Voting done and we have a quick tour of Copenhagen.
Trying not to spoil it for people but it is quite unique. We are shown the good things of Copenhagen with what looks like the secret service on hand to ensure that only the good things are seen. We also have a gigantic Little Mermaid helicoptered in and placed on top of the real one so that the tourists can enjoy her in her beauty... A fun concept but they haven't been true to the Copenhagen most of us have encountered - bad bus service, confusing roads, people puking in the street at 5pm, people shouting in the street at 5am like last night, bad bathrooms and plenty more ... but this does not get mentioned to the tv viewers. We did find out today though that it was worse in 2001 so we should consider ourselves lucky we didn't have to do it twice.
The next record is "Most Silver" which could only be won by one person! To be revealed tomorrow night.
After the record, we have a run-through of the Big 5 plus Denmark.
Finished the preview of the six songs, Lise goes to talk to Jon Ola Sand. He needs more time since there are many votes to count, so Lise gratiously gives him more time. To fill in time she asks him what he thinks of the show. Being the Executive Producer, we could imagine what his reply would be.
Another record, "Longest Note" - and a surprise winner here!
Jon Ola then gives his thumbs up to continue with the show and we can now confirm the results are in. We now have qualifiers (in order of announcement by Nikolaj and Pilou):
Portugal
Netherlands
Moldova
Belgium
Albania
Estonia
Iceland
Latvia
Montenegro
And finally...
UKRAINE!
Poor Sanna is crying herself to bed tonight it seems! If this was a true result anyway.
Finally we get a recap of the qualified entries in order of appearance not announcement. Once the recap finishes, the qualified artists are already on stage and waving their flags. Nothing left to say by the trio of hots apart from "Good Night Europe".
And it is a Good Night from us too, off to get ready for Italian and Israeli party both conveniently held in Euroclub! God help us tomorrow.
Bringing you all the news and gossip from the rehearsals in Vienna
Monday, 5 May 2014
1st Dress Rehearsal - Semi Final 1 (P4)
Portugal
We went from the most unimaginative picture to the once that could be considered the most (up to now). Suzy starts painting the Portuguese flag on a white wall of an art studio. She then puts her back to the wall and measures where the colours meet and starts painting herself (also dressed in white at this point). From head (including hair) to thigh she is paining herself within the flag, Coat of Arms and all. She then finds her spot on the wall and again a timed-photo is taken with her blending herself nearly completely in the flag, leaving only her outline to know she is actually there.
Performance wise, well, her costume is quite revealing. Not much being covered even though there is flesh-coloured material holding her in. Rapturous applause from the present audience. Another song which I might have to change my prediction on - could Portugal go thorough?!
Netherlands
The Dutch postcard can be found on YouTube. However, it is Ilse and Waylon on a canal boat which is transporting tulips. They start bringing the tulips to the bridge and place them in sections of red, white and blue. They alight the boat and go to a bridge. Once the boat is passing underneath them, they take a picture of the tulips forming the Dutch flag.
Another qualifier for the Netherlands. Works well on camera and is a non-pretentious well sung song.
Montenegro
Sergej has a big puzzle which he is putting together on the lid of a grand piano with his two kids. A piece seems to be missing but it turns out that one of the kids was hiding it - to which they laugh about (I don't remember laughter when losing bits of puzzles as a kid but to each their own...). The lid is opened slightly to get a better angle and the picture taken of the puzzle - which is naturally the Montenegrin flag.
The Balkan ballad doesn't fail - even with the ice-skater which again seems a bit too much. It has been noted however that the usual Balkan friends are missing this year and therefore could it be that even though this classic would normally never fail, this year could be the exception to the rule? I hope not since this is probably Montenegro's best chance at qualifying in the history of their taking part as an independent nation.
Hungary
András is playing with a Rubik Cube while walking in Budapest. He manages to get all colours done and then puts his bag down. He places the cube on the wall of the bridge and proceeds to take out other completed Rubik Cubes from his bag. He starts placing them carefully next to each other with the green side fronting us. On top of these comes white and capped with red. Snapshot of the flag.
Hungary kept the costume simple - a black t-shirt which nicely shows András' arms. The dancers are doing a good job of interpreting the song something which I may not have noticed so much in earlier runs. Sung well and a good ending to the show. Qualified.
Lise then tries to explain the Eurovision fans as two subgroups - the very dedicated fans and the extremely dedicated fans. Whichever one you feel you belong to, you should download the Eurovision app. Another bit of product-plugging in our international show.
Nikolaj and Pilou then explain to us the voting procedure and ask us to vote lest our favourite doesn't make it - again, news to many people I am sure. This leads us to the recap of the songs after which we have a dance interpretation of The Ugly Duckling.
Nikolaj and Pilou are back after the dance to remind us of the voting. In the second run we also see the acts leaving the stage which hopefully warms the audience a bit more to the artists to help tempt them to vote for them if they still haven't. Some of the performers need to try and remember this point since there has been a mix of extremely happy and thankful exits which make you think "oh, sweet, they enjoyed it", while others just had a face of thunder on them which would not make me want to vote for them any more than I haven't felt like doing up to now.
We went from the most unimaginative picture to the once that could be considered the most (up to now). Suzy starts painting the Portuguese flag on a white wall of an art studio. She then puts her back to the wall and measures where the colours meet and starts painting herself (also dressed in white at this point). From head (including hair) to thigh she is paining herself within the flag, Coat of Arms and all. She then finds her spot on the wall and again a timed-photo is taken with her blending herself nearly completely in the flag, leaving only her outline to know she is actually there.
Performance wise, well, her costume is quite revealing. Not much being covered even though there is flesh-coloured material holding her in. Rapturous applause from the present audience. Another song which I might have to change my prediction on - could Portugal go thorough?!
Netherlands
The Dutch postcard can be found on YouTube. However, it is Ilse and Waylon on a canal boat which is transporting tulips. They start bringing the tulips to the bridge and place them in sections of red, white and blue. They alight the boat and go to a bridge. Once the boat is passing underneath them, they take a picture of the tulips forming the Dutch flag.
Another qualifier for the Netherlands. Works well on camera and is a non-pretentious well sung song.
Montenegro
Sergej has a big puzzle which he is putting together on the lid of a grand piano with his two kids. A piece seems to be missing but it turns out that one of the kids was hiding it - to which they laugh about (I don't remember laughter when losing bits of puzzles as a kid but to each their own...). The lid is opened slightly to get a better angle and the picture taken of the puzzle - which is naturally the Montenegrin flag.
The Balkan ballad doesn't fail - even with the ice-skater which again seems a bit too much. It has been noted however that the usual Balkan friends are missing this year and therefore could it be that even though this classic would normally never fail, this year could be the exception to the rule? I hope not since this is probably Montenegro's best chance at qualifying in the history of their taking part as an independent nation.
Hungary
András is playing with a Rubik Cube while walking in Budapest. He manages to get all colours done and then puts his bag down. He places the cube on the wall of the bridge and proceeds to take out other completed Rubik Cubes from his bag. He starts placing them carefully next to each other with the green side fronting us. On top of these comes white and capped with red. Snapshot of the flag.
Hungary kept the costume simple - a black t-shirt which nicely shows András' arms. The dancers are doing a good job of interpreting the song something which I may not have noticed so much in earlier runs. Sung well and a good ending to the show. Qualified.
Lise then tries to explain the Eurovision fans as two subgroups - the very dedicated fans and the extremely dedicated fans. Whichever one you feel you belong to, you should download the Eurovision app. Another bit of product-plugging in our international show.
Nikolaj and Pilou then explain to us the voting procedure and ask us to vote lest our favourite doesn't make it - again, news to many people I am sure. This leads us to the recap of the songs after which we have a dance interpretation of The Ugly Duckling.
Nikolaj and Pilou are back after the dance to remind us of the voting. In the second run we also see the acts leaving the stage which hopefully warms the audience a bit more to the artists to help tempt them to vote for them if they still haven't. Some of the performers need to try and remember this point since there has been a mix of extremely happy and thankful exits which make you think "oh, sweet, they enjoyed it", while others just had a face of thunder on them which would not make me want to vote for them any more than I haven't felt like doing up to now.
Copenhagen day 1 (for me)
Well, after a bitch of a bustrip where I almost feared for my life from time to time I have finally landed in the presscentre after going through a securitycheck outta this world. Not even Arlanda gave me such a thourough search.
The bus out to B&W hallerne was sort of a joke where they changed the schedule while we were waiting for the bus. BUT we got here. And probably by chance.
Arrived in the middle of the rehearsal so I'll just give a general view. So far it's been a little of a snoozefest and out of key really bad at some points. But now shush, Portugal is on.
The bus out to B&W hallerne was sort of a joke where they changed the schedule while we were waiting for the bus. BUT we got here. And probably by chance.
Arrived in the middle of the rehearsal so I'll just give a general view. So far it's been a little of a snoozefest and out of key really bad at some points. But now shush, Portugal is on.
Monday afternoon
After spending almost an hour waiting for shuttle buses that never appeared, and then nearly an hour on the bus that eventually did appear, we finally made it out to the arena. In spite of being very late, the dress rehearsal was just at Albania when I got the chance to sit down and watch the screens. I guess the re were delays with the rehearsal too :-)
So, last night was the big opening party for all the delegates. The city hall was a nice venue and provided us with free food and free drinks, which always helps. Otherwise there isnt much to say about it. There was a folk music band in a corner, which resulted in a spontaneous dance performance by Aram mp3, Mariko, the Latvian girl and some of the Icelanders. In general I think most artists really appreciated the chance to hang out and mingle with each other, without being interrupted by fans wanting to take their picture or tell them how much they loved their song but that they think the runner up from the NF was much better.
The night continued at Euroclub, with Ruth and Twin Twin and a bunch of othes performing. I personally left early-ish, and was even in bed by 1.30. Saving myself a bit for later in the week :-)
Tonight there is the Irish Party at 19.30 at the Shamrock Inn. No invitation is needed (accreditation might be needed though...) so if you're around, make sure to come by :-)
1st Dress Rehearsal - Semi Final 1 (P3)
Azerbaijan
We're not really sure how the postcard was made. Dilara was on the roof of a building and started unwrapping see-through plastic film in the blue, red and green colours of Azerbaijan, but then somehow takes a timer-controlled picture of herself and it turns into the flag of Azerbaijan ... hmm... seems like Eurovision points are not the only things which magically happen in the land of fire.
This song is winning the semi. There, I have said it - which now means it will fair terribly on the night. But going back
Ukraine
Mariya is using packs of yellow post-it notes and places them carefully on a train station platform starting from the edge. She writes a message on one of them (I believe it's her name) and waits for a train to come. Yes, trains in Ukraine are light blue. The picture is the blue of the train and the post it notes.
Mariya is dressed in blue, while her running interest is in a black shirt and tie combo. Good performance and a strong qualifier.
Belgium
Axel is waiting in a laundrette and finishes knitting his black, yellow and red flag. He puts it in the wash and starts. You then see him removing it from the tumble-dryer and a much smaller knitted flag comes out. Pic taken.
Axel sings his heart out but there is not much to this song. 'Mother' is still scary and even though he is the fat kid that people at home usually feel sorry for, as we saw in Antwerp already, will this necessarily get through? Most peopel believe it will but I still don't see this being a sure bet.
Moldova
Cristina is making clay, but not in a seductive Ghost kind of way, no, more a "plop" version. She makes three columns and colours them. One of them, guess which, has an eagle engraved into it and painted in the colours it should. We then take a picture of the flag.
Cristina still doesn't move but at least her dancers do enough for everyone. And what is missing from a performance with enough wtf moments? The singer ripping her hair out naturally! Why would anyone think this would be a strange idea? I think I had this as a qualifier earlier - doubt it now.
San Marino
Very unimaginative postcard for San Marino. It seems Valentina likes spending time in hangers since she went to an airplane hangar somewhere in San Marino (one assumes) in order to paint a canvas of the Sammarinese flag. Why she didn't do it in her living room one does not know - or dare to ask.
Still sounding very musical rather than Eurovision. This song does not invoke any major feeling and is more of a filler than an entry. Non-qualifier if there ever was one.
Lise is back on the screen doing her bit for tv-shopping addicts across Europe - informing them how they can get the super CD and DVD of this years' entries.
The next record is "Biggest Shoulder Pads". Again, no spoilers.
Nikolaj and Pilou are back to announce the continuation of the show.
We're not really sure how the postcard was made. Dilara was on the roof of a building and started unwrapping see-through plastic film in the blue, red and green colours of Azerbaijan, but then somehow takes a timer-controlled picture of herself and it turns into the flag of Azerbaijan ... hmm... seems like Eurovision points are not the only things which magically happen in the land of fire.
This song is winning the semi. There, I have said it - which now means it will fair terribly on the night. But going back
Ukraine
Mariya is using packs of yellow post-it notes and places them carefully on a train station platform starting from the edge. She writes a message on one of them (I believe it's her name) and waits for a train to come. Yes, trains in Ukraine are light blue. The picture is the blue of the train and the post it notes.
Mariya is dressed in blue, while her running interest is in a black shirt and tie combo. Good performance and a strong qualifier.
Belgium
Axel is waiting in a laundrette and finishes knitting his black, yellow and red flag. He puts it in the wash and starts. You then see him removing it from the tumble-dryer and a much smaller knitted flag comes out. Pic taken.
Axel sings his heart out but there is not much to this song. 'Mother' is still scary and even though he is the fat kid that people at home usually feel sorry for, as we saw in Antwerp already, will this necessarily get through? Most peopel believe it will but I still don't see this being a sure bet.
Moldova
Cristina is making clay, but not in a seductive Ghost kind of way, no, more a "plop" version. She makes three columns and colours them. One of them, guess which, has an eagle engraved into it and painted in the colours it should. We then take a picture of the flag.
Cristina still doesn't move but at least her dancers do enough for everyone. And what is missing from a performance with enough wtf moments? The singer ripping her hair out naturally! Why would anyone think this would be a strange idea? I think I had this as a qualifier earlier - doubt it now.
San Marino
Very unimaginative postcard for San Marino. It seems Valentina likes spending time in hangers since she went to an airplane hangar somewhere in San Marino (one assumes) in order to paint a canvas of the Sammarinese flag. Why she didn't do it in her living room one does not know - or dare to ask.
Still sounding very musical rather than Eurovision. This song does not invoke any major feeling and is more of a filler than an entry. Non-qualifier if there ever was one.
Lise is back on the screen doing her bit for tv-shopping addicts across Europe - informing them how they can get the super CD and DVD of this years' entries.
The next record is "Biggest Shoulder Pads". Again, no spoilers.
Nikolaj and Pilou are back to announce the continuation of the show.
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