright colourful staging, nice overhead shot near the start which sets the mood. Three backing singers on stage, they don't do any choreo but help out with the hand-clapping.

So the baseball cap has gone, but the handbag stayed. Yellow and purple lighting, excellent vocals and good chemistry. Still it feels like a very long three minutes.


***
Good morning!

Day 4 already, and today we'll get the rest of semi 2, starting with the double whammy of San Marino and Croatia. Technically that might be a quadruple whammy, I suppose.

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 - Poland, Switzerland and Israel

Tom is doing the main blogging at the moment, so I'll just post some brief comments on the rehearsals I'm seeing.



Israel

Hovi is on stage in a black suit with glittery black gloves and shoes, glittery black shirt and a glittery black microphone stand. He's joined on stage by two acrobats spinning around in a large hoola hoop. Yes, one hoola hoop. They're both inside it. Though at one point the stop spinning and look like they began arguing instead, which is probably not part of the performance.

The stage, of course, has star-themed graphics. There's a big star on the floor surrounding Hovi, and there's stars behind him. The stage is mostly black except for the stars which are in shades of blue. It's a little bit like a darker and prettier version of Chiara's starry sky from 2009.

Vocally he's doing what he should. And the backing vocals are loud and sing well too. We can't actually see them though, as they aren't on the stage. But since there's three people on stage already, I assume it means that he has three backing singers.


Second run. The acrobats once again stop their spinning and look like they're arguing. So it's probably part of the act after all.

Also, Hovi is wearing a lot of make-up. Which is no surprise. But you'd think that someone who wears make-up more or less all the time, would actually make sure to wear good make-up?
On the big screens here we can see every piece of powder and foundation on his face very visibly, and it's all looking quite cakey. Something which hasn't been an issue with any of the previous singers, so it's not just the strong lights. Let's hope they fix that for next tuesday.

Last run-through. Now with pyro. The EXACT SAME PYRO as for Switzerland (i.e. the Running Scared Golden Shower). 

Switzerland

Rykka comes on stage and reveals that today's hair colour is blue. Due to the lights the blue hair most of the time looks dark grey though. They may need to do something about that. Unless they want "Last Of Our Kind" to come across as if it's a song about pensions and euthanasia.

She's completely alone on stage. It would probably have been a good idea to have the backing singers visible somewhere instead, because the stage looks very big and she's looking very small. Although maybe that's the idea, because it sort of almost fits the theme of the song. She also has smoke coming out from the back of her dress. Basically as if she has cigarettes in her bra straps. 

Vocally I would say that she's surprisingly ok though! Even in the last chorus which has a lot of difficult notes.

Last run-through, and she now has pyro as well. The "Running Scared"-kind. It's all looking very nice, and once again she manages to hit all the notes. If they can only dye her hair in a less grey shade of blue, this will all be quite perfect visually.  I would dare to say that this rehearsal really lifted the song quite a lot. It even got an applause in the press centre. Of course, whether it will be enough for a qualification or not is a totally different matter. But at least it seems that it will be presented in a nice way.


Poland

Got to the press centre in time to see the last two run-throughs of Poland.  Michal was in black trousers and a black tank top that revealed that he has quite muscular arms. That could possible be a good idea for the actual performance outfit as well. If you've got arms like that, then why not wear them?

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.

Recap of Dinner: Semi 2 run 2 day 6.

Going to two parties and a kebab place and getting kicked out of all three because they were closing was no a good idea. My juices have flown to somewhere unknown and my mind is shutting down slowly but surely. Interview waiting is draining and watching rehearsals is leading to insanity - but we love it all deep down. I apologise in advance however if I end up repeating myself or not really finding anything enlightening to say about things.

ICELAND
So sweet it gives you cavities. Cavities which are expensive to fill. And you start regretting eating the sugar. But you still eat a chocolate bar the next morning as part of a healthy breakfast. End.

SWEDEN
Why does he need to rehearse? This is just sorted as it is. But we're not complaining, we get to see Måns over and over and over again - good times! He must be a top 3 surely.

SWITZERLAND
Well, she is now on a sunny beach backdrop! No, no, she's still in the forest. She hasn't got lost in there yet. Oh well, still time.

No no, I joke. It's ok I guess. Nothing magical but ok.

CYPRUS
I still don't get it personally but everyone I talk to seems to think it's amazing - so who am I to disagree. John is a sweetie though so I would be happy for him if/when he does go through.

SLOVENIA
As with Sweden, this is just to run through and make sure that nothing wrong happens. A strong song with a strong show. Cannot fault it.

POLAND
In the name of love ... and all that is sacred I better not comment. Bed time me thinks.
She uses the clips we also see in the video where she is dancing and having fun. Lovely. Thing is, if the commentators don't mention she is not wheelchair-bound by accident and not by birth, or if the audience is either ot paying attention or just not able to process information due to alcohol levels in their blood - which is very plausible by this point - then it's just some random woman dancing when Monika is singing...


So, done for the day. Food, quick nap and then out again! We need our head studied.

Winners and losers on Day 4

All 17 of the second semi-finalists have now graced us with their planned performances for next Thursday night, and it's time to judge which of today's countries can be classified as... (dramatic drum roll) ...winners and losers!

The day started with two winners back-to-back, as Israel delivered a charmingly goofy, sufficiently-but-not-overly-choreographed bit of fun that we so desperately needed after yesterday's darkness and misery, before Latvia returned us to a dark path but with a genuinely edgy and real-world performance (and that dress looks much better on stage than off it, trust me!). I'm going to put Cyprus in this category too, though I do worry that their performance appeals to me because I'm English and it's a very Anglo-friendly kind of vibe they're creating. Will they vote for it in Podgorica or Baku? And finally, and to my great surprise, I'm giving Poland a "winner" thumbs-up. It's not that Monika and her team are suddenly definite qualifiers or anything, but they have a different and distinctive staging and a visual narrative that viewers will quickly grasp - time will tell whether it's enough to counteract the averageness of the song.

Sweden are somewhere in the middle, simply because a pair of lederhosen and a new hat aren't enough to constitute "improvement". And Azerbaijan belong there too, because Elnur looks pained every time he sings, and they have some fantastic conceptual ideas but some quite bizarre ones too (I'm aware that those descriptions aren't necessarily mutually exclusive in a Eurovision context, but in this case they are).

Now I keep saying it, but I do feel bad according "loser" status to anyone - but let's bear in mind we're talking about reality vs. expectations here, rather than an absolute judgement. As such, the piercing vocals and lost little girl actions of Iceland weren't enough to offset the gorgeous "Northern Lights" backdrop; the seriously dodgy backing vocals and yet-another-blue-and-black staging of Switzerland weren't enough to offset a solid vocal and visual performance from Mélanie; and fan favourite Slovenia came across as surprisingly insubstantial and unable to offset the undertow of what preceded it.

So there we go! Off to get some food with Roger now, then it's back bright and early for... *consults schedule* ...hm, it says here we have to sit through the entire first semi-final over an eight-hour period. That can't possibly be right.


We'll also be starting to publish some of the fun interviews that Tom has recorded with this year's artists, so look out for that!