Final - Dress rehearsal 1

If all goes according to plan, in about 36 hours we will know the winner of the 69th ESC. But before that, we still have three last dress rehearsals to get through.

I will be attending the first one of those in person again, live from the still tiny but shiny St. Jakobshalle, watching the stage and the big screens.

You know what to expect at this point as you've seen all performances so this blog will focus on other elements (again listed in part 2 as to not spoil things). Based on the terrific ideas by ThomNL and ijwblue, the 26 competing performances will be mercilessly judged by yours truly based on three parameters:

LYS: How's the flow?? How does the performance tie in with the overall feel and flow of the final?

NUŠA: How are the energy levels of the artists? Of course no one can beat Nuša Derenda but I will try to find appropriate comparisons from ESC's rich history to paint you a picture.

SUNTRIBE: Let's get loud! I will measure audience reactions in the arena during the first dress rehearsal using an app (the things I do for blogging purposes...) that tracks decibel levels. To give you an idea, the image below that I've taken from this website explains what the numbers mean.

PART 1: The performances

01. Norway

LYS: Quite the perfect opener really but also in bigger risk of being forgotten more at the end.

NUŠA: Tooji but less cocky

SUNTRIBE: 70.3 dB

02. Luxembourg

LYS: Last year proved that #2 isn't a bad thing necessarily. I can see why this is necessary to keep the energy going.

NUŠA: Natalia Gordienko but less influenced by Kirkorov

SUNTRIBE: 90.0 dB

03. Estonia

LYS: Feels a bit out of place here as the energy is a lot lower than it seems at first.

NUŠA: Frédéric Etherlinck but less hungover.

SUNTRIBE: 82.4 dB

04. Israel

LYS: It works very well as the first ballad of the night. Also clever to get it over and done with early on.

NUŠA: Annet Artani but without Britney Spears.

SUNTRIBE: 88.8 dB

05. Lithuania

LYS: Very odd choice to have this year's moodiest song right after the most controversial one. Energy and vibe feel off.

NUŠA: 90s Irish spokesperson lady but without Irish greetings

SUNTRIBE: 70.1 dB

06. Spain

LYS: Great to get the energy flowing again in the show! Much-needed at this point so great r/o for Melody.

NUŠA: Alina Eramia-level

SUNTRIBE: 94.5 dB

07. Ukraine

LYS: The past few songs have really showcased the great diversity in genres which works really well.

NUŠA: Céline... Carzo. But pink.

SUNTRIBE: 72.2 dB

This was a pretty bad performance unfortunately and the singer knew it, walking off stage angry with himself.

08. United Kingdom

LYS: This also would have been a great opener actually but it does the trick after a break too.

NUŠA: Suntribe but off off off Broadway.

SUNTRIBE: 79.4 dB

09. Austria

LYS: I think this works *so* well here as the first entry that's actually a contender and properly gets the show started.

NUŠA: Çetin Alp but with longer waves

SUNTRIBE: 69.5 dB (!)

10. Iceland

LYS: Having the most child-like song and performance come right after the most artsy ones of the night is a bold move but I think I like it?

NUŠA: Marcus & Martinus but from Wish

SUNTRIBE: 64.4 dB

11. Latvia

LYS: And we're back to the fine arts. This could have been spaced out more from Austria to make it stand out more on its own merit.

NUŠA: Neiokõsõ but less aggressive.

SUNTRIBE: 77.4 dB

12. Netherlands

LYS: Very odd that this also more artistic performance gets shoehorned right before Erika Vikman and so shortly performances with similar vibes from Austria and Latvia.

NUŠA: Jean-Jacques but less annoying.

SUNTRIBE: 87.6 dB

13. Finland

LYS: Perhaps the best possible position for them - this stands out so much here. Televote magnet?

NUŠA: Lena Philipsson but after UK watershed time.

SUNTRIBE: 88.4 dB

DRAMA: The microphone didn't work and Erika had to finish her song on the main stage. The crowd chants Erika's name in support. The SUNTRIBE goes up to 96 dB but I won't count it.

We get a filler montage of past Eurovision meetings which will obviously not be shown here tomorrow. It is confirmed that Finland will perform again. This time around everything goes smoothly and Erika comes in time.

14. Italy

LYS: This would have worked a lot better if it weren't for the short break before which took out the flow - coming back with a piano/guitar/harmonics ballad maybe wasn't the best of ideas but I guess they needed something between Finland and Poland.

NUŠA: Lux57 but even more black and white, somehow

SUNTRIBE: 70.3 dB

15. Poland

LYS: This will definitely grab everyone's attention again - for better or worse remains to be seen though.

NUŠA: Ruslana but without unconditional love for Axel Hirsoux

SUNTRIBE: 78.4 dB

We are seated right below very loud Polish journalists/fans and a Belgian colleague next to me remarks that Germany might have left them alone if they would have screamed as loudly in 1939. Speaking of which...

16. Germany

LYS: This is such an odd blend of very high and low energy at the same time and it doesn't work as well as it could or should. Coming after Poland does it little favour. However, I still think there could be televote appeal for this.

NUŠA: Elena Ionescu without in-ears

SUNTRIBE: 60.3 dB

17. Greece

LYS: Damn it, this works so well here... Blows the previous ones out of the water.

NUŠA: Moran Mazor, but more mythical

SUNTRIBE: 63.4 dB

18. Armenia

LYS: One of the most clever performances of the year comparing what happens in the arena vs. what you see on screen. Yet I feel this was left out at first while assembling the order and shoehorned in here because the producers had no choice. Works less well than in the semi I think.

NUŠA: Robin Bengtsson but after work hours.

SUNTRIBE: 69.4 dB

19. Switzerland

LYS: Joins Armenia in huge arena vs. screen discrepancy - so odd choice to have them back-to-back from an arena audience perspective. Of course this is the host country so it will get a warm welcome. This was already fixed so little to say about this in itself but rather what was positioned around it. Well done, producers.

NUŠA: Åse Kleveland but without an old man

SUNTRIBE: 81.3 dB

20. Malta

LYS: Feels a bit underwhelming to be honest - much lower energy than it should have but of course this needs a big energetic crowd to come to life. Still, something is lacking and it's not just a song.

NUŠA: If Destiny and Erika Vikman had a love child that would be an annoying teen

SUNTRIBE: 89.3 dB

21. Portugal

LYS: The difference in energy between the Portuguese journalists/fans in the arena and the Portuguese performers is hilarious.

NUŠA: Softengine but so soft you don't see or feel it anymore

SUNTRIBE: 68.4 dB

22. Denmark

LYS: Very low energy, not just the performance vs song but also the comment below so it's understandable

NUŠA: Marlene Charrell when she has to introduce the Norwegian conductor.

SUNTRIBE: 76.4 dB

She doesn't sing the choruses to save her voice and asks the crowd to do so. Of course they do.

23. Sweden

LYS: The Big Favourite, making the wait for it almost as long as possible will definitely work in its favour. But no matter where this would be put, it is almost impossible to imagine this not winning the public vote at this point.

NUŠA: Dubrovački trubaduri but in a sauna

SUNTRIBE: 79.5 dB

24. France

LYS: It needs a lot of prep time, but very clever to position this so late and right after Sweden as the big outsider. Easy to see why this is racing up the odds as we speak. This is "A Moment" - more so than Sweden perhaps.

NUŠA: Mika Newton but with a mother from Cork

SUNTRIBE: 85.5 dB

25. San Marino

LYS: Very dangerous to have this here - it's annoying as hell but such an earworm and people will remember it. Works quite well after the intense French performance too as something easily digestible and upbeat. Could do surprisingly well in the televote.

NUŠA: DJ Bobo but at an Italian wedding

SUNTRIBE: 61.3 dB

26. Albania

LYS: I think this would have worked a lot better in 22-24 like Konstrakta a few years back. It kinda feels more like an interval act already and doesn't really work as a closer for me. That said, this will go big.

NUŠA: Julie and Ludwig but mainly Off again

SUNTRIBE: 84.4 dB

So according to my measurement system (a smartphone in my lap), the top 10 according to the journalist arena of today's first dress rehearsal was:

1. Spain
2. Luxembourg
3. Malta
4. Israel
5. Finland
6. Netherlands
7. France
8. Albania
9. Estonia
10. Switzerland

Make of that what you want!

PART 2: The rest of the show

The final opens with a pretty cool and funny video in which our now three hosts try to recover the lost winner trophy. There are jabs at Nemo who broke theirs last year and many Eurovision songs are used of course.

Nemo then opens the final performing The Code, alone on stage with an impressive light and laser show.

Next is the flag parade, very traditional stuff but the visuals are amazing. After Greece there is a random dance break moment for twenty seconds that doesn't really do anything.

Michelle Hunziker has a rather unpleasant voice and already in the opening she seems... unnecessary? The voting lines again open at the beginning of the show. It's quite anticlimactic without a big crowd :D

We get our first short break after Ukraine with the three hosts trying to pump some life into the crowd, the show and everyone's lives. It's pretty awkward BUT THEN Sandra performs an abridged version of Canzone per te and world peace has never been closer <3 If that wasn't enough, Michelle Hunziker in the same break also performs a snippet of Volare because she speaks Italian you know. I want her to call out Mr. Naeff at some point.

After Iceland we see Michelle and Hazel and apparently Michelle can do funny things with her tongue too. It sounds wrong and it kinda is but not that wrong, trust me.

After (the second performance from) Finland, Sandra and Hazel advertise the Eurovision 2025 CD and DVD, and every year this is my only reminder that these are still actually released.

After Germany we get a backstage video of how all props are carried on and off the stage in a matter of second. Hazel rightfully remarks that these are hte people who actually work - he typed, comfortably sitting in an arena.

After Denmark we get a reminder of the Made in Switzerland interval from semi 1 because they are obviously really proud of it. No Petra Mede though, which is too bad considering what country is next.

After Sweden we get another big break where we cut live to the football arena next door where the final will also be aired for 36.000 spectators, Parken-esque. It drags on quite a bit but we get why as France does need a lot of prep time on stage.

Semi 2 - Dress rehearsal 2 + Predictions

Greetings to the world!

Live from the media centre in Bazel, this is a report of the second dress rehearsal of the second semi final. We watch the show on big TV screens, seeing the feed as it would be shown in the actual broadcast. As in the previous blog on another run-through of the same semi, I will mainly focus on camera work and the artists' overall performance and connection.

01. Australia

Camerawork: It looks an awful lot like the Made in Switzerland interval act we saw yesterday which is unfortunate.

Artist: Convincing yet also a bit distant throughout.

02. Montenegro

Camerawork: Efficient if perfunctory.

Artist: Gives it all she got, but the issue isn't her.

03. Ireland

Camerawork: Surprisingly coherent and effective.

Artist: She really tries but doesn't seem to enjoy herself fully.

04. Latvia

Camerawork: Outstanding.

Artist: Flawless vocals but their uniqueness will rub viewers the wrong way.

05. Armenia

Camerawork: Fits the song and performance excellently.

Artist: Gotta give it to him, he's great.

06. Austria

Camerawork: Film noir.

Artist: Not as convincing as he should be in his position right now, unfortunately. Forced.

XX. United Kingdom

Camerawork: All over the place, which fits the song.

Artists: They are having a great time which is lovely for them.

Still now for many performances we get random shots of audience members before or after postcards because the stage isn't ready yet.

07. Greece

Camerawork: A true piece of art except for the one ugly shot where you can see the electric cord of Klavdia's rock.

Artist: A gem.

08. Lithuania

Camerawork: Many short shots and nice visual effects during the chorus to really make this stand out and make it look more energetic.

Artist: Disengaged but in the best possible way.

09. Malta

Camerawork: Almost every shot zooms out and it gets tiring but other things about this get more tiring.

Artist: She's a diva all right but she's very off vocally.

10. Georgia

Camerawork: -

Artist: -

I'm very sorry, this completely went me by.

XX. France

Camerawork: It looks like a music video which for what they are trying is very effective.

Artist: She's very nervous tonight and not always in tune, but the vulnerability works.

11. Denmark

Camerawork: Really very nice, if a bit too much sometimes.

Artist: She's still recovering from being sick but gives it all she has which is commendable.

12. Czechia

Camerawork: Artsy and gorgeous.

Artist: Very good and endearing, yet also very nervous tonight.

13. Luxembourg

Camerawork: Outstanding.

Artist: Impeccable. Blown away by how slick this is.

14. Israel

Camerawork: Effective.

Artist: Off-key a few times.

In case you're wondering: I hear from someone in the arena right now that there was no obvious booing.

XX. Germany

Camerawork: The performance is rather static but they make it seem a lot more energetic which is really well done.

Artist: She tries.

15. Serbia

Camerawork: Just really pretty and effective. It fits the song and the DRAMA so well.

Artist: Holding back a bit but still very good.

16. Finland

Camerawork: Like in UMK.

Artist: Also like in UMK? Shamelessly herself in all glory. Make of that what you want.

Predictions

Below what I predict to be the top 16 of semi 2. Let's see how bad I do after Saturday!

Admittedly this is mostly random as I have NO CLUE WHATSOEVER.

1. Israel
2. Austria
3. Luxembourg
4. Greece
5. Finland
6. Lithuania
7. Serbia
8. Armenia
9. Denmark
10. Australia
11. Malta
12. Czechia
13. Latvia
14. Ireland
15. Georgia
16. Montenegro

Semi 2 - Dress rehearsal 1

Happy post semi 1 day for those who celebrate!

I am back in the St. Jakobshalle where I will be watching the first dress rehearsal of semi final 2. I mainly have a view of the (gorgeous) stage but I also see a big TV screen. However, it is expected that many shots will not be visible again.

Having somewhat recovered from the disappointment of Belgium not qualifying yesterday, I am pleased to announce that the mall across the street from the arena has multiple levels and a slide to go down. Of course I had to use it. Jonathan rutscht!

(Picture is mine.)

I will again structure this blog along two main parts, first focusing on solely the performances and secondly on other elements of the show. Last Monday we had to exit the arena after the final participating performance. Likely this will be the case again today. The first dress rehearsal is not broadcasted in the media centre so in that case I will end the blog after Erika came.

Enjoy!

PART 1: The performances

01. Australia

We start with what looks like a TV ad for milkshake and this is carried through the entire performance. In the second verse, an "old lady" called Susan is brought on stage who comes out of the gigantic blender all young and refreshed - much like Go-Jo himself who changes outfit twice and basically loses more and more clothes throughout. Of course the arena does the "Yum yums" when requested. This is insanely goofy and doesn't take itself too seriously and works so well as an opener, but it's also very weird and not for everyone.

02. Montenegro

Nina appears to perform in the cosy atmosphere of her bed sheets or a white version of the handmaids' outfits in the almost eponymous TV series. White is also the dominant colour in the LED projections. She takes it off towards the end to reveal a more simple, elegant outfit. She gives a great performance and is very convincing on screen but nothing much is happening so this will struggle invariably.

There are WiFi issues in the arena so I'm not sure how fast updates are coming through. Thanks for bearing with!

03. Ireland

Emmy performs on top of a space-like platform with her brother at the ground level. In the second chorus they are joined by four dancers. They all wear grey outfits and the LED background alternate between showing a constellation of Laika and what looks more like a space cat rather than a dog. Vocally shaky although she does end on a high note in the most literal sense.

04. Latvia

Very much like the NF performance, if not for two differences: the outfits have changed and makes the six singers look more like elves. In the final bridge a visual effect appears to give them all tails (I didn't get it but people were applauding). The last projection on the LED floor is gorgeous as they end their performance. This is amazingly performed but might be too niche for everyone.

Latvia got the biggest cheer in the hall so far, for what it's worth.

05. Armenia

Parg is all alone on stage, shirtless and vulnerable for a few thousand thirsty gays. <insert The White Lotus meme> He performs on a conveyor belt on the front arch of the stage the entire time. Great camera work and visual effects multiply him on screen and it all looks very slick. Even though not a lot is happening on stage, they make it seem a lot more impressive on the TV feed. Good vocals too and a convincing performer. Positive surprise!

06. Austria

Yes, the whole thing is shown in black and white and in 4:3 rather than 16:9. He performs on a sail boat that gets caught in heavy waters. Amazing camerawork and projections make it look very convincing. JJ performs very well although he is clearly suffering from in-ear issues during this first dress rehearsal. It's more a piece of art cinema rather than a Eurovision performance and the question his how well this will resonate with wider audiences. Vocally it is outstanding but don't expect him to sing the actual high note during the dance break live.

XX. United Kingdom

Oh bless their sweet souls. They really perform the living hell out of this and you can't say they have nothing to work with. Too much, if anything. They start performing on the arch stage against a make-up mirror, walk towards the main stage as they rip off half their dresses and perform there rest of the song on top of a giant chandelier. The LED floor projects people swimming (why??) and very little to no attention was given on how to balance the many tempo changes throughout the song.

The crowd went wild for it though so it might just be me!

07. Greece

I had not rated Asteromata at all before, but I have to say: this was easily the best performance I've seen today. Klavdia is wonderful and features (another!) costume change but a much more elegant and surprising one, at the very end. The combination of LED projections and camerawork is dead-drop gorgeous. Many shots were cut on our screen in the arena, but what we saw looked stunning. A lot of thought has gone into staging this, but will the song be enough too?

08. Lithuania

This doesn't bring anything revolutionary that you haven't seen before in the NF performance. You either like it or you don't, I guess. I love it myself but am very unsure about its chances...

09. Malta

In case there was any doubt what this is about, Miriana performs the first half of the song from a gigantic prop that are open lips (Eurovision 2000 logo style) with on the LED background a pair of open legs - they return in the bridge. It's all very in your face, or rather elsewhere. Subtlety is not in the Maltese glossary for 2025. Of course the bouncing balls return for the final chorus and the performance ends with DIVA NOT DOWN projected on screen. This is totally bonkers and will either go all the way or fail miserably. I'm still torn myself.

10. Georgia

This is also *a lot* but in a very different way. Mariam starts wearing a gigantic silver Linda Wagenmakers-esque outfit as do her four dancers. Midway through they all change outfits (almost everyone in this semi appears to do so) and there is no relation between what Mariam does (singing wonderfully but going nowhere) to the dancers and their seemingly random movements. It's all very incoherent, messy and forgettable.

Almost no one clapped for her and I genuinely feel bad.

XX. France

So many French people in the arena were shouting her name during the postcard and I'm not sure if they love or hate her. I guess it will all depend on this performance.

Louane looks and sounds amazing - very vulnerable and appropriate for the personal message of the song. The sand-like material, that's actually cork so I've heard, keeps falling down from above the stage and it's amazing nothing ends up in her mouth to cause another Loreen confetti stir, which is of course just what we need right now.

Thee is no usage of LED projections whatsoever: everything you see flowing is actually there and Louane is covered in it.

I don't really get why they do any of this but it does work - very loud cheers. Très bien! More French shouting in the arena, but in a positive way. I think?

11. Denmark

A mixed bag if there ever was one. Very nice use of visual effects and even elements in the production. More costume changes, lots of blue and pink. Four dancers that don't really do a lot except for looking like gigantic inflatable dolls you see at car dealerships. Vocally strong but not entirely convincing for me, even though there are many good elements they don't really came together during this first rehearsal. But hey, I never thought Portugal could qualify so yeah.

12. Czechia

Hmm. This is a lot like Denmark actually - for the first time I think the running order doesn't really make sense. Four dancers that appear, disappear and appear again towards the end at the arch stage, costume changes. The white/black LED backgrounds become red during the dance break which is very nice but then revert to what they were before. Many shots were cut from the feed so I would need to see this fully on screen to make up my mind but this also didn't convince me.

13. Luxembourg

I keep being surprised by what I'm seeing as this is actually really good?? Laura starts lying down on the stage but you don't see it at first, it's very well done. She is lifted by her five dancers and then you see the gigantic and gorgeous backdrop of a doll house. Another costume change towards the end at the arch stage reveals a very elegant glitter outfit and her vocal performance is outstanding. Next to Greece this is the biggest positive surprise of the day for me.

14. Israel

Yuval starts centrally on stage, walking further back midway through with her back to the audience towards a gigantic construction covered in diamonds that includes a staircase. She walks up after singing the French lines and stays there for the remainder of the performance. Vocally she's on point and the combination of lighting, projections and camerawork does the trick.

XX. Germany

Tynna yells Eurovision at the beginning of the performance but it only goes downhill from there. From what I can gather in the arena, which does not offer the best sound as the bassline is so intense I keep trembling, she still sounds very unsteady - she might simply not be a great vocalist. That said, the staging is great with giant speakers on stage where Abor plays the cello. There are some sound issues (vocals aside). In the middle and again towards the end three partygoers aka dancers join her below on stage. It's slick and cool yet also surprisingly low energy in the arena.

15. Serbia

We see very little of this performance on screen so I can almost only judge by what I see on stage. Princ has four dancers and, like Red Sebastian before, engages with a version of himself projected on the LED floor at one point. Princ is dragged to the arch stage where he finishes his vocally very much on point performance. This is very Serbian, in a good way.

16. Finland

There are numerous wrong camera shots in the beginning of the performance which is surprising as previous ones were not as obvious. The stage is covered in gigantic beams with lights as Erika gives a performance that, after all the kerfuffle, does not differ as much as what we saw in UMK. She is still alone on stage, walks to different sections of the stage back and forth and of course the giant microphone is still there.

I was always wondering how she got on top of the microphone and she is assisted by two stage hands who run on and off the stage as the microphone is lifted up towards the end. Yes, the microphone still gives off fireworks.

What. A. Closer. Huge reception in the hall too.

All press has to leave the arena afterwards again, so that concludes this blog!

PART 2: The rest of the show

The theme of this show is Eurovision fans and appropriately the semi opens with a montage of Eurovision fans in Basel in which one older gentleman makes several appearances. Of course you see him on stage holding an electrified Eurovision heart logo with the Swiss flag in it, which he has to put down on stage causing a beautiful LED animation. It goes very wrong a few times. It's a rehearsal, so to quote Novi Fosili, this is okay!

We get our first surprise fireworks of the afternoon/night and everyone audibly gasped. You had to be there.

Hazel appears to wear a collection of cd's (remaining Canzone per te singles?) and it doesn't look comfortable at all. She is so confined to what she is wearing and has to say.

As usual, the opening of semi 2 is a lot more understated. After less than seven minutes we're on our way and we see all the props of Australia (the blender!!) dragged on stage. This is so amazing to see but of course we can't make any recordings again so you'll have to take my word for it.

We get a very short break with Hazel after song 3 and after song 4 we get an overview of the phone numbers. The stage workers need a lot of time to clean the stage and set up the complicated Latvian and Armenian props. After the Armenian postcard we are treated to some arena footage as more time is necessary. Again, this is a first dress rehearsal, but of course this needs to be improved for tomorrow.

The first real break is after Austria. We see Hazel attempting a stage dive and how she went to a party for people aged over 60. It's so cute and I love Hazel more and more.

After Georgia we get our second big break. Sandra talks with commentators from Iceland, Denmark and French-language Switzerland - the Icelandic one didn't bother to show for the first rehearsal so we get a stand-in.

After France there is a pretty funny joke of Hazel and Sandra cleaning up "sand" from the French performance as the stage is prepared for Denmark. It is very obviously the first time they tried this and it will likely not make the final show but they do try things all the time and it's wonderful to see.

We get another short break after Israel, mainly for the audience to introduce the third and final non-participating performance.

Semi 1 - Dress rehearsal 3 + Predictions

One big big hello from Basel!

The third and final dress rehearsal of semi 1 starts at 15:00 CET. I will be following it from the media centre where it is shown on big screens. Don't expect another exhaustive liveblog like yesterday. Instead I will mostly focus on camerawork and how artists connect and perform vocally.

I might add a bit more background info about other show contents but I will separate that again for people who still want to avoid spoilers.

Finally, I will make a prediction of what I believe the top 15 ranking will be tonight. Yes, I know, this can and will be used against me. What do I have to lose except for my credibility, right?

I was just walking from the nearby Aldi to the media centre past the arena where people were entering to watch the final rehearsal and they were actually blasting Quand je te rêve. This is not a drill.

The show has started! It's really weird that they didn't start with The Code's Welcome to the show, let everybody know, but hey, you can't have it all.

01. Iceland

Camerawork: Bit messy but I guess that's the point, it fits the song very well.

Artists: Shouty. Endearing but forgettable.

02. Poland

Camerawork: Perfectly matches the energy of the song and performer.

Artist: Obviously holding back a bit, still outstanding.

03. Slovenia

Camerawork: Good balance of close-ups and wider shots that show the gorgeous backdrop.

Artist: He has sounded better before, but is likely just also saving the best for when it matters.

04. Estonia

Camerawork: When the 'fan' enters the stage they really make it look very convincing with purposefully wobbly camera shots. Many people will believe it's real.

Artist: It's impressive how consistently he's off-key throughout.

XX. Spain

Camerawork: Still very messy, an awful lot of totally random shots that take the energy out of the song and performance.

Artist: Too much is happening and even the diva can't cope with it all.

05. Ukraine

Camerawork: Really quite wonderful.

Artist: Better than yesterday although the lead singer still seems rather nervous.

06. Sweden

Camerawork: You know what's coming.

Artist: Also an improvement on yesterday - more convincing and engaging.

07. Portugal

Camerawork: A lot more dynamic than you'd expect and really solid but it's all just... there.

Artist: The lead singer sounds tired. Just one more time after this, buddy.

08. Norway

Camerawork: Jacqline knows.

Artist: He had to push to go for that final vocal but he made it. Barely.

09. Belgium

Camerawork: Some unique angles and movements that elevate the song and performance excellently.

Artist: His voice cracked a bit in that final crucial note which is unfortunate but very good otherwise.

XX. Italy

Camerawork: For the first time I wonder if this is supposed to be a duet or not.

Artist: I genuinely feel sorry for him and hope he is or will be well. And I mean that in the nicest of ways.

10. Azerbaijan

Camerawork: All over the place, which again is appropriate for the song and performance.

Artist: Perfunctory.

11. San Marino

Camerawork: Apparently the LED background visual of the statue chewing gum is an ad for a Seletti design lamp.

Artist: A lot is going on but nothing is happening.

12. Albania

Camerawork: How many wide shots do you want? - Po.

Artist: Kolë doesn't blink once during his speech. Scary but impressive. Beatriçe is a treasure.

For what it's worth, Albania got the loudest cheer here in the media centre so far.

13. Netherlands

Camerawork: This looks like a one-take and it's visually stunning. So many little details - look behind Claude when he does a Cathérine Ferry and you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Artist: Very vulnerable, but he succeeds at using it to his advantage.

14. Croatia

Camerawork: Lots of visual effects. They went all out but I guess I'm just too old for this by now because die Zeit ist einsam und ich bin müde.

Artist: Bless his soul.

XX. Switzerland

Camerawork: Mesmerisingly beautiful in some parts but in others it just looks as if they ran out of money and/or ideas. Gorgeous with the audience phone lights at the end.

Artist: Not always vocally nailing it but better than yesterday.

15. Cyprus

Camerawork: The ending is the best part (and not just because it's over).

Artist: He goes off key at the end of almost each line :(

Other points (spoilers!)

• The canned applause is strong throughout the show, also during performances.
• The lower thirds first show the slogan United by music for about two seconds before shifting to the running order number and country name. Nice touch.
• Sandra is very professional, Hazel tries her best to be funny but is tied to a mediocre script.
• After the first recap, the hosts look at the first two Eurovision editions in Switzerland, showing a snippet of Lys Assia's 1956 performance. This culminates in a song performed by Hazel and Sandra. It's a combination of Wicked and a Swiss version of the 2013 Swedish Smorgasbord interval act. And if that all doesn't sound Swedish enough, Sandra and Hazel are eventually joined by... Petra Mede who is performing as William Tell. I am NOT making this up. I am absolutely loving this but it will have its haters too.
• Afterwards we get a video montage of the opening ceremony where Hasel can finally be her own genuine self. She is amazing.
• The delegations in the greenroom are not seated in performance order nor alphabetically and I cannot deal with this right now.
• After the second recap, the lines are closed. We see an overview of records in Eurovision: highest notes, oldest performers, highest hats, most la's in a song (it's not La La La!), and so on. Very entertaining. We get a top 10 of most streamed Eurovision songs with random audience shots of people not engaging at all.
• After this we get a video message by Céline Dion. It really is very emotional and heartfelt. This is followed by a rendition of Ne partez pas sans moi by past Eurovision artists (you know, some of the many past participants that were announced the past weeks). There's a huge live orchestra on stage too. It's beautiful <3
• We are then treated to some very forced greenroom interviews, especially entertaining now as none of the artists are actually there. Hasel adlibs her way through it and I am making a mental note that I should look her up as she is funny in a very lowkey way.
• Next we get a recap of all countries in semi 2, showing us rehearsal footage so it looks as if we're already seeing a retrospective rather than what is to come.
• One final interesting minor change before I round up this blog: we don't see Martin Österdahl before the hosts start announcing the qualifiers. I wonder why.

Predictions

Below what I predict to be the top 15 of semi 1. Let's see how bad I do after Saturday!

1. Sweden
2. Albania
3. Ukraine
4. Poland
5. Belgium
6. Netherlands
7. Norway
8. Cyprus
9. Estonia
10. Slovenia
11. San Marino
12. Iceland
13. Croatia
14. Azerbaijan
15. Portugal

Semi 1 - Dress rehearsal 1

Welcome from the Media Centre!

Below is a picture I took yesterday - today it's of course more crowded. Shrinkflation is also hitting Eurovision as both the arena and the media centre are the smallest I have ever seen (the arena from the outside at least). Still, around 1,000 journalists and bloggers should be able to do their thing here.

And to answer euro's question on the MB: this is where I'll be watching all liveshows!

(Pictures are mine.)

I have joined the Belgian contingent and against our own will we are surrounded by the huge Dutch delegation here. Yes, they are already loud and obnoxious and yes, we are already quietly annoyed, as good Belgians are.

Meanwhile, water and coffee are free here in the media centre but other foods cost an arm and a leg. Yesterday night I paid 32 CHF for a very mediocre burger and fries outside the city centre. Pretty sure Jacques and Lolita wouldn't approve.

More importantly, the first dress rehearsal starts around 15:30 CEST during which I will be blogging away here and at Songfestival.be. All accredited press can follow it from within the arena. Let's see how juggling two liveblogs in two different languages will go. What could possibly go wrong, right?

Live from the media briefing taking place in the media centre: it has been confirmed that the announcement of the finalists will change as was rumoured in the past few days. For the first nine qualifier announcements, three artists will be shown in a split screen of which one will be announced as finalist by the hosts off-screen. The tenth and final announcement will be as in the previous years, focusing on the hosts. There will no split screen with all remaining contestants.

Welcome from St. Jakobshalle! Tiny but shiny!

(Photos are mine.)

I will structure the liveblog in two main parts. Part one are the performances, part two are everything else that happens in the show. This is to make sure that people who don't want all contents of the show spoiled can still have that experience. Please note that this is only the first dress rehearsal. It is unclear how much of the show we will get to see except for the performances. It is likely that several other acts and performances will not be here during this first run through. Stay tuned!

PART 1: The performances

01. Iceland

The brothers' vocals are unfortunately way off in what is otherwise an extremely energetic performance. This does work as an opener but it's a shame that it's not, you know, actually good. Great camerawork and onscreen visuals but they also make it a bit more JESC - not a bad thing per se but it limits their success changes.

02. Poland

Whether you like Gaja or not, this is brilliant. Justyna's vocals are impeccable and the energy of her and the dancers is truly insane. It's a big step up from the rather messy NF performance. This went very big in the arena and is likely to get many a televote tomorrow night too. It's very kitsch of course and not for everyone, but this will work.

After the Slovenian postcard we see that there is a minor malfunction as Justyna's chords are still on stage. This gets resolved soon though.

03. Slovenia

Again a revamped NF performance. Klemen is still hanging upside down in the second chorus but in the beginning you see short home videos of him and his wife, which works really well without getting too corny. At the end he's joined on stage by his wife and it really is very touching. After all the previous energy this works so well in the running order. This is a dark horse for sure.

04. Estonia

You think this is identical to the NF performance up to a point (bar the onscreen graphics at the LED wall, Winner Cafe and Tommywood, very low expectations) BUT THEN they pretend a Tommy Cash super fan runs on stage and is first stopped by the dancers/security agents. She gets to dance a little with him before being removed. It's cute and endearing but overall this really lacks energy for some reason. This didn't work in the arena as well as it should have.

XX. Spain

Muy messy, unfortunately. Five dancers that appear at random times, an outfit change that's rather odd and hidden behind a cheap purple/red curtain and many spots in the performance that lack energy and oomph. Not sure how this will fare. Also not sure the black and white throughout the performance works. Not convinced!

05. Ukraine

I also wasn't convinced by the snippet and pictures but have to admit that the performance works really well with the song. It's some sort of psychedelic fever dream visualised with filters that make the artists initially look like holograms of sorts. It does work very well although I also fear it might be a bit too off-putting for parts of the 'general audience'. Vocals are a bit shaky and screechy sometimes, but the backings are brilliant.

06. Sweden

Does what it says on the tin. There are beautiful background projections of woods and mountains but you hardly see them on screen. More fire than in Melodifestivalen and an impressive laser show during the final chorus. It's just really well-made and yes, it will be showered with points. Sorry.

07. Portugal

The only thing I will ever remember from this is that there is a bunch of Portuguese journalists sitting in front of me who are singing along very loudly and obnoxiously (almost Dutch-like).

08. Norway

This is also mostly a carbon copy of the NF performance. Kyle starts of shakily but improves throughout . It doesn't do anything more or less than you expect it to basically. There will be an audience for this for sure.

09. Belgium

Not to sound too chauvinistic, but this was actually really good. It's a big change from the NF though. Red Sebastian starts at the front stage for the first half where he is joined by three identically clad dancers eventually. The lighting and projections are impressive, ending with a massive red crowd during a rave party. Vocally he was very much on point. I remain cautious, but am optimistic about our changes or qualification!

XX. Italy

Lucio pretends to play the piano (the longest one ever on a Eurovision stage at that too), the guitar and the harmonica. There are giant sound boxes on stage as well. Except for this, not an awful lot is happening during the performance and it's all a bit... dull? Well-positioned in the running order, but it all seems a bit half-arsed.

10. Azerbaijan

They really did try to do something nice here. Three dancers, a drummer, a guitarist and the lead singer and a very nice background with (again) red as dominant colour. Unfortunately the singer is a bit shaky in the beginning, although he does recover as the performance progresses. Again, they tried. But overall this is very dull and not convincing. The rather abrupt song ending also comes out of nowhere in the performance. Even the journalist crowd here was unsure whether the song was actually over or not.

11. San Marino

Starting to lose my patience a bit here. This also feels very empty in spite of so much happening on stage. It's actually a very static performance. No one moves around and everyone tries to create energy. But they all fail because they have so little work with in the first place. If there's one shock qualifier, it could be this although it won't be with flying colours.

12. Albania

This is what is nowadays known among the young kids as "a showstopper". I'm not the biggest fan of this, but by god, this works *so* well. A breath of fresh air after the previous songs and Beatriçe is just wonderful as a performer. We could hardly hear Kolë which felt a bit odd but hopefully that's just an arena thing. Speaking of the arena, this went VERY big here. No, this won't be for everyone but it will have its audience for sure.

13. Netherlands

This is different from what I had imagined but still very decent. Claude starts alone in close-up until after the first chorus when he is joined by two dancers and three musicians. They all disappear during the bridge during which another LED wall is driven on stage. The performance ends with Claude dancing 'together with his younger self' like in the music video. It's more artistic than energetic but is very classy and works very well. Claudes vocals are also on point this time. Goed gedaan!

14. Croatia

What Alexander-NL said about this before, but with more lights and pyro. God, this is exhausting. They really went all out on the graphics and the staging but you simply can't polish a turd. That's not to say that Marko himself is bad. In fact he's lovely and very skilled - but he also doesn't come across as likeable, unfortunately.

XX. Switzerland

It's refreshing to see how the home team kept things so minimalistic. Zoë is all alone on stage (except that she's not, she's surrounded by like 10 technicians) and there is no LED projection whatsoever - except for a request to audience members to turn on their phone light at the end, which is very effective. They try to recreate the atmosphere of the video clip with very innovative light and wind effects and it all looks truly stunning on screen. This can go very far on Saturday.

15. Cyprus

The stage show with the construction is really impressive. It is changed up all the time by the three dancers and a few stage hands that run on and off stage at exact the right time, which is so cool to see in the arena. The camerawork is very effective in what they try to convey although it is just unclear to me what this is all about and how the song and performance are aligned. This will likely qualify though.

After the last song we were all immediately told to leave. I only caught the start of the recap and that was it. The first dress rehearsal isn't shown in the media centre, so I guess this was it for the first blog!

PART 2: The rest of the show

The show opens with a video containing nature footage that is supposed to tell us that the Eurovision branding was there since the Earth's creation. Very low stakes, clearly. This culminates in a dance recital with modern dancers that all look like mini Loreens and traditional Swiss alphorn music with people in traditional clothing of all ages. A combination of the old and the new, so you will. It really does look phenomenal on stage and on screen. More traditional instruments and singing - is that Sebalter? No whistling though (luckily). The Code is there somewhere too. This really is very nice.

Next we meet the hosts, Hazel Brugger and Sandra Studer (née Simo). They thank their Swedish predecessors for memories that will last forever. They got that right. For those of you wondering, YES, we do get a snippet of Simo's 1991 performance. Hazel was still in the womb at that time, of course, as is shown.

Queue voting information, fireworks, and then we're off!

The onscreen graphics are gorgeous. The country name and artist and composer info are neatly displayed within the giant arch on stage.

For you nerds, I can also confirm that the country lower third displays the running order number, the country name AND a small Eurovision logo heart, for some reason. No, it doesn't move around like in Melfest. Missed opportunity to display Lumo, if you ask me.

The postcards show all contestants opening a postbox and finding a postcard (yes!) from a specific location in Basel to which they are all 'transported'. Very cute, if not exactly memorable of exciting. They won't distract too much from commentators' comments, which is the point, right?

We get a first break after the Estonian performance. Hazel and Sandra highlight some songs that are originally Swiss, including Chihuahua and the Chicken Dance. Yes. I know.

After the Italian performance we get our second break focusing on how props were used in Eurovision history. Of course there's a recap video. Think Dustin the Turkey, Francesco Gabbani's monkey, Subwoolfer's wolf. Everything is very recent. Margot Hielscher isn't in which is a real travesty.