Tomorrow morning sees the starts of the first round of rehearsals for this year's contest, and as always we begin with the first half of Semi 1. Now that we have our press passes safely round our necks and can stop panicking about the prospect of queueing up at the accreditation centre while half-hearing Sandhja singing it away to an empty Globen, we can contemplate what we're most looking forward to.
The most highly anticipated rehearsal tomorrow will probably be that of Russia, this year's favourites. Sergey is due on stage at 4:40 local time, so keep an eye on the blog and our Twitter account. There's rumours of a technologically advanced performance from the Russians, who have told us to expect a completely different performance from the live routine they've been doing around the preview circuit, and from that we saw in the video.
Earlier in the day, another country we've got our eye on is Croatia. Over the last month we've seen a wide range of performances from Nina Kraljić, starting with that performance on Serbian TV that sent 'Lighthouse' crashing down the rankings. We'll see tomorrow at 1:40 what the Croatians have planned, and if Nina can bring across the charisma she'll need on camera.
We're also quite looking forward to seeing how the Greek entry comes across in its first rehearsal. They're one of the few this year whom we haven't seen a proper live, televized performance from. They're rank outsiders to qualify, but if we've learned something from previous years, it's to never count Greece out, especially when it's with hopeless-seeming combinations of rap and singing in Greek and English.
The Netherlands are on directly after Croatia, and it'll be interesting to see if Douwe Bob's authenticity lends a breath of fresh air to proceedings, and they'll be followed by Armenia, the first of this year's highly produced entries. We're very curious to see if they can bring across the atmosphere of the studio version on stage, and indeed what they have planned for us visually - so far we've had no clues.
And then of course, we have San Marino.
Tell us who you're most looking forward tomorrow in the comments below - and let us know if you have any special requests for our bloggers to focus on when they're casting their expert eye over the rehearsals.
Just one more sleep! We can't wait.
Bringing you all the news and gossip from the rehearsals in Basel
Sunday, 1 May 2016
Ready?
Passport check
Camera check
Travellers' checks check
All ready to go! Stockholm here we come!
Countdown to the first rehearsals
So. Eurovision is back once again! \o/ And I'll be there to blog and keep you updated on what's happening during the rehearsals and other events. Who am I? I'm a representative from the Antarctic Eurovision Delegation and I'm here to convince the EBU to let us participate next year. No, not really. Those of you who are regular visitors of this website most likely already know me, and those of you who don't will hopefully be able to enjoy my reports and thoughts in this blog anyway.
During the upcoming rehearsals I'll try to give as much of an accurate description of possible of what's going on on the stage, combined with some personal reflections and opinions.
What I won't do is make a lot of predictions. Because whether I think an entry will qualify or not is after all quite irrelevant (and a lot of times it'll probably also be completely wrong). So instead I'll try to give you all the information I can about each rehearsal so that you'll be able to form your own opinion. But as we get closer to the shows, a small prediction or two might sneak through as well...
Now. Tomorrow we'll see the first half of the first semi-final rehearse. If all goes as planned, at least one member of this blog will be there from the very start. So keep checking out this website throughout the day for live updates from the press centre.
We'll also be very active on our Instagram account @EscNation where there'll be all sorts of photos, as well as our Twitter account with the same name. So don't forget to follow us if you want the latest tidbits. And last but definitely not least there's our youtube channel ESCNation TV where there'll be plenty of stuff for you to watch.
Have a happy Eurovision everyone!
During the upcoming rehearsals I'll try to give as much of an accurate description of possible of what's going on on the stage, combined with some personal reflections and opinions.
What I won't do is make a lot of predictions. Because whether I think an entry will qualify or not is after all quite irrelevant (and a lot of times it'll probably also be completely wrong). So instead I'll try to give you all the information I can about each rehearsal so that you'll be able to form your own opinion. But as we get closer to the shows, a small prediction or two might sneak through as well...
Now. Tomorrow we'll see the first half of the first semi-final rehearse. If all goes as planned, at least one member of this blog will be there from the very start. So keep checking out this website throughout the day for live updates from the press centre.
We'll also be very active on our Instagram account @EscNation where there'll be all sorts of photos, as well as our Twitter account with the same name. So don't forget to follow us if you want the latest tidbits. And last but definitely not least there's our youtube channel ESCNation TV where there'll be plenty of stuff for you to watch.
Have a happy Eurovision everyone!
Saturday, 23 May 2015
Final prediction - IIIIIH!
We're getting closer! :-o Both semifinals out of the way and without any massive shocks or surprises, really, will the final be as easy to predict? I don't really think so, but I do find it easier than last year. Which probably means I'll be waaaay off with most of it...
My own favourites are still Azerbaijan and Norway, and both gave me goosebumps in the semi, but I wasn't as absolutely wowed by them as I wished I had been. Maybe it was just drafty...? Some others made a good impression though, and regardless of whether I actually like them or not, I thought Estonia, Hungary, Israel and Latvia worked better on screen than I'd expected.
So anyway, here is what I think the result will be tonight. Sticking with Sweden, but kinda hoping for a surprise, even though I like it... Eurovision hosted in Italy would be amazeballs, for instance - or a Belgian victory, as that would give my economy a nice boost.
1 Sweden | Mums mums.
2 Italy
3 Russia
4 Belgium | Been quite confident this will do relatively well all along, as it's just so good, but also seems to have a gained a bit of momentum after the semi.
5 Latvia | Opposite here, I've doubted its chances all along, but maybemaybe? Good draw for it too, I'd say!
6 Australia
7 Estonia | Looked great on screen.
8 Norway | It really should do better than Carl Espen last year, but there's just no room further up...
9 Azerbaijan
10 Slovenia
11 Georgia
12 Armenia | Will be interesting to see how the juries judge this - I really have no idea... Whereas the televote support from the diaspora presumably is at least as strong as usual.
13 Spain
14 Israel
15 Albania | Very unsure about this...
16 Greece | Whereas it seems obvious this will end up about here.
17 Serbia
18 Lithuania
19 Romania
20 France
21 Montenegro
22 United Kingdom | Rehearsal reports not promising, but I do think there will be the odd jury here and there really falling for it, keeping it off the last place.
23 Hungary | Worked quite well in the semi, but I still think it's all rather useless.
24 Germany
25 Cyprus | Would be nice to be wrong about this, but I just can't see many remembering it with that draw.
26 Austria | Still can't hum it...
27 Poland
Have an amazing evening, everyone - it's Eurovision tonight!!
My own favourites are still Azerbaijan and Norway, and both gave me goosebumps in the semi, but I wasn't as absolutely wowed by them as I wished I had been. Maybe it was just drafty...? Some others made a good impression though, and regardless of whether I actually like them or not, I thought Estonia, Hungary, Israel and Latvia worked better on screen than I'd expected.
So anyway, here is what I think the result will be tonight. Sticking with Sweden, but kinda hoping for a surprise, even though I like it... Eurovision hosted in Italy would be amazeballs, for instance - or a Belgian victory, as that would give my economy a nice boost.
1 Sweden | Mums mums.
2 Italy
3 Russia
4 Belgium | Been quite confident this will do relatively well all along, as it's just so good, but also seems to have a gained a bit of momentum after the semi.
5 Latvia | Opposite here, I've doubted its chances all along, but maybemaybe? Good draw for it too, I'd say!
6 Australia
7 Estonia | Looked great on screen.
8 Norway | It really should do better than Carl Espen last year, but there's just no room further up...
9 Azerbaijan
10 Slovenia
11 Georgia
12 Armenia | Will be interesting to see how the juries judge this - I really have no idea... Whereas the televote support from the diaspora presumably is at least as strong as usual.
13 Spain
14 Israel
15 Albania | Very unsure about this...
16 Greece | Whereas it seems obvious this will end up about here.
17 Serbia
18 Lithuania
19 Romania
20 France
21 Montenegro
22 United Kingdom | Rehearsal reports not promising, but I do think there will be the odd jury here and there really falling for it, keeping it off the last place.
23 Hungary | Worked quite well in the semi, but I still think it's all rather useless.
24 Germany
25 Cyprus | Would be nice to be wrong about this, but I just can't see many remembering it with that draw.
26 Austria | Still can't hum it...
27 Poland
Have an amazing evening, everyone - it's Eurovision tonight!!
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