ENDING THE SHOW
Petra and Måns are on stage informing us that the 10 finalists have been chosen and they will join the big 5 and Sweden on stage on Saturday. Nothing left to say but Good Night, Bonne Nuit and God Natt!
RECAP OF QUALIFIERS
Well, we should have a recap but this techincally finished even before San Marino finished.
QUALIFIERS
San Marino
Montenegro
Iceland
Greece
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Austria
Moldova
Malta
Finland
Azerbaijan!
Russia has failed to qualify! We are now expecting nuclear war within the next few hours. Call your loved ones and tell them you love them!
RESULTS
Petra is behind the podium. We then speak to Jan Ola Sand and after his speach we're back with both presenters in place. It is now time to find out the finalists which will be revealed in a random order.
SWEDEN
If Frans were sorry, he'd get his lazy behind out of his music studio and do some walking whilst chugging away on coffee, poured from a thermos flask. He would then also have marshmallows at a campfire with his friends. Maybe, if he really was sorry, he'd find the Swedish Stonehenge or a wooden gulf breaker at the Swedish coast. But he's not sorry.
Vocally confident but Frans still just doesn't seem to want to be there. Still in his Chacky jacket and grey top, he mumbles his song, ends and goes off. Don't see why this will light Europe but it seems that it will.
SPAIN
Breaking News: Barei has made it to the top of a mountain without stumbling. Too much. Maybe once or twice. Okay they had to helicopter her in. But luckily she found her feet (and her wriggling hands) in the shopping streets of Madrid. If the Spanish HoD wouldn't have told her it was time to leave, she probably would've still been in said street, mincing in the middle of it.
After the postcard there is a pause. They are getting something ready. We hear the intro chords again to prepare the singer for the start of the song. The backing dancers have changed into black dresses and Barei herself has a golden number with the number 03 on it which is a bit weird but maybe this will not be her final outfit. When the blackout happens, the camera struggles to find her and therefore when the spotlight comes back on, it is not in the correct position. Big applause for her.
FRANCE
Amir plays football in the park at Versailles
. He is then taking selfies in what we think is a cinema (wasn't paying enough attention).
The same things which we saw yesterday are happening today. Amir is struggling with the high notes, the camera angles are not always on point. He has changed his suit to grey from the black from the second dress rehearsal.
AFTER DANCE
We are then informed that for the first time we will actually see the finalists perform on stage. And we are introduced to Barei, France and Amir (from France).
LINES CLOSED
Lines closed and we get told about a message, a message of the refugees
which are trying to get into Europe. There is a dance dedicated to it.
For someone who understands pretty much absolutely nothing about
interpretive dance, this is quite emotional.
ABOUT TO CLOSE THE LINE
After the second recap, Petra and Måns are on the satellite stage telling us
we only have seconds left before the lines close. It is time for the final
countdown. Queue Europe (the band) playing again with Petra and Måns trying to
stop them once more. Apparently this happens quite often in Sweden.
It is now time to close the lines in 32, 31,... and then realising that it
should have been less time Måns asks Petra - "So how are you?" to
which we all giggle. They are waiting for their cue cards.
RECAP
Another recap after a very funny mockumentary. The Swedes do good humour.
MOCKUMENTARY
We see a mockumentary of what Sweden used to be like in the 1973 - back when
Sweden used to be Europe's favourite pushover.
RECAP
*Sergey Lazarev who is currently in interview room 2, came out only to take
a look at his bit and then went back it. Bless.
MALTA
Ira shows off some of the sites of Malta - first she's in Gozo, then she is
at the Aquarium in Buġibba, later has a spot of food - the traditional 'ftira'.
She finishes in Republic Street, Valletta, looking seductively into the camera
while the rest of the pedestrians walk on past not giving her a second look.
Ira is no longer mentioned in the credits of the song. The dress is from the
second rehearsal. In fact, it was quite similar to that rehearsal. Some slight
changes of the camera angles was all that could be noticed. Vocally strong
however it could be that the song will be lost in the whole swirl of this year.
BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA
Bosnia's troupe (you know who they are) are being followed in the studio, we
can watch them as they sing together. Yes. Together. Imagine that. There's also
a photo session in the local deli, with fresh Bosnian produce and olive oil
adorning them.
Wearing all black while Dalal is in red, the group perform without errors.
This will definitely be a hit in the Balkan region. Nothing much to say - definite
qualifier.
ICELAND
Greta like geysers. But she also likes waterfalls. But what she likes most
of all is playing her violin. Sitting at the campfire she doesn't mind, but
violin playing is her absolute favourite thing ever.
The interaction between Greta and the images of the projections is much
better than in any of the rehearsals we've seen before. She is also looking a
lot more confident that she had been before. The camera angles are a hundred
times better than what it was and things are coming together nicely. This
received the biggest applause it has up to now this week. Maybe we shouldn't
have been so quick to write Iceland off this year.
MONTENEGRO
The guys from Highway like walking through white corridors, and loitering in
music school class rooms. They also like playing a bit of basketball. But their
favourite pass-time is freezing to death on some Montenegrin mountain. Each his
own I guess.
And we start off with a bad not - the intro scream scares us. The camera is still
a mess, and it appears that none of the Montenegrin requests have been taken
into account by SVT. Marija is on the satellite stage doing her own thing.
Petar seems to have issues with his in-ear since he keeps on touching it -
either to put it back in properly or to try and indicate it. The song ends
without much attention being given to it having been on.
AZERBAIJAN
Samra has decided to put on her running shoes, and then wants to explore
some antiques shops. Bored because she couldn't find the old record player she
wanted, she then goes to the square in front of the Heydar Aliyev Centre where
she spends the rest of the 30 seconds rollerblading.
Song starts and backing vocals have been made higher to try and cover
Samra's voice. Unfortunately they need a whole choir on stage in order to cover
this mess. Samra is wearing her number from the second rehearsal. The backing
dancer who had his chest showing appears to have a white cloth to cover himself
now - shame! It was the best part of the show! The Azeri's have paid a lot of
money for pyro - another tactic to distract from the song.
BREAK
After Estonia we get another break, with Måns announcing 5 more songs. After
the animation, Petra is vamping to the camera from the green room. However the
greenroom is empty now. The tables of the greenroom are adorned with fancy
cut-glass bottles, that sparkle invitingly. Probably only water though. Stingy
Swedes.
ESTONIA
Jüri goes about his business in Tallinn; being on stage, waiting to be
touched up by a make-up artist, sitting on chairs, walking in streets but all
of that's not important. We actually get to see him doing a spot of sauna.
First in a light blue towel, then - after the hot sauna - cooling off Douwe Bob
style. He seems to enjoy it. He's not the only one.
The Estonian delegation have hired a magician to teach Jüri the trick.
Dressed in his blue suit he is taking control of the song. Glasses are still
off. We are getting to the point where it is a bit hard to concentrate on
everything and type so forgive me for any mishaps.
AUSTRIA
Zoë has decided the vineyards are the way to show herself. With wine of
course goes a drop of two of white wine. Probably yet another reference to the
actual Frenchness of this entry. Next we see her running about the gardens near
one of the many palaces of Vienna and almost getting lost in a Labyrinth. But
don't worry, she manages to get out just in time so sit down in the grass an
smile seductively at the camera.
Zoë was at the Euroclub last night and had received an amazing applause. She
is singing well and it seems that the sickening sweetness of the song has been
toned down a bit with the camera angles and lighting. Don't misunderstand - it
is still cavity-creating but it is now more of a song for an adult stage rather
than something you would see in some childrens' talent show. No pyro nor dry
ice or any gimmick - which the song didn't need anyway.
CYPRUS
The guys from Minus One are standing on a beach. Then we see them doing what
boys like to do: Hanging out with each other, do some instrument shopping,
drive around in the dune buggy, throwing old tv's from an apartment building,
then finally a bit of volleyball on the beach. Ah. Good times.
Alex Panayi (Cyrus 1995, 2000) is in the press room watching intently his
homeland. There is still lots of strobe lighting and cages and shouting and
howling. The howl that Francois does is a bit off key. There are more images of
the wolves however. And negative imaging. A bit of a 'throw everything and see
what happens' approach to the song. Not sure it works.
CZECH REPUBLIC
Gabriella is looking on the hills of Prague. She then decides she wants to
do a spot of wall climbing. Active girl. She finishes up in Prague on the
Charles Bridge.
After the manicness that is Russia, this is relying purely on a grand voice
and a message. In her simplicity and harmony, Gabriela is lighting the stage.
This needs to qualify. If it doesn't, there is something very wrong with
Eurovision.
RUSSIA
Russia's postcards consist of Sergey meeting fans, but also smiling to the
camera, whilst being reflected in the mirror. Finally we get him enjoying time
with his dog. Cuteness!
The shadow still didn't work completely this time. There is an angle where
the wing clearly is seen not to be attached to Sergey which is the point of it.
Vocally outstanding, there is nothing to fault this in this round. The
projections are back on their point so you can't really see how Sergey is
standing on the screen - or rather, it is hard to do when you don't know it
already.
QUICK BREAK
Petra thanks San Marino, Eurovision's smallest country. In fact we have just
seen "half the population on stage!"
SAN MARINO
Serhat enjoys the San Marinese view whilst sipping a coffee. He then wanders
through the old ancient buildings that San Marino has. Finally he's dancing
alone in a random theatre whilst probably humming some song to himself -
probably 'I Didn't Know'.
The stage was not ready in time, and the stage director primises this will
not be the case on the rehearsal this afternoon.
The French backing singer/dancers are ready and we're off. The presentation
is ok but just reminds you too much of a bad cruise ship entertainment theatre
where you go just because it's the only thing that you still haven't watched on
the ship when you've been sailing for a week and are now in the middle of the
ocean.
ARMENIA
Iveta is witnessing some women baking traditional flatbread. After that she
finds herself in a fruittree garden, wearing a flower crown.
And the second issue of the day. We are soon back on track however.
The camera angles are getting cleaner and there is much pyro going on in
this rehearsal - which is much more effective. It is now making a lot more
sense than in the dress rehearsals where the use of pyro was not available.
Before it just looked like she was having a moment but now it all ties
together.
The holograms on screen did not happen this time - we are not sure if that
was intentional or if it was a mistake. Largest applause up to now in the room.
THE NETHERLANDS
The Dutch postcard is about Douwe doing Parkour, Pool and Horses. Parkour in
a tree, Pool in a bar, and riding a horse.
Although everyone on stage seems confident vocally the song is still losing
us at the 10 second break. This could go really bad if the audience doesn't
play along.
BREAK
After Croatia we have our first break, with Petra and Måns introducing
themselves once more. Just to make sure that people who have the attentionspan
of an ant. The intervalclip is then something like the Carpool Karaoke that
James Corden does in the Late Late Show. In this, Petra and Måns are taking
unsuspecting travellers for a taxiride they won't forget soon. It's mostly
bloggers and editors from our colleague-websites and they are enjoying
themselves immensely. Verka Serduchka even makes a suprise cameo.
CROATIA
Nina leaves behind bouquets of flowers in the laps of statues. She then hugs
trees, She ends her postcard in a libray.
First error of the day - we're stopped. We have to do the intro music (after
the postcard) again.
The ripping of the first dress is still a bit random - two people dressed
in dark cloacks one on each side rip her clothes off - hmm... Vocally she is doing
a lot better than expected considering she is apparently sick. The dress still
takes too much attention away however.
HUNGARY
Freddie finds himself in the covered marketplace in Budapest, then shows off
his cooking skills in a pizzeria. Finally he contemplates, guitar in hand, next
to the river Danube, whilst glancing smoldering in the camera.
Freddie appears to have left his usual attire at home and is now wearing
rippd jeans, a white oversized t with an overlength on his right hand
side. Vocally coming accross quite nicely. Less shots of the drummer who has no
clue what he's doing. First time there has been a solid clap in the room.
MOLDOVA
idia is standing on the plain, not in Spain, but somewhere in Moldova, to
then look for the falling stars through a telescope in an observatory. She also
runs. Towards the qualification? Who will say. But the title animations are
still ace. Each country's letters appears in a completely different way.
The outfit from the second rehearsal appears to be the one chosen for the
contest. The dancer is camping it up. Lidia is doing her best vocally but has a
really bad note in the bridge before the final chorus. The song is sung fully
in English - it appears they did not want to pay the fine for changing parts to
French.
GREECE
The postcards was filmed in Thessaloniki, with them dancing along in a dance
studio and then along the promenade with the white tower in the background.
Vocally as we have known them before - not that good but it's Greece so
never rule them out. The dancer takes his shirt off but in order to not be so
obvious that his mic leads are behind his back, he has a white tree painted on
with the trunk being along his spine.
FINLAND
The postcard for Finland starts with Sandhja on a tram. The theme of the
postcards isn't really clear yet. But I'm really impressed with how the name of
the country appears: circles swish about to form the letters and then become
the background for the title of the song onto which the song title and writers
appear.
The outfit we have been seeing during the rehearsals *is* the one she wears
for the show. The hair has had a bit of a turn for the worse. Not sure what is
being behind that idea but hey ho. Vocally Sandhja started quite bad but
improved during the song. The group are enjoying their time on stage but
unfortunately it is not really receiving any acclamation from the gathered
members.
WELCOME
We now have shots of every day life in Sweden, a guy with a surfboard by the
sea, someone taking the stools off the tables in a restaurant, someone blowing
a dandylion whose seeds flow up throughout Gamla Stan, people in the forest,
watching the northern lights on horseback, meeting friends at a party, all the
time the seedlings are still floating. The globen arena is set alight with
colour and turns into the logo of this years' contest.
Petra and Måns are invited on stage. Måns is dressed in a tux while Petra
is in a sparkly grey number.
Petra and Måns chit chat - Petra tells us
not to feed Måns' ego while she also reveals she has been doing nothing since
hosting in Malmö apart from sitting on the sofa waiting for Sweden to win
again. She rightly thanks Måns.
A joke about Europe the continent and the Europe the band is made. The band
appears on stage and starts playing
The Final Countdown until they are
stopped by the hosts.
The children we saw earlier also have one thoght in common - not only that
they think Måns is their father, as told by the man himself, but also that one
day they may take part in the ESC.
A quick note on how to vote and then we are ready to begin. Petra mentions
"Grab your towels Europe, it's time to come together!" laughter
erupts in the room.
INTRO
And the te deum starts - two minutes late
Aerial shot of going towards Globen, flashing images from last years'
contest, including points given to Måns, shot to and from while the aerial shot
of Globen keeps on getting closer.
We arrive at Globen and Måns is on stage and starts singing the orchestral
version of Heroes.
We have a real balloon boy - who is blond. Later on, even more children come
on stage. If this was the staging for Heroes last year there is no way in hell
it would have won.
Before we Begin
And so we have it, already over a week here in the beautiful city of
Stockholm - or so they say since the only part of it that we have seen has been
the press room, the euroclub and the t-bana to and from. Oh, and the walk from
Gamla Stan station to the euroclub itself. The weather has been amazing -
again, not that we have been able to experience it apart from the fleeting
moments when we are allowed to go for lunch. Still, although we know this is
the annual pilgrimage from hell, overworked, underslept and definitely
underpaid (we all do this for free while taking two weeks of holiday from our
buckets) we still come here for the love of the contest and the love of the
people whom we have met over the years who make it all worth while.
But enough of the gushing sentiments, let's get to business. The first
dress-rehearsal is about to begin. The stage is seen on the screens, voices are
informing the crew of what to do if something goes wrong and we are all waiting
with baited breath until the te deum starts and we see the opening to the show.
