Second rehearsal: Armenia to Norway

Norway

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

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

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

Cyprus

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

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

Ireland

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

Switzerland

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

Armenia

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

Good morning everyone!

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

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

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

First rehearsal: Finland to Switzerland

Switzerland

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

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

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

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

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

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


Armenia

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

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

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

Finland

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Day 2 of first rehearsals - Finland to Switzerland

Switzerland

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

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

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

Armenia

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

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

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

Finland

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

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

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

[LIVE] Semi 1 : Dress Rehearsal 1 - live reporting

CLOSING THE SHOW
The three presenters are on stage as are the qualified artists. A few general questions are asked in usual Eurovision style and then the show is closed. And that is also where this blog entry ends.


RECAP OF FINALISTS
The recap is in order of announcement.


FINALISTS
- Armenia
- Czech Republic
- Greece
- Finland
(six places remain now and I can feel my heart racing)
- Albania
- Slovenia
(our seventh finalist is)
- Australia
- Moldova
- Iceland
- Belgium

Congratulations!


RESULTS
'The yoda of the Eurovision Song Contest" (not my words) is introduced and Jan Ola informs that we have a valid result - or maybe he will, depending on if he can say so or not. If there is a valid vote, he will tell the two guys to "take it away".

"This is the moment of truth, the countries..." and that's where we currently end. The boys are just looking into the camera wondering what to do next.

Back, "the countries will be announced in random order".


GREENROOM
As a filler, Timur goes to the green room and interviews Australia, asking them why they are taking part. Volodymyr later also goes to the greenroom and interviews Manel from Spain. After the quick chat, we get the snippet of the song. The next artist to be interviewed is Lucie from the UK. Timur asks her how her experience of X-Factor has helped her for tonight. Volodymyr then moves on to Francesco Gabbani. It could be that they arm wrestle since "he's stronger than he looks!". The gorilla also gets a nod. We need to know more about the gorilla's movement.

Timur is then back informing us that that was three of the big five and Ukraine. If it weren't for him ...


JAMALA (AGAIN)
Jamala passionately performs another song (unfortunately we did not note the title) alone on stage. Dressed in what looks like a white poncho with multi-colored fringes.


VERKA SERDUCHKA
We start seeing views of Kyiv and a Ukrainian flag fluttering, the camera pans out and we see that it is being held by none other than Verka! Not to spoil it for you who are reading - you must watch this! It is actually quite funny! It's basically a clip of Verka and her mother, together with some other friends and family getting into comic situations in different parts of Kyiv and also a visit to Dolce & Gabbana.


VOTE WRAP UP
Apparently people from all over the world are voting! I thought it was only Europe and Australia but maybe they know something we don't! Only 60 seconds left. "All acts desperately want to be the new champion!" Who comes up with this? Oleksander and Volodymyr then start the countdown in Ukrainian from 10-6 and English from 5-Stop Voting Now! Again *eye roll*


INTERVIEW JAMALA
It's a bit confusing which microphone to use since apparently the one Jamala is holding is for singing, not talking - or so Volodymyr thought. We're therefore not sure what questions will actually be asked - or if Jamala is actually interested in answering them.

Another reminder of the artists which have performed tonight.


JAMALA
Oleksander and Volodymyr are on stage and they remind us of last year when Jamala won. She will be with us tonight with a special version of her song. Before that however, we see a montage of the voting and the 12 points to Ukraine.

9 dancers surround Jamala who is centre stage. From her nine roots are projected, each reaching a dancer. String instruments feature more heavily in this version of the winning song. Jamala does not move from the centre of the stage. No tree bursting out of her this time.


VOTING GUIDELINE
Let us just say that French does not seem to have been Volodymyr's best subject at school. Once we get the usual spiel of how to vote, and something which should resemble French, we go to the first recap of the 18 competing songs.


ITALY
Henrik is requesting some cleaners on stage. We do not know what happened and probably don't want to ask.

It seems we have a few minutes before we can continue so since apparently Jan Ola Sand has many jokes, we go to him. He's not ready yet but he'll have some for later. We're nearly done with this delay, and Henrik is asking the audience to help with the dance.

Performance: Francesco is delivering it today. With his cheeky smile he's making sure the people at home will want to jump up and dance with him. There are many shots where the audience is involved, and since it will be the fan zone you know there will be plenty of volunteers to be seen on tv. Although it was practically a given before we even stepped a foot in Kyiv, the more we go on, the less likely it is that anyone can take the trophy away from him.


UNITED KINGDOM
Since we've already seen the (Italian) postcard we can go straight to the song. However we would if we could. The United Kingdom's shell is not possible to get set up in 40 seconds, which means that the UK will have to come after a break.

This is taking a very long time so Henrik is informing that as in Stockholm, these will be 1 minute snippets of the Jury Final rehearsal. Timur is now taking over since we have "tecnical issues". He has "many questions in this emergency card". The poor guy doesn't really know what to do - it's a very long break. He therefore goes back to Alex who wants to thank his mum, but Timur says he should also thank his "daddy". Well now!

Performance: Visually this is working extremely well - could it be that the UK appear to have actually understood how to stage a Eurovision performance? Surely not! Lucie does not appear to only be the 26 year-old she is. She may be saving herslef slightly vocally in order to be able to belt out later on in the jury final however by no means failing to deliver. The only comment we could make would be that the tattoo on her right arm should be covered up but since it hasn't been yet all week, it is unlikely to be later on.


SPAIN
Spain's postcard isn't ready so they're showing Italy's postcard now. In fact, all postcards from now on are going to be Italy. It's Francesco being in a postcard with all different Francesco's (as a waiter, as a chef, as a dining guest). The fun and playfull character that he is exudes here. What Manel's postcard will be will be anyone's guess. Apparently for tonight's jury rehearsal they'll just show Italy's postcard for all countries.

Don't be fooled, this is still as wrong as it always was, we're just getting used to it more. If this was the first time we'd be seeing it the comments might be a bit different. The group still seems like they should be a supporting band rather than actually in the competition but it is what it is. Manel pokes out his tongue to the audience during the chorus. Not sure we wanted to see that.


LATVIA
Latvia's postcard is a mixture of some of the members doing rope skipping, make-up powder tasting and roof-top sightseeing.

Agnese seems to be taken by surprise that the camera is on her. I'm sure she's done this before but oh-kay. Vocally we've had better and the backing is taking over. The group are using as much of the stage as is left due to all the props but there is possibly a bit too much going on on stage. Sometimes less is more.


SLOVENIA
Omar wants to seduce you with sunglasses. He's visiting the Sports Palace where he took part in 2005 and relives some of his memories there. He then finds a cafe to have well earned drink. Hope it's not spiked. He'll need all of his wits after Armenia.

And it's already nearly over! Omar said that his experience might help him over some of the younger competitors since he has learnt things over his career such as flirting with the camera's etc. He clearly can sing and the staging complements him very well. There are some shots which could have been better reviewed but again, we need to see them with a full audience. At the end of the day, he is confident and knows what he wants - it's just a question of if the people at home want the same thing.


ARMENIA
Artsvik is in an air balloon. Not a warning for hot air though. Nice vistas of Armenia in the background.

Still sticking to the claim that this song could have done so much better with more dancers. The mystical emotion from the music video is missing from the stage performance. Vocally you can't fault her but the backing dancers are (or she is) not always in correct place so some visuals are a bit of a miss. The ending also has had a change to it. No longer is the digital eagle coming from Artsvik herself but the screen goes black and the eagle from the darkness. Not sure we approve of the change. It will still qualify however.


CYPRUS
Hovig has his head down, but then looks straight into the camera. We see him hanging in the park with his bros but also practicing hard on the dance moves. He's having fun while doing it.

This started off as being quite cheesy and bad but over the past week Hovig must have really practices his choreography and it is now looking quite good on tv. He is also singing quite well, another case of 'bringing it when it counts' and answering his critics from the first rehearsals. Also, coming after the Czech Republic is not hurting his chances. Closing the song the backdrop no longer sees a digital Hovig in mid-air, again, very good move since it did not work. With this new package, it is a likely qualifier.


CZECH REPUBLIC
Martina decided to drive to Czech TV's studio and discuss her participation with the delegation team. They then sit outside drinking juice and celebrating their inevitable win in Kyiv. Martina practices a bit in the studio, but you know she's already won... or so the postcard says.

Well, we forgot about this. Lindita has some competition for Barbara Dex. Fierce competition. This unfortunately just does not work. The colours are just no, the golden jump-suit, the half-naked people in the backdrop ... vocally Martina is reasonable enough but unfortunately we cannot see how this can turn up enough votes to see the final.


BREAK
Oleksander and Volodymyr once again flog the app. They both appear to know the inside of a gym and in this rehearsal they're only wearing tight fitting t-shirts. Very pleasing to the eye.

Break-bumper again. And Timur has nestled with fake Finland-artist (aka volunteers).

Timur is doing some emogic (emoji + magic, get it?). It goes all downhill from here as the rehearsal grinds to a halt. Some tech guy jumps into frame to hand something. Oh. They're re-doing it now. The mic seemed dead. that's been fixed now. The bit doesn't go down any better second time round. *sigh*

Luckily he now doesn't dwell and moves on to Moldova's booth. More of the knowledge tidbits. This time a relevant one - they refer to Sergej's YouTube meme-fame as the epic sax guy. And now it's Martina Bárta's turn.


ICELAND
Svala is siting on hexagonal mirrors. She didn't break any though. So she can go home and sip some coffee and sing a bit in her home studio.

Although looking like some character from a superhero comic (we're not sure which side of good she'd be on however) Svala is on point with her vocals today. Hopefully the same will be true tonight when the juries will be viewing. She does look quite lonely on stage though but add a large dancing audience and it should be fine. There are a number of wide shots and she's playing around with that cape like I used to when I was dancing around my room also pretending I was on the Eurovision stage. Good times. After a couple of years out, could this see the return of Iceland to the final?


MOLDOVA
The guys are out for a quick walk and then they go and select vinyl records. They end in a restaurant and clink their wine glasses. Then they're in Kyiv, performing for the gathered crowd.

The question we're all asking ourselves, are all three skirts going to work. We know the guys have been solid throughout the rehearsal week and their confidence is showing. They feel at ease on stage. Solid. And YES! All three skirts worked. And also the choreography is getting much better, the team must have been practicing a lot during their time here. A good reaction from us and Europe (and Australia) will likely agree.

POLAND
The Polish postcard shows the Kasia with the dogs. She's the one who let them out!!! After she decided she doesn't need them back, she goes to listen to a rehearsal of a classical concert.

The violinist behind Kasia is a bit more visible than before and there are more shots of him too. Kasia is still trying to escape from her dress but the pressure must be doing something for her since she is belting this out well - or it could just be the post-Demy effect. Kasia was in the right place again when the doves fly out from each side of her. A good reception is heard.

GREECE
Demy is in her hotel room, sipping a coffee. Next she's walking in a park as she spots some dancy guys she quite fancies. But she's not deciding yet. She first wants to explore the Greek country side a bit.  But yeah, in the TL-lamp hallway she's brought them along.

Demy still looks like a dear in headlights when the song starts. At the beginning of the first chorus the vocals go quite wrong. She tries to recover but the damage has been done. There is a very wide shot when Demy gets off the podium which works fine but then the waterfall projection Demy is very close up - a bit too close, you can practically see her womanhood! No one needs to be seeing that on a family tv show! Messy end to the song and not a great response.


BREAK
Oleksandr and Volodymyr are seeing that the social media is being whipped into frenzy. They're now reading fake tweets. Not telling you lot what they are, but they do remind the viewers of the hashtags are.


PORTUGAL
Smattering from the press centre as Salvador seems to have managed to get a postcard produced. We see him in Lissabon. Smiling a lot, but also singing and riding the tram. First performance for him on stage.

And the first time we actually see Salvador and not his sister Luísa singing. He's dressed in a black suit with black shirt and red handkerchief in left pocket. He's also wearing his accreditation but that is likely to be taken off during the show - unless we have another 2016 Moldovan dancer moment. The vocals are decent enough however they probably would have been better if he had been doing the rehearsals since in some areas they are not the best. However this simple song gains a huge reception here and it is likely to have the same in Europe.


AZERBAIJAN
Dihaj gets some cheers from the press center. She's out in the streets, but then visiting her favourite spots: Where she likes to rehearse, where she likes to hang out with her friends, where she likes to get tattooed. We also get to meet her kid (?).

Diana has her covered in a black tightened scarf which is the first time we've seen this. She is trying to be softer on the fake walls while she's banging them however it makes her looks uncertain of her strength when the song demands her to be confident in herself. Once again, amusement at the 'horse-man' having a fit on the ladder while "thorns" is being written on the wall. Azerbaijan always manages to pull stuff when needed however. The whole show is looking a lot better than what we've seen previously and again another good reaction from the gathered (fan)press.


FINLAND
Buildings seem to be sparse in Finland. The two have found some urbex site where we can see them promenading through the abandoned rooms. Oh, and of course a piano is being played.

Leena is pitch-perfect again. Even though we mainly know the show from back in UMK, it's simplicity and harmony is all it needs. It draws you in, making you want silence in the room in order to be able to appreciate it in its entirety. The camera shots being used have been clearly chosen and they bring much to the table. There is a huge applause by almost everyone present. It would be an injustice if this did not make it to Saturday.


BREAK
Oleksandr and Volodymyr are still trying to flog the Eurovision app, and its amaaaaazing features: Voting, downloading the songs and finding bios and lyrics. They just still have to mention the telephone number and you'd be forgiven to think that you've accidentally switched to a teleshopping channel. After the break bumper, Timur is quickly introducing some of the countries that already have performed. Georgia, Australia, Sweden and Albania. He tells a few politically correct facts about these.

Oleksandr and Volodymyr introduce Norma John, and thus the Finnish post card.


MONTENEGRO
Slavko is a theatre animal and shows off his spiritual home. But he's also excited as drawings of his Eurovision outfit are being made. Dancing, performing in the theatre. It's all part of who he is.

One thing you can't fault Slavko on, is his attention to the fans and his willingness to do any piece of PR he can. For his performance however, well, the beginning starts off harmless enough but there are too many elements which do not seem to make Eurovision sense. Yes we know the fans love it, however the juries will not look favorably on this entry and the regular Joe's at home will need a reason to vote for this. The vocals are not great and the spinning pony tail is still as distracting as ever. We will have to wait and see what happens with this entry.


BELGIUM
Blanche is wearing a lacy dress in the first shot. She's still a schoolgirl, so we get to see that. We also get to see that she has to juggle school with being an up and coming artist. So lots of press and gig-shots. She looks frightened in the live shot just before she's on.

Blanche is dressed in black, like her heart. The camera work is a bit shoddy, a lot of frontal shots and many many wide shots. Vocals are what we have got used to. She still doesn't look at the camera when she should. The robotic arm movements are still there but a wide camera angle helps mitigate the issue - slightly. This is however her best performance since we've been here. And there was an applause in the press centre to encourage it.


ALBANIA
Lindita shows us her fingered heart. Lots of cuts here: she's dancing performing, working out, enjoying the Albanian country side while jogging, fitting her dress, singing, playing violin... she's multi-faceted of course. Let's hope her performance is up to scratch.

Who is Lindita trying to fool with that white veil? The whole ensemble is debatable. Could this be a contender for Barbara Dex? Forgetting the attire, Lindita is singing well and the backing singers compliment her rather than overpower. The backdrop visuals may not be as appealing as some other entries' but this package seems to be getting slicker than we had seen it before - or it could be just the problem of having seen it multiple times that you just get used to it.

AUSTRALIA
Australia's Isaiah gets up - he overslept probably. And speeds in his car to his next gig. Everyone's already left (we never get to see the audience at the gig place) but they decide to shoot him performing anyway. He reaches out to us before he too appears in the now familiar TL-lamp hallway.

For the first time since we've been here, Australia has actually followed Georgia on stage. A more-confident Isaiah is trying his best but there is something missing still. It's a decent enough package with the singer connecting with the camera and vocally pretty decent but the visuals are slightly distracting - especially the one commented before when Isaiah gets swallowed by his own eye-ball. Luke-warm reception in the press centre, cheering mainly heard by the Aussie fanpress.


GEORGIA
Georgia's postcard then. Tako Gachechiladze wants us to know she's very much into transparent fabrics. It's all about make-up and fashion with her. But also about her as a singer/performer. So we see her in the studio. The TL-lamp laden hallway is the recurring theme for ALL the participants it seems.

A big pause before the song however - who wasn't ready for this? The fog is now on stage and we start closing in on Tako. Her hair still seems to be a bit of a mess, maybe she's half-way through getting it ready for tonight when it actually counts. Her vocals however are here and present. Girl can sing. Visually, like many others, this needs a large audience to be present to make it more appealing but but grand dramatic show is already enough to get most of the visual across. Another likely qualifier.


SWEDEN
Robin is being shown as he prepares but also during his pass-times, being on a motorbike. Next he suits up and finally readies himself with his dancing cronies in a TL-laden hallway.

Robin is dressed in his favourite fitted suit while the backing dancers are again in their grey/black combo. Slight error on the lighting of the front two dancers when the treadmills work them however this was quickly rectified - but noticeable. That however seems to be the only mistake made. Robin is looking like he's enjoying his time and the dancers are on form. No real worries for this entry.


16:18
They thank Sweden in their best and almost cute Ukraidish. Next they acknowledge the fans.
They banter on for a bit. Timur is going to be the greenroom Cinderella. Since he's the Eurovision nerd. Or so it is claimed.

Next they give an overview of the countries taking part in this semi final. They also mention the Eurovision app and tell the viewers not to vote just yet.

After it is established that Kyiv indeed is ready, the first postcards roll.

16:17
An out of breath Monatik announces the hosts and now we get to see them (Oleksandr Skichko.
Volodymyr Ostapchuk and Timur Miroshnychenko) for the first time. They of course say 'Good Evening Ukraine and Europe' as well as the now more familiar 'Australia'. Planet Earth also gets a mention. Though it is morning over there. You can't claim that you haven't been informed. As a side note, we don't know which is which, and to try to explain who exactly of the three is doing what over a rolling blog is like trying to explain Australia taking part in Eurovision: A futile exercise.

16:14
It took a while for the repeat to start. In the beginning of the dance act a female dancer dressed in white has the spotlight on her and this goes on and off a couple of times before Monatik appears from behind her. The female dancers are all clad in white while the male ones are in black. In total we count five female dancers and three male. "Heads are spinning!" If you say so dear. It's not the worst opening act we've seen.

16:09
Repetition of the opening act and the hosts this time will actually come in.

16:06
Monatik : Spinning - The first dance of the event. Monatik Sergeyovich is the full name of the artist. There are a number of dancers on stage with him. He thanks Eurovision Song Contest 2017 and then introduces the presenters.

16:04
Young girl dressed in Ukrainian traditional garb falls into screen. More Ukrainian female beauties of different ages all dressed in traditional garb from different areas of Ukraine end up gracing us with their presence. They represent the diversity of Ukraine. Doesn't last very long however and we are soon in the arena.

16:04
Stand by everyone!

16:03
We're getting clearance from the track that they're slowly getting ready!

16:00
Henrik is explaining what is going to happen - he seems quite excited about it all. We're not 100% sure what he's going on about but from what we heard even though now there's only 7 (somethings) when there was 25 (somethings) he doesn't mind because he's still getting paid.

15:58
We are a couple of minutes late but that is fine, gives us more time. There are some postcards which aren't ready so we're going to have Italy instead "because they paid the most money" Henrik informs.

15:56
Jon Ola Sand is there.
Henrik warns us with the final countdown.

15:55
Platforms are being wheeled on and off the stage... The press center is a lot more busy than it has been for the past week. It's almost as if something is about to happen.

Day 6 - 2nd Run Through : ARM / SLO / LAT / SRB / AUT

AUSTRIA

Oh Nathan! I warn you from the start, he can't do anything wrong in my eyes! But the damned light and camera people can! There is no longer the über-cute cheeky turn to camera right in the beginning. HOW DARE THEY! Also, Omar Naber is singing the Slovenian version of On My Way in his press conference making it a bit difficult to listen to Austria's rehearsal. RUDE. The not-so-invisible box is back, however this first rehearsal is without the heavy fog so maybe it will be 'invisible' at some point.

2nd Run - This is too sweet! It gives you cavities. Which from memory is what I have written for Austria last year too. What is it with them and sending candy recently? Unfortunately however we can't say that today's singing is a masterpiece. The high notes are not so high and the visuals are not as good as Monday. One more run through to maybe redeem himself but Nathan needs to be more on form than this in one weeks' time or it could be a bit of a challenge.

3rd Run - Slightly better but not amazeballs. And the invisible box is not invisible at all. In fact, it's more of the 'in your face' kind. #magicfail


SERBIA

Tijana just looks so alone on stage. Even when the dancer comes on for that short while it doesn't really help much. She also looks slightly stiff which just adds to the awkwardness. Vocally not the strongest, the camera does what it can but in general this is not the best we've seen from Serbia by far. Neither is is Cipela, but it's not one of their better packages.

2nd Run - Read above.

3rd Run - "Won't somebody save [her] tonight?" It is Serbia after all so let's not discount them since that would be silly, but I am struggling to find reasons to vote for it.


LATVIA

One and only one question needs to be answered - is the penis still there?! Answer - NO!

Agnese is dressed in a white and black techo-spacey number with boots going, in the words of Loreen, "up, up, up, up, up!" The props on stage have been changed slightly, especially that which created penisgate a couple of days ago. The Freedom Monument is now filled in and the stars are made a lot more visible, no mistaking it for a flacid shlong any more.

2nd Run - The backdrop colours are mainly black and white for most of the start of the song with green lighting coming from behind. This then turns into a technicolour mess during the chorus. Props are all in neon colours - pink, green and blue. All in all a decent performance but is it strong enough to reach Saturday night? The juries are unlikely to go for it so it will need a large televote to really stand any chance.

3rd Run - And the final run through we get to see the smoke but no pyro. Boo.


SLOVENIA

Omar seems comfortable enough on the stage. The usage of the chandelier is working well and Omar connects well with the camera. Although alone on stage, he does not look lost which is an improvement on quite a few of this years' contestants.

2nd Run - Another good performance. He is confident and comfortable and he shows it. The lighting of the stage also enhances the song well. I've never really been in camp Slovenia this year but this could be my mistake in my predictions.

3rd Run - He's flirting with the camera! We approve! The only thing we can fault this on is the distinct lack of pyro in places where it so obviously should be. Not that it actually needs it, but who ever had it for the need of it? Why wouldn't you have it if it is available? So if you're reading this my dear Slovenian delegation - PYRO!


ARMENIA

Clad in black, Artsvik and her two backing dancers and visually immaculate. Clearly they did not stay at Euroclub until 2:30am yesterday night. Someone might have, but not them. The choreography and staging is looking very sleek, much better than in the first rehearsal (which as you all know is what a first rehearsal is all about). Vocally she is perfect, no faulting, and even the many movements which were not so rehearsed (or so it seemed) on Monday have now been corrected - especially the 'Vishnu' one where the two backing dancers are behind her and she has now three sets of arms.

2nd Run - No real major comment to make from the first. It's qualifying - not that that was ever in doubt.

3rd Run - The this that I love about third runs is that you see what it should actually be looking like. And now we have dry ice and pyro! Hell yes we do! And it works so much better as a full package! I'm still not fully convinced by the pink digital eagle bursting out of Artsvik and flying across the screen at the end of the song (you'll understand what I mean when you see it) but it does have meaning I guess. For those who didn't know, Artsvik means 'baby eagle' in Armenian.


MORNING TRAGEDY

So, first of all I wish to apologise to everyone for the delay in the blog today. Although arriving on time, we have been experiencing technical difficulties in such that the laptop decided it had to update for over 30 minutes (and counting) so we have now gone on to the general PCs instead to at least get some content out. This comes in addition to the technical issue with the Uber taxi who forgot to say that we had arrived at our destination and continued to drive around Kyiv after dropping us off ... and charging for the pleasure. Uber support, here we come! But enough about the shitty start to the day! On to the songs!

Day 2 - CZE-CYP-ARM

ARMENIA

Hmm. Were we expecting too much?

This is nice and it's competent and Artsvik sings well and finds cameras and doesn't look too angry, but it was missing something special on the first run. Let's see what we get next. They must have something more up their sleeve, surely.

Again, the stage seems really empty. She has two dancers with her and that's it. The moves are sharp and there is some lovely purple lighting though.

Now we got some dry ice at the start and half-hearted pyro towards the end. It helped, but still. At the very end a hologrammy eagle comes flying out. The fans applauded.

At the beginning there is some nifty camera shake effect, which adds something. They could do with more of it later.

(I am being taunted for my inability to see the genius of this one. Good job I am happy to sweem against the streeem)


CYPRUS

Oh lord.

The choreography requires Hovig to balance on one leg quite a bit. He doesn't seem to have practiced too much.

There are Loic Nottet vibes in the moves here. If they get it right it's going to look amazing. But there is an awful lot of potential for off-balance wobbling.

Despite all the complicated footwork, Hovig is vocally very secure.

Getting better with each rehearsal, but still needs tightening up.


CZECH REPUBLIC

I'm not sure I'd have chosen a gold lamé suit to perform this song...

Lighting is in the winning combination of purple and yellow. Some images from the video of those people in their underwear.

Martina starts sitting on the edge of the stage, before getting up to walk along a yellow path. Not quite a brick road, but that idea.

Vocally this is very assured, but it really is just too dull to have any kind of impact.


****
Lunch consumed. Moldovan song still in my head. Ready for the next session!

The not-press opinion - FIN, GRE, MLD, HUN, CRO, NED, ARM, SMA, RUS, CZE, CYP, AUT, EST, AZE

OK, this was it for me. Nothing to do with Samra and my ears. If you want my opinion and some (badly written) info on the rest of Semi 1, refer to my previous blog post. If you prefer well-written posts, then try the other bloggers of this website. Will be back for the other semi and the songs I missed from them.

Azerbaijan

First live performance, like in the actual stadium, ever for me was Samra Rahimli performing amazing Miracle. Certainly not the wisest choise I've made. But since I really love the song... And then again, she improved each time, also having very weak moments though. Loved the pyro show in any case.

Estonia

I expected something darker from them, but instead they went city-lights and Casino Royale. The camera closes in on him and then there's some prop with a card appearing and disappearing a couple of times, before he throws it to our direction. The end shot is a close-up on his face, but he obviously doesn't know what to do with it. He tries to be still, then smiles, then does a half-wink (like something is irritating his eye). I need to see this once more to be more descriptive.

Initial shots are well thought of, he appears to the right side of the screen before walking towards us, while the camers pans from above. Some far shots are closing in on him from the side. He has some issue timing the hand moves, they are looking a bit weird. Far shot closing ing again for the second verse. Camera then rolls around him slowly. Then he does the card thing. The card is thrown better this time. A nice red spade/heart shape on the floor. Nicer ending shot.

Austria

Long break followed Cyprus, I think we won't see this many times actually. Camera zooms to her smiling face. Then approaches her again from afar as she's walking towards us. Another close-up during the first en chante. She's a bit breathy. Many close-ups again, usually zooming out and showing the wonderful flowery backdrop. It comes across very optimistic, but then she misses some notes and the feeling is gone. Camera switching from far to close shots regularly. Then some more mid-distance ones. For the last sentence, it zooms out quickly. From some point on she looks really straining with keeping up with the notes. Not very sure about this.

Last run and nothing much changed. A cute thing is her interaction with the backdrop during the second verse, where moving her hands creates red roses in the back. Vocals again a bit strained (but then this is her third run, so she is tired). For the bridge, the camera rolls around her and she makes good contact with it. The last part was really shouty and strained unfortunately. Must improve to qualify, I see it just missing out as it is now.

Day 5 Afternoon - Armenia, San Marino, Russia, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Austria

AUSTRIA
Unfortunately still so sweet it gives you cavities. I can definitely see why some people really like this however I cannot say that I am one of them myself. I wold not be so totally surprised if it does not make it to Saturday and neither would the bookies. No sign of a treadmill anywhere.


CYPRUS
The cages have remained (which I don't believe was actually up for debate). In-ear still appears to be an issue for some acts. There are hardly any graphics of wolves appearing any more which is a good thing. Vocally not completely there but it works fine for the song. Is it enough or not however that is another question.


CZECH REPUBLIC
Wearing the dress from the first rehearsal, Gabriela is lit up a bit differently. Still vocally on cue. The song presentation is spot on. It will be really unfair if the Czechs do not see the stage on Saturday.

I know the post is small - but there is not really much to say about the entry - it simply works. J has written more so also check that blog to see comments!


RUSSIA
There are some evil people in this room. There was a large applause due to the technical mishap of Russia. The song started about four to five seconds before the technical image which meant that it was all out of synch. The song was stopped before the first chorus starts since there is no point continuing. Remember, each act has a specific amount of time and can do as many runs as they wish, however, once time is up, it is up. How long before Russia are back up and running?

Second run and this one goes a bit better technically but there are some mistakes which can be seen. The camera angles need to be exact in order for the effects to work but this is not happening yet. Likely however that these little tweaks will be done before Tuesday. And well, would this be in doubt even if there are some errors in it?



SAN MARINO
Well, Iveta he is *not* but he is still having a great time. The backing dancers are clad in silver while Serhat is in a maroon suit. He keeps on doing it so we believe it will happen - at the end of the song Serhat throws his hat into the crowd. We expect it to be on ebay within the week. What we unfortunately do not expect is to see him on stage on Saturday.

It seems that the afterbiib will consist of one goers. Russia on stage now.


ARMENIA
Iveta is lookin HOT! Hot and FIERCE! (OK, I promise that is the last time I write that). The projections to me are still not working but it has received a warm applause by the gathered europress. I am needing to start counting since to me they appear to all be qualifying now. Armenia however is not only qualifying due to my dubious taste but because it is a good song which is well produced and presented extremely well. The videos you will be watching soon will reveal the staging and the outfit and enough will be said.

Only country to only perform once. The screen came back up but it was definitely not Iveta on screen.

Afternoon rehearsal. Croatia, Netherlands, Armenia

 Armenia

Before the rehearsal

The song is quite a difficult to sing live even for the most talented singer. So that will be a challenge. Good backing vocals will also be very crucial. Another challenge will clearly be how to stage the parts where she doesn't sing. But I'm very interested to see how they've chosen to do this.

Rehearsal

 Now. This staging REALLY impressed me. She's all alone on stage. But she has actual holograms of herself appearing in the instrumental bit. It didn't work perfectly, but compared to all previous attempts at doing holograms on stage in Eurovision this one really did it well.
She's wearing net-stockhings, a swimsuit-shaped outfit and a long flowy coat on top. Basically being sexy and tall without being too pornographic about it. And the stage is mainly dark and blue and very glittery. The floor looks like someone dropped a big bucket of glitter snow on it and couldn't find a broom.

The backing singers are clearly somewhere where they aren't seen. But unlike most performances that hide their backing singers, I think it worked quite well in this one. She CAN really fill up the stage all by herself. And with her holograms.
The vocals were also very good. Overall I would say that it was a very good rehearsal for Iveta.

Second run-through now. Will try to describe the performance a bit more in detail.
It starts off by a blurry shot of Iveta and then a close up of her chin (!), The first verse has a lot of various shows alterning between showing all of her or just various body parts. In the big swoopy part before the first chorus the lights around her go red while she does some stretching exercises , and then ... well, then in the first chorus she managed to tangle up the earpiece in her hair and had to ask for them to stop the music.

Here we go again... So, the first chorus and the first verse keeps the dark blue/grey colour theme. She leaves the mic stand halfway through and walks around a little bit. And at the end of the song she does a pose that looks a bit as if she's just been crucified.

Overall, I think this works really well visually. The staging is a little bit similar to Croatia in terms of colours, but Armenia does it a lot better.




The Netherlands


Before the rehearsal
The song is pretty straight-forward and I have no doubts that Douwe can handle the singing. I think that they will have to find a way to make the staging stand out and highlight the song well without making it too gimmicky. The Dutch have a history of not staging things too well... Except that one time when they got it really right, in 2014. If they can manage to do an equally good staging without copying it, this song can really grab the attention of the viewers. But if they go 3JS with it, it could quite easily be overlooked as well.



Rehearsal

First run-through.

The Mrs Einstein-ripoff intro has an accompanying clock on the floor that ticks along with the song. Douwe is in a blue suit and his band are in similar suits. The only tattoo that he shows off is his neck tattoo. There's a pianist, a guitarist, a bass player and a guy playing the drums. Pretty straight-forward band line up.

The stage keeps the clock on the floor for the rest of the song, and the rest of it is dark and gold.
During the guitar solo Douwe walks down the catwalk and sings the rest of the song from the end of it. 

Between the guitar solo and the last chorus there was a long piece of silence, which I first assumed was some mistake. But people are saying that it was actually planned, and that rumours have it that the silent part is an intentional addition where the idea is that Douwe will make the audience sing and clap along to the chorus, without any music. If this is true, it could probably either work great or fail terribly. Let's see if they give us any more clues in the next run-through.

Second time around... there's a lot of yellow Sanna-lights as well. And the drums are very glittery. Douwe manages to be charming in a very somber way. And his legs look extremely long in the slim suit, especially as there's a lot of camera shots from below.

They did the silent break before the last chorus again. This time it definitely did look intentional. It goes on for what's probably a full round of the chorus, so would make sense if they're indeed supposed to have the audience sing along there. But right now during the rehearsal Douwe is doing nothing at all, just standing waiting for the music to start again. So it's really hard to tell if this gimmick will work.


Croatia

Before the rehearsal

People have been worrying a lot about this. Will she sing it well? What will she wear? Will her hair stay in place?
What I hope is that they will not make something too ridiculous, and that she will sing it well. But to stand out they clearly also have to do something memorable, so it's a thin line.

Rehearsal

Nina just walked on stage and began her first rehearsals. She starts off wearing a HUGE sort of kimono dress. It's silvery and glittery and stiff and BIG. Like a hybrid between a Times Square Christmas tree ornament and an inflatable geisha pool toy. But in true Linda Wagenmarkers fashion it's ripped off a bit into the song and reveals normal clothes underneath. As in, clothes that probably aren't what she will be wearing.

Now a long break before the next run-through. This rehearsal created quite a buzz in the press centre, and people aren't really quite sure what to make of this. I guess the huge over-dress might possibly make more sense once she's wearing something proper underneath after the reveal. But that's probably just wishful thinking, because the clothes underneath will probably be just as ridiculous.

 Second run-trough. Can hear her voice a bit better now when there's less of a OMG ROFLMAO-noise from the press centre. She's not perfect but kind of "good enough for Eurovision" and definitely decent enough for a rehearsal.

The four backing singers are moving around the stage and doing some choreography, very much part of the act but still mostly in the dark.

Nina is mostly standing still in the centre front of the stage, doing some arm movements but with her silvery heels nailed to the floor.The stage itself is dark with tones of blue. The backdrop is quite discrete. Basically, this is probably visually supposed to be all about the clothes.

Some more about the dress... it's mainly made up of a glittery see-through meshy kind of fabric, with ornaments in the shapes of tree branches on it. It looks a bit like sea-weed and as if she's caught in a glameor fishnet. And the dress comes off as two parts, so there's probably a lot of velcro involved.

And not a single Ingeborg hair! I'm very disappointed.

Rehearsals Day 1 - what can we expect?

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.

FINAL - FIRST DRESS REHEARSAL (Part I)

We've got 10 minutes before the first dress rehearsal for the final starts. Excitement aplenty!

Te Deum was playing in the background. We didn't have a screen view bbut now we have two guys on stage - the same which were prepping the audience up the last couple of days for the semi finals.

Seems like we're running a bit late, this is not part the of the show - unless we wer in Italy, it seems like something you would be able to see on Italia 1/Canale 5 or RAI1 on a weeknight.

The 'warm up' guys are still there ...

Still haven't started... nearly 10 mins late.

Te deum played by an orchestra in a marquee in the grounds of the Schlossbrun. We then get treated to a classical piece and then the intro to this years' building bridges.

Starting the show with another mix of last years' announcement of the winner - Austria.

We then go on a tour of Austira with the theme being circles - or at least that's the only connection I can see between the clips.

Circles, bubbles, running people, smiling children, all result in one sphere arriving at the Weiner Stadthalle and a real sphere travels down from the ceiling to the stage where it meets a violinist playing Merci Chérie and then flows into Rise like a Phoenix. During this performance the back of the stage opens up to reveal the orchestra.

Conchita rises up from under the stage.She sings the theme song of this year - Building Bridges.
Also joining her are the three other hosts - Arabella, Mirjam and Alice.

Conchita flies up into the airand is suspended over the audience moving from the podium to the main stage. In come the Vienna Boys' Choir. We move into a rap moment and the kids start waving Austrian and Australian flags. Really, this Australia stuff is starting to get to me - and I never really cared about them taking part, I thought it was a nice one off.

The stage is now for the 27 competing countries, however there was no announcement of the countries so the Slovenes were a bit 'do we, don't we' moment. They decide to take a leap and the camera moves on to Serbia, but the music is then stopped. Arabella then says "it seems that you don't need to rehearse but we do!"

"Good evening Europe!" and then music ... at the wrong time... so all three presenters laugh. Conchita looks pissed.

There is no mentioning of indicidual countries this time, just all come down at the same time.

Once all acts, flag bearers, remaining dancers and any other person wanting to go on stage has managed to get there, we continue singing Building Bridges. And the music stops.

"What a fantastic opening [...] thank you to our 265 artists here on stage"

Next we have the building bridges clips wich people were asked to submit. Not a "down down low" in sight.

Informing about the voting and we're about to start.

SLOVENIA
Extremely confident and compitent. Sounds like you're hearing the studio version. For someone who only qualified last night, Marjetka is doing very well. "Danke" and "Hvala".

FRANCE
Lisa is dressed in old Imperial robes and is having high tea. A picture is taken for her to keep.

The cameras failed right at the beginning. Director needs to be careful, rookie mistake. Still going on though, doesn't seem important enough to stop the show.

Lisa is not singing at her strongest, but we already know her philosophy - they need two good rounds, the one tonight and the one tomorrow. This is just a rehearsal.

ISRAEL
Nadav is not wearing his Golden Boy outfit - unless he wants to overly promote Nike t-shirts.

Some cameraman from NRK is blocking my view. But people seem to be clapping. It's good but maybe he's saving himself, maybe he partied too much last night ... maybe it's just getting a bit 'we've seen this already'? What am I saying? It's still fun!

ESTONIA
Something happened - so instead of listening to Estonia, we have facts about Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest read to us by Arabella. I am not sure if this is a rehearsal for 'should anything go wrong' or if it is actually just going wrong.

It seems it is going wrong. There is a technical (camera) issue. The three presenters are trying their best, but stand up comics they are not. Feel sorry for them. But oh well, it will be fine on the night.

Estonian postcard again - let's see if it works this time.

This time we get going.

Good performance, she doesn't cry but maybe it's not worth her while in this one.

UNITED KINGDOM
Bianca and Alex go flying drones at night with magical sticks - or at least that's whatt they want us to believe.

The pack has been covered by the fur throwover. Song is really not going anywhere. Need to grab that coffee? Why not use this as your break? Wouldn't be surprised if this came last. I think it will still receive points from Australia and Ireland but not many from anywhere else.

ARMENIA
Coming after the UK can only help Armenia. Another good performance and the circle is being nailed now. Should do decently well.

LITHUANIA
Harmless enough. Not going to do exceedingly well but not going to be really low in rankings either.

The more amazing thing I saw during this performance was that some delusional being has voted that the UK would win. I want whatever they're having please, and the suppliers' address. Danke. 

SERBIA
Bojana is lovely, you can see she's enjoying every minute of that stage. And so are her backing. I do hope she does really well on Saturday. 

NORWAY
Well, Debrah is trying on the Princess Merida look from the film Brave (2012). Good on ya girl! Why bother doing hair and make up for this... not like anyone is watching!

BREAK(Y)?
Not sure if this was a break or another issue. But we have a reminder of the voting numbers for the songs. And then we go to Måns. Is it just to build up suspence or is it to get the props on stage?

SWEDEN
Måns is also not worrying about costume. He's wearing a simple grey t which isn't as body hugging as his ensemble from yesterday but we get to see his arms which we enjoy.

He's not doing all the notes but that's could be for the usual two factors - tired from last night and saving for tonight. It's not an easy job doing this you know!

CYPRUS
Can Cyprus do another Lisa Andreas? This year probably not, but I can see this being top 10. Many artists are probably asking themselves the same question since thy didn't qualify last night or from Tuesday.

AUSTRALIA
Guy goes surfing in a freezing mountain river. He managed to get a cold because of it. But apparently recovered.

"This is one tough act to follow" until the EBU decide to bend all their rules when it suits them once more. I am not one for fairness and equality in the world but I am against two-faceism. If you have a rule, stick to it. Why don't we let the guys from FIFA manage - it seems they have the same ethos.

Having said that, this will do well, and if it wins so be it. But let us please keep it a one off.

BELGIUM
Again, this guy is amazing. He basically did the whole thing himself - song to choreography. And he is closing in on Italy in the betting odds. Expect good things fom this guy shortly. Could he be as big as Stromae?

AUSTRIA
Austrian postcard just shows us around Vienna. Nothing exceptional for the host country. Preferred some of the others.

The piano is on fire once more. Big cheer in the hall and press room - as can be imagined. Many 'mainstream' media representatives are now here and they are mainly Austrian.

BREAK
Arabella talks to Conchita - and congratulates her on a great job at the green room during the previous days. But, we also find out that she was at Eurovision previously - as part of the backing vocals for France 2008. We all laugh - not.  

SEMI FINAL ONE - THIRD DRESS REHEARSAL

Apologies, got in a bit late today. No, I'm all here after the fantastic Israeli party but just was having a bit of a lie in. At the party yesterday we had Amber, Kurt Calleja, María Ólafs, Il Volo, Michele & Anita, Elnur (who sang part of Hava Nagila) and some others. Always a party not to miss.

So, what have we seen up to now today:

MOLDOVA
Still sings competently well. Qualifier - likely.

ARMENIA
THEY GOT THE CIRCLE! THEY GOT THE CIRCLE! And it didn't look weird! Now let's hope they can repeat tonight. Qualifier - likely

BELGIUM
Another greatt rendition. Qualifier - likely

NETHERLANDS
Trijntje is in the same dress as yesterday afternoon - so we assume she's keeping this now. Qualifier - unsure.

FINLAND
I have decided to refrain from commenting on this. It seems whatever anyone says about this it ends up being taken too much to heart by people so it's not worth the drama. Qualifier - you decide.

BREAK
Interview Loïc and Trijntje.

GREECE
Much wind, many light, breath. Qualifier - yes.

ESTONIA
Well, it seems the crying is part of the act since she cried again now! No need to worry, it's all part of it. Qualifier - yes.

FYR MACEDONIA
Again, this is not bad. It's just not attractive enough to make it an easy qualifier. Unlikely.

SERBIA
Gone are the days when clothing ripped off during a performance magically disappeared from stage. Bojana's white robes litter the ground making it look messy. Beauty may not lie but cleanliness is supreme. Qualifier - too close to call. It could go either way.

HUNGARY
Nothing else needed - yes.

BELARUS
Just like with FYR Macedonia, this is a decent enough song, just not strong enough in the semi. Unlikely.

RUSSIA
Absolute belter! Top 3 in the final is hers, or it's ROBBED!

BREAK
Talking to Elina and Stig. Elina shows she doesn't only sing cute puppy-eye songs. Then off to Bojana.
Reminder again for the DVD and CD and #eurovision.

DENMARK
One of the other difficult ones to judge. It's Danish enough to make it work but in a year like this will being "Danish enough" mean anything? 

ALBANIA
i assume she's saving her voice. Did not sound as good as it has been in the past rehearsals. She did the same yesterday so there is a trend. I would like to say yes but it also falls in the question mix.

ROMANIA
All over again. The more I watch and listen the more I realise how I have no fecking clue of what is going to happen with half of these songs. The message is good, the song is mediocre. Hungary beats Romania on the combination of the two - but is Europe willing to have two of these on Saturday?

GEORGIA
Finally, something that doesn't make me judge my capabilities of having my own thoughts and opinions. Not that my thoughts and opinions are much different to anyone else's on this song but at least I know it's a qualifier. Unlike yesterday, she sings it as it should be - last warm up before the big night. 

RECAP
Slight glitch with the graphics which had the rolling 'telephone numbers' sequence going on when the voting hadn't been opened yet. No need to redo so we continue with the actual recap once the voting is open.

Noting different to yesterday so just read that one if you need. No hiccups, no champagne, no petits fours, NOTHING!

"QUALIFIERS"
01. Greece

And again a technical issue.Mirjam is a lier. Apparently.

So now...

01. Moldova (reminds me of Igor's voting method)

02. FYR Macedonia (this time with FYR mentioed)
03. Hungary
04. Georgia
05. Estonia
06. Belarus
07. Armenia

Small talk for suspence.

08. Greece
09. Denmark

Last finalist from the first semi final of 2015.

10. The Netherlands. Les Pays Bas.

RECAP
Again, in order of appearance not announcement.

End of show. Only a few hours until the show begins!!!

 
 
 

Semi-final 1 betting guide: Bets are like thunder*

Sure, you've made your predictions, but are you ready to put your money where you mouth is? Ahead of tonight's semi-final, I'm going to take a look at some of the betting odds available for various outcomes, and see if I can identify where the value is.

The odds I quote below are likely to change in the run up to tonight, so, as always, oddschecker is your friend.

Firstly, who will win the semi-final? There seems to be strong consensus from the press corps that it's between Estonia and Russia, with Russia nosing ahead quite considerably in recent days. If you're in agreement, the best odds you can get for Russia to win the semi is 1.83, at William Hill - this means that if you bet £10, you will get £18.30 back (i.e. £8.30 profit). On the other hand, if you feel Stig and Elina's duet will top Polina's big ballad, you can pick up odds of 4 at either William Hill or Boylesports.

With two such clear frontrunners, perhaps the more interesting money is available for a top 3 finish - i.e. who will come 3rd? 3rd place in the semi-final can often be something slightly surprising that then fails to score highly in the final, and therefore the front runners here (after Russia and Estonia) of Georgia (2.25, 888Sport), Greece (2.25, unibet) and Romania (3.5, bwin) would all seem worth a punt. Albania have fallen from grace during the rehearsals, and their odds of 3.75 (bwin) for a top three finish seem rather stingy. On the other hand, if you want to win some relatively safe money, you could opt to bet on Russia or Estonia to come top three. At odds of 1.18 and 1.4 respectively, you won't be making much, but if you're confident, it's effectively a very short-term-high-interest rate account!

Bear in mind of course that you won't see any of your winnings for winner/top three markets until the full results are published following the final. If you want a more immediate return, the place to look is the qualification market.

Most of the bookies are offering qualification odds, though there's considerably less value to be had than in previous years. Finland are one who have really fallen in recent weeks, and you can get odds of 2 (i.e. doubling your money) at Skybet or Ladbrokes if you think they'll make it through. I'd also argue that Denmark (1.91, Coral) could be worth a punt - they've often done rather better than fans expect, particularly in semi-finals. The biggest outsiders in the qualifier market are Netherlands (3.6, Boylesports) and Moldova (3, various sites). They're a risk, but as I wrote in my prediction piece, I do think there's a chance either of them could make it - and anyone who was brave enough to bet on San Marino or Iceland last year made a tidy profit.

On the other hand, if you're a negative person like me, there's fun to be had in the not to qualify market. I'm still quite sceptical about Armenia, and there are odds of 3.75 (at Skybet) if you feel that six people all shouting different songs at the top of their lungs won't engage with Europe's voters. And if you're not convinced Belgium is really connecting, Skybet will similarly give you 3.5 odds. And if you're crazy enough to think Russia might somehow fail to reach the final for the first time ever, Skybet will give you odds of 26 to throw your money away.

If you're serious about your betting, it's worth already thinking about the final. If there's a song you have your eye on tonight and you think you might want to take a punt on it making the final Top 10, Top 4 or even winning the whole thing, it's worth placing that bet now. After tonight you'll have a much better idea of its chances - but so will the rest of Europe. The people who won big on the Common Linnets and Conchita last year were those who were brave enough to place their bets before the semi-finals. I'll be taking a closer look at these markets closer to the final, but if you think that, for example, Georgia or Greece might be an outsider for the top ten, it could be worth getting on the betting sites now.

That's just a brief overview of what's available tonight - do have a browse on oddschecker, and do feel free to post any betting-related questions in the comments below and I'll do my best to answer them.

(* no, I know they're not, but then neither's time. Go complain to Belarus.)

Interview: Armenia

Although we have all seen certain less than flattering comments about the concept of how the Armenian representatives have been selected and the song's topic of choice but if this was not a Eurovision entry it wouldn't have received such queen comments. Trying to look at it from a distance and keeping a level of unbiased opinion it is not half bad. Armenia is always one of those countries you need to keep an eye out for and even though this year sees their odds are less favorable than normal, we know things have surprised in the past. Could this be one of those?

We managed to get a short chat with the group composed of Essai Altounian (FRA), Tamar Kaprelian (USA), VaheTilbian (ETH) , Stephanie Topalian (JPN), Mary-Jean O'Doherty Vasmatzian (AUS) and Inga Arshakyan (ARM).

One thing I do have to mention here, with all the manic journalists and fans you need to deal with as Press officer for any delagation, I would like to offer my most sincere thanks to Ruzanna Pilosyan of the American University of Armenia. She is in charge of handling all the request, all the post shots and trying to keep the calm between the masses wanting interviews and promo materials. Always giving her most, she showed that even when under difficult circumstances you can still smile and give a great impression of yourself and a great representation of your country. Sadly, this cannot be said for all this year.

I would like to apologise in advance for any shaky camerawork. It was a bit of a quick rush and having the group spread out was a bit difficult to pan out and get the best shots when working solo. I hope you enjoy!

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