Second rehearsal: Germany to Italy

End of Week One

Many thank you for reading and commenting! Elin and myself are off to other parts of Portugal now, Jeremy will be with you for the remaining events with some fresh perspectives.

Italy

These guys are true professionals. Looks fantastic inside the arena, without those silly distracting words in screen (second goosebump moment of the year for me). Unlike Serbia, they haven't been listening to us.

France

The red trainer shoes are still there. First shot is really effective, with both of them staring to the camera (it looks like they're standing next to each other, but in fact he's behind her). This time we don't see Monsieur picking up the microphone before the hand bit.

We'll have to wait to see this with audience to know how effective this is.

Germany

Well, this is just so so so good (except the lyrics, and the hair). Germany is back on track for doing things right.

Desculpe

We meant to bring you the full run this morning, but we had to deal with our main site being down (hosting company is in the UK - just as well we missed their rehearsal!)

First rehearsal: Italy and France

France

Pre-opinion: I got hooked on the snippet, the last times it happened were with Molitva and Heroes. This is as promising as it gets when it comes to winning chances, but there's still plenty of ways this can go wrong (including the stale NF staging).

First run-through: Black stage, black tight suits, red guitar, red shoes (that only reveal when the dry ice fades). I think it's a different backing track to what we've heard so far. For the Mercy Mercy bit the stage turns red and they go to the catwalk and do the hand thing, picturing this with an audience that does the same this could work really well.

Second run without fog. A much better staging than the NF, Madame actually looks at the camera for a start. Not sure it's enough to win this, but I'm hopeful.

I've had enough of black and red though. Seriously.

Last run through, this time the fog is back and blue light is projected on it (the sea?). Hurrah, another colour. They may win now.


Italy

Pre-opinion: This is one of the more powerful songs, keeping in mind that the magic from Sanremo can easily be lost with the wrong staging.

First run: We have lyrics on screen. Lots of them, in translation (but in more colours and overlaying than the preview video - some letters are made of images). Very very red stage.

Second run: They each walk a different bridge (during the "col sorriso di un bambino" bit) and meet for the ending in the middle of the catwalk. They're both great performers (as we knew) but the lyrics keep distracting me (which language is this? And this? And this? Was that Danish or Norwegian? Arabic or Persian? Hey I know this one, it's my language. Oh, Ermal is going waaaaaaahhh)

First rehearsal: UK, Spain, Germany

Germany

Pre-opinion: This one actively annoys me, which is good news for Germany: Better some emotion than no opinion whatsoever as I had for their recently failed songs. And for every hater, there's a lover or two. So this could make an impact.

First run-through: Michael in complete darkness, yellow-ish projections start at the first chorus. Parts of the lyrics, family pictures (not his), a road and a home. Michael in good voice. Projections go crazy near the end with his body throwing shadows in spirals, and then it's red, and damn, I'm starting to like this.

Second run: Still looking and sounding effective. The black-and-yellow road projection may remind you of the 1991 Belgian national private final stage:

Spain

Pre-opinion: One of the strongest melodies this year, but the hyperglycemic performances we've seen so far might turn people away. Especially now that Lithuania does sugar so much better.

First run-through: No pianos. They start out standing in two different time zones (very Waterfall) in a dark stage, then getting close and holding hands. Amaia in white, Alfred in burgundy. Not much happens, apart from them touching each other in different angles.

To give you an idea of their choreography, this is how they move about on stage:

And from about 2:00 they're in each other's arms until the end.

United Kingdom

Pre-opinion: This stood out in the UK final as the only confident performance and memorable song. It won't be so easy when the competition level is 100 times stronger. Hoping for a full blown storm effect with sprinkles in the arena and everything.

First run-through: SuRie is inside a dead whale skeleton made of LED and sharp angles. This looks really cool. Backing singers are off-stage, but they're really loud in the mix.

Second run: We have dry ice, and it looks like the whale skeleton is floating on a cloud. This is all very symmetrical, with the thing in the centre of the stage and SuRie in front of its centre - fans of symmetry will love this. She sings well but looks a bit lonely.

Pyro run: I only saw a bit of pyro during the last chorus, almost like a birthday cake firework.

Good afternoon

I went to see Portugal (the country) and missed Portugal (the song). I'm in love with Lisbon, but my feet don't share that feeling. They cobblestone anything and everything, even inside the arena(!)

Day 8 - 2nd Run Through : UKR / ITA / ESP / GER / GBR / FRA

FRANCE

And guess what, once more the frock is the same as in the first rehearsal! Alma had also worn it when coming into the Norwegian press conference yesterday after it ended and requested a selfie with Joakim and Aleksander! Back to the rehearsal however and Alma is not the strongest we've seen her. She is still delivering adequately but not as good as we've had. The camera angles work nicer than what we saw previously but still getting dizzy with the flyover view of turning Paris.

2nd Run - Adequate once again. Alma is not really bringing the best of herself to the camera but is trying to be playful. It will be a bit hit and miss on the night I believe.

3rd Run - And this concludes the second rehearsal for all countries. With Alma going off the stage, we are now done for the day. Who do you think did better than expected in this round? And who fared worse? You can always comment in the message board.


UNITED KINGDOM

Only Ukraine seems to have opted for a different look today. Lucie is also wearing her same dress from Friday. Camera angles have been worked a bit and now we have three of her in one shot - just like Croatian Jacques! Putting the multiple versions to one side, Lucie is delivering this song with the professionalism you expect from her. Pitch-perfect even though after performing she compains "my ears are so low!" Wouldn't have known unless she mentioned.

2nd Run - Another pitch-perfect rendition. Since there is no dancing there is not much that can go wrong with this. Possibly the UK's best result since 2009?

3rd Run - And more pyro! Not much but enough. This is looking like a very good package, and would be suprosed if it ends up with a similar result the UK has been getting in the past few years


GERMANY

No costume change for Levina today either. She's looking confident on stage and even though she doesn't have an entry with any belter moments, she does her best to give it the best she can. Unfortunately we think the song itself is not able to carry much weight when compared the the likely rivals that will be in the final - however, hopefully, this will not end last.

2nd Run (or possibly 3rd) - We could hear the backing track but the microphone wasn't very loud for the first couple of lines. The song itself is harmless and Levina is just doing what she can. She's singing well but she must know there are not very high hopes for her. This run had pyro which is why we were a bit confused on which run it is since we only saw two but it's always the last one that has the extras.

3rd Run - Germany has just changed the game! This third one did not have pyro! What are they doing to us? Don't they know the sacred rules? Joking apart, unfortunately there is nothing more to add to Levina's routine. It's well sung, confident and reasonable staging but at the end of the day the song is what it is and this cannot be changed regardless of camera angles and lighting effects.


SPAIN

So, the guys are still seeing the Earth from the beach they're supposed to be on while Manel sings the first verse. Nothing strange at all. The guys are wearing the same Hawaiian shirts they did on Friday but in fairness they're doing their best on stage. It's still likely ending last, but they try.

2nd Run - The team seems to be going through the motions. There's no real emotion being shown to camera and the other band members just seem to be doing their own thing without any real choreography being planned for them in most parts of the song.

3rd Run - As much as I hate myself for knowing that I'm going to write this, and it could be because I'm running on the last bits of energy I have left running in my body, but this is not seeming as terrible as it did just a couple of days ago. I'm attributing this to the 'seen it multiple times' effect which as we know makes anything with familiarity more appealing to the brain and therefore we have better feelings about it. Europe will not have these feelings.


ITALY

Francesco didn't start with the first line - did he just forget? The cameras have been worked on and, as to be expected, the package is working a lot better than during the first rehearsal we saw. The team is wearing the same attire they did on Friday and it is likely that this is what they will be wearing come Saturday. Francesco is loving it on stage and is good with the camera - although not perfect. Also, dad dancing is having a revival in Eurovision.

2nd Run - All the lyrics are available this time round. Camera is still being changed to view new angles and the backing singers do the Alé/Allez! And oh, no dad dancing this time but a statue-still Francesco with the dancing ape doing all the work. Another large applause from the people in the arena.

3rd Run - It seems we have the same person with 'issues' we've had a couple of times before this year. The video in the press was only switched on for the chorus so we have not seen the first half of the third run. Although we doubt anything major happened in the part that we missed, it is kinda the point of us being here to see these things in full and comment. But oh well, not like anyone was doubting this wasn't going to be good and further solidify the likeliness of an Italian win this year.


UKRAINE

Well, the giant head is still there but Yevhen at least has changed his costume from the first rehearsal. We're trying to check the others to see what they're wearing but the run was a bit fast. Again vocally this is doing quite well and visually it's appealing - apart from the scary eyes at the end.

2nd Run - Someone forgot to press the button so all we saw from the second run was the last three verses of the song. Not much we can do with this.

3rd Run - There aren't many close up shots of the other members of O.Torvald however we *think* they also have changed their outfit since last Friday. Another good rendition of the song and with home advantage it should see decent scores coming in howsoever should not be troubling anyone at the top of the leader board.


MORNING JOURNEY

Well, let us just say that possibly maybe I am still not yet to bed but since today is only six songs we should be able to get through this pretty easily. Coffee is aplenty and we'll also have lots of water to keep hydrated - even though the current situation may in fact lead to better comments.

Day 6 - 1st Run Through : GBR / FRA

FRANCE

Dressed in a pretty sparkly black and white with hints of gold number, Alma seems to be enjoying her time on stage. She may have a tad more make-up than needed but we shouldn't judge. Once again she is alone on stage throughout the song - as many have chosen to be this year.

The backdrop starts as a skyline of a city (we cannot see any distinctly Parisian buildings therefore cannot tell where it is - if anywhere). In the bridge however we can clearly see that this is Paris since it is a night cityscape and the Eiffel Tower is centre-stage. The landscape (or city lights if you will) then start playing in the backdrop. Since this is the first run through it was a bit hard to concept everything but one thing sorely missed is the dancers from the video. They would have fitted so well in this with that simple choreography they do but nope, once again a lone singer on stage.

2nd Run - Not much to comment extra from the first run. It does seem a little bit disappointing from what we could have had from France this year but let's wait and see how it will look in the second rehearsal on Sunday once the team has had time to look at it in the viewing room and decide which best angles to use.

3rd Run - There was no pyro, no petit sparklies, NOTHING!

But thank you anyway Alma! We can now close for the day. Many thanks to all!


UNITED KINGDOM

Lucie is dressed in a gold sleeveless dress. She is inside a mirrored shell and the camera starts as if it looking from up above her but in fact it is filming a reflection and Lucy is camera left. We've got another simple starry night background with various hues of gold every now and then coming from sunbursts. Vocally Lucie is doing well, not excellent but good enough. She still managed to get a large applause in the press area - but that may be since most of the people here seem to be coming from this land.

2nd Run - It took a while to get started with the second run however this may be due to the microphone stand now becoming gold also! But ooh! There is an issue with in-ear sound and Lucie stops this.

"Let's try again!"

2nd Run Take 2 - Lucie doesn't seem fussed by what happened moments ago. She is also better vocally and finding her feet. She is static in this shell so there is no dancing or much movement to be done. And Henrik just mentioned the word which excites all us little boys (and some girls) here in the press - our friend PYRO!

3rd Run - And pyro there was - but not that much. Boo - not really that impressive, not when you see what Germany has. Everyone claps and Lucie gets off stage. We're waiting for our 42nd country to take the stage now!

The not-press opinion - FRA, ESP, GER, ITA, UK

Overview

France gave what I expected them to give. They are still a contender for challenging Russia and they certainly win against the similarly simply staged Sweden imo. Italy's staging is not to my liking, it really destroyed the feeling for me. However, it seems that people who were not into it find it very appealing. I'd be happy if a song I liked gets a good result, although I won't like the live performance video in the end. Germany gave me goosebumps, but I do realise that this is not going to happen to the average viewer. Hopefully, the juries will help her placing rise, but then will the outfit ruin her? The UK delivered, they made me like the song more than I ever had. Although it's instant, its appeal will depend a lot on the draw and what precedes/follows them. They would benefit from a clinical performance, like Czech Rep. for example. Finally, Spain's incompetence is beyond words. My first reaction two days ago was positive, but no improvement on the vocals has been made since then and the fall is captured and implemented in a very fake way.

United Kingdom

First shot the one not holding a guitar (I suspect that's Jack?). The shot widens as the background is filled with purple/blue dots. Two blocks with the drummer and the guitarist. Random faces appear during the second chorus on the floor. And the background as well. Stage turns black with white lights for the bridge and then some strong purple ones for the last part. Vocals are not bad, but not very strong. It ends in a mid shot with them hugging (in a friendly way). Personally, I like the far shots of this more, but for the vast majority it's the close-ups that will matter. It wins the battle against what I've seen from Denmark, but not much else.

Faces during the first chorus as well. Oh, it's actually two sets of drummers on the podiums. Not very noticeable anyway. For the second chorus, camera starts with them facing each other as they sing the first "You're not alone" and then pans away for the "We're in this together". This is effective camerawork. Some awkward jumps in the last part, somehow too co-ordinated, like they're standing on a mini trampoline. The vocals have improved.

Third run. Their vulnerable look in the beginning is much more preferable to the other opponents in this category, DEN, IRL, LTU. Or arrog-Frans. But I'm still not convinced they will avoid something like 18th. Good pyros by the way, timed with the I,I,I and sky,sky,sky parts (three each).

Italy

People loved this yesterday, but the stills didn't convince me. First time for this too, then. The stand has blue and purple shades around it. The flower arrrangements right and left of her are a nice touch, but it's too linear. Balloons all around and yellow spheres on stage. She's convincing when faceing the cameras. The tree on the back is just there, which is good (I wouldn't like any more movements and distractions on this). Some effects of white something on screen, like bubbles. The language change is here and I love that moment in studio, but here nothing special happens. The white thingies are like fireworks and bubbles, and little hearts. Ok, a bit silly. She gives us a potato? So many things happening, I didn't notice the song that much, which is certainly not needed. I'm cautious.

The white sparkles/clouds/hearts are already present in the opening shot. The close-up shots where not much is going on are the best moments imo. It happens during most of the 1st chorus. She gets the right angles every time, but then something appears at a random point in the screen and you watch that instead. Vocally perfect. I don't particularly like these ideas, but maybe others will? It could be because I also had a totally different staging in mind.

Warming to it in the third run as I focused more on what I was listening and her instead of everything else. It needs for the viewer to not be too distracted by all the staging and realise that they are actually listening to a decent song. In the end, it might prove to be a wise choice, but it's certainly risky.

Germany

First time watching this. Stage is purple while we first get to see a close-up of Jamie-Lee after 30 seconds or so (might be for the best). Camera are too shaky. Purple naked trees with green laser beams towards above (as leaves?). She is spot on in her vocals. Cameras are finally steady and she hits the shots. A weird shot of the backings in the dark before the second chorus, during which she walks the catwalk and arrives to the end of it just in time for the Ahhh scream. Ends with a far shot with her in the middle and the huge moon behind her.

We will need the next run to properly judge this, as the camera crew had a collective stroke or something.

Steady shots this time and identical performance. The weird dark shot of the backings is still there, though. It's so dark, this still counts as "hidden backings". She arrived a bit earlier to the end of the catwalk, which is less effective than before. She looks happy. Being a big fan of the song, I can't help but sing along. Although I love it, I do realise there might not be enough amount of connection developed during the night. Not much to say about the third run either, she's perfected it already.

Spain

The opening minute is vocally and visually problematic, unfortunately. The backings are clapping at the first "Say yay yay yay" very not to the rhythm. The fall was too fake again and did not happen during the close-up shot at her dancing feet. Much less convincing than her first rehearsal. She lifts it with the catwalk and this time she does one accidental Hooray (which exists in the studio version, but she's not supposed to do it live, from what we've seen so far in Stockholm. Let's wait for the other two runs, but I'm doubting her chances for a decent result after this.

More parts I find awkward. Why does the screen go black after the fall? It doesn't seem realistic, they should have stayed with the initial thing, where we get to look at her on the ground for more seconds. They've unfortunately managed to make what was a refreshing and contemporary performance into something over-rehearsed and obviously fake. The silly choreography of the backings doesn't help.

Good luck to her, because she's the best that happened to this entry.

France

Again, like with its first rehearsal, I am satisfied while mostly everyone around me is not. I think the performance is very sincere. My favourite part is during the bridge when the moon approaches him on the floor projections and he stands on it and then makes a glowing effect. There is one thing that's missing; audience. I am still optimistic about this, although I agree it is not a front-runner, like Russia clearly is.

Day 7 - Sweden, France, Spain

SPAIN
Backing vocals/dancers are wearing the same outfits as in the first rehearsal while Barei is wearing a golden number with her trademark black and white high top sneakers. The stage goes dark when Barei has her 'fall' but we're so used to it now we don't bat an eye lid. Vocally not the best performer and not expecting too many points to be awarded but sure some will be gathered no doubt.

Camera work is still debateable and the split mirror image just needs to be binned. It might have worked in 1996 but in 2016 it really does not. Althoguh it is used in the Georgian song (#repeatedly), at least there it fits the song. Here there is no need for the effect. When will rtve learn?


FRANCE
Amir is still looking too alone on that big stage. We understand that he is looking for something and it makes sense that he is by himself but the song needs backing dancers and the cheeky smiley clapping that we saw in the preview video. The current set up is setting him up for another disappointing result for the French Republic. Vocally also it is still a bit shady. The high notes are not being hit, this could be due to him saving his voice, or rather, likely to be, but the whole performance unfortunately seems to have a missing element to it all. Will it be possible that France learns from this year (great song, not enough oomph) and last (medium song, too much oomph) and find the correct combination next time round?

Amir seems to be struggling finding the cameras and barely ever manages to look into them. Even the camera angles still seem 'not right'. The table around me would not be surprised if the song ends up on the right hand side of the board on Saturday.
 


SWEDEN
Although unfocused, it appeard that Frans was clearing his nose when the first notes started. At least he made a bit of an effort withis outfit although it is exactly the same as that he wore when winning Melodifestivalen. This song has about as much appeal as a soggy biscuit. Even the gathered europress could hardly gather the strength for a mild-mannered clap. It will do well but we would prefer it didn't.

Second run-through and it is not getting any better - if anyone is sorry it should be us for ourselves. Måns is in interview room 2, which is much more interesting than what is happening on stage.

Day 5 - France, Spain

Spain

Before the rehearsal

I don't think it should be difficult to do this vocally. We know she has a group of backing singers (which I hope we get to see). The big problem with this song is the really long 2nd verse. I hope they've found a way to make that look interesting visually so that people don't get bored during that part of the song.

Rehearsal

Where to start! I'll start with the most important part: Remember how in the preview video there's a weird pause where the music stops just before the second verse?
Something similar is happening here. While Barei is doing her sneaker-dance in the first chorus, she suddenly falls over and lands on the floor. The music stops and we all thought she had fallen and hurt herself and that's why the music stops. But then she just starts singing the second verse all of a sudden and the music kicks in.
The press centre were all quite startled by this, and then reacted with a bit cheer when realising that it was part of the act.

So, regarding the rest. Barei is in a short silver dress, and her backing singers are standing behind her in black and silver outfits. The stage is bright and with flashing colours. It all comes across as very happy and joyful. Vocally Barei was maybe holding back a bit, but fine. The backing singers are mostly fine. However, there's one of them (let's just pretend it's Brequette) who is absolutely SHOUTING the "Say yay yay yay" bit as if she's a peacock that just reached puberty. It's quite reminiscent of Israel 85. So let's hope they turn her down in the mix. A lot.

Mostly Barei and her backing singers are basically dancing on the main stage. Then towards the end Barei walks the catwalk to the satellite stage and finishes there.

I got a very good feeling from this. They have so much fun on stage, and Barei looks very charming and likeable. As long as they can sort out the vocal problems, this performance should be able to lift the song quite well. Hard to say whether the fake-fall gimmick will work well or not, but it will at least wake up the viewers and grab their attention.

France

Before the rehearsal

This is a very difficult song to sing. It's got a lot of falsetto parts in the chorus and not a lot of moments to breath. And throughout the whole song there's backing vocals singing along with Amir. So the singing and the mix of the backing vocals will be the big key to being able to recreate this live.


Rehearsal

They're definitely going for the "less is more" approach here. Amir is completely alone on stage. The backing singers are hidden somewhere, and so far they're not very loud in the mix.
He's wearing a plain grey suit over a white t-shirt. And white sneakers with no socks.
The stage is quite well-lit and the graphics have a space theme. There's a lot of stars, and towrds the end of the song the moon (or some other planet) appears on the floor underneath Amit.
He's up-beat and energetic, but there's not really any choreography going on. He's basically simply standing there singing the song. And loving it.

Vocally the first run wasn't perfect. He sings the you-oh-oh-oh-oh bits but they were a bit off-tune. And there were some other parts that weren't great either. But we have to keep in mind that it's a rehearsal.

Basically, this is the POLAR OPPOSITE to Russia.  While Russia has thrown in just about everything they possible can, France has a very simple and plain performance. It could be risky, but it makes me think of Lena's performance in 2010. It isn't similar, but it's the same kind of "I'll just stand here and sing the song, because the song is good enough on it's own" attitude.


Second run-through. Vocally it's a bit better, and the backing vocals are louder in the mix. But there's still some parts that sound really terrible. In the last chorus he tries to do some ad libs that are way too high for him and just turn into a strangled-cat moment. Hopefully he'll notice this in the viewingroom and ditch it.  Because he sings this just fine whenever he sticks to the basic melody, but whenever he strays from it, it goes terribly wrong.

Thoughts on France, Spain

France

It started off really nice and cool with Amir in the centre of the stage leaning forward through a sea of purple stars on the floor and the background. He looked really relaxed and smiled through the whole song. The rest of the staging was more or like the same, with random over-sized planets appearing in the background, forming a space travelling effect. Some shots were off, especially when he is looking up. In the first run the camera was just showing his front side, producing the famous pic posted on the MB. In the other two, the camera was actually above him, but far too high up, so nothing was really seen. I think they are going to make it so that the camera starts focused on him and zooms out quickly (or the other way), which should be impressive. The vocals are neither good nor bad. He suffers during some notes. The weird thing is that he failed to sing the same sentence all three times; the beginning of the last chorus. But then he was good at other difficult points and the backings sounded okay as well, covering him at times. The ending was a bit weird, the stage went dark and he is seen with his hand in the air, in a foggy cloud. Didn't really get that part.

Some more thoughts, always subjective. The staging is vastly different to the other (until recently co-)fav but then quite similar in some ways to other faves. Suppose we have France, Australia, Ukraine and perhaps Sweden as contenders apart from Russia. Well, only one of those 5 features more people on screen. Only one of those 5 has some serious dance moves. Someone is truly "the only one"!

Then again, I don't get why France was suddenly written off, or even why it's drifting at the bets. Or maybe, I know why the second thing happened. People were expecting far too much from him and the staging and this didn't happen. Now we're sure Amir won't win by a landslide, as people were hoping. Now we know that he is just one of the 5 main contenders, with Russia being the clear front-runner. I expect the odds to go up to between Ukraine/Australia at the very most. Which is what would truly represent the song's and Amir's abilities. Being a strong possibility to win, but not the strongest one

Spain

OK, this was first of all a smart trick that certainly grabs your attention and captivates you for the rest of the performance (I suppose everyone is already updated with the fact that Barei falls just before the second verse). There was not really much going on in the beginning, and the staging is too simple, just her in the middle and the backings close behind her. The floor showed an arrow, similar to Poli's earring before the first chorus. After the fall, it was so entertaining and energetic to watch! She stood back up, danced and walked around a bit during the verse and then proceeded to the catwalk. The camera turned a lot to the backings, but when it was back to her she was still only midway. She tried to make the non-existing audience sing along ("Sing it"). Then the last part came in which neither she nor the backings say "Hooray" at the first "say yay yay yay"s, but then they sing it for the last ones. I missed those "Hooray"s actually.

But more (or less) importantly, what do I think she's going to get with this? It certainly didn't hurt her, this rehearsal. She should be within the top-15, a distant outsider for being just inside the top-10 (although there's a lot of songs that are on the same level or a little better than her). Depends a lot on the draw and how surprising the fall comes across. It wasn't that good the second time, she made it look too artificial. This might be to protect her from injury, cause the first time it felt very real. I also suppose SVT won't pick the falling part to show during semi 1.

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.  

Winners and losers on Day 7

Hey hey! It's my last day in Vienna, but before I head out to join the Nation boys at their villa in sunny Spain tomorrow, let's complete the set of "winners and losers" by taking a quick look at the big 5+1+1.

Oh, actual Chinese TV is here! And they just interviewed Felix and me! That's not random at all.

Anyway, the winners of today's rehearsals for me are Germany, who have a sensible staging concept and an Ann Sophie who's starting to come across as more seductive than shouty; Australia, which is basically already the complete package with no further work required, as Guy ably demonstrated; and France, where the potential of a highly conventional song is being maximised by an effective stage presentation.

Somewhere in the middle I'll place Spain - their entire performance is frankly ludicrous, but it's hugely entertaining trash and the final desperately needs a bit of that. Austria probably belong here too, if only because the Makemakes did exactly what we expected of them (well, with added fire) but nothing more.

The losers of the day? I'm going to put Italy in that category, because "Grande amore" is currently a bit of a mess in the filming department and the Il Volo boys seem reluctant to look into the camera; and, most notably of all, the United Kingdom. Even if they manage to get the camerawork right and inject some personality into the performance, the whole thing will still be a hot mess. If they don't, a very round score could beckon.

And with that, I'm off to eat some cake and actually see a bit of the host city, since it's probably better to do that before you leave than after. Laters!

Day 7 rehearsals: IT, AT, ES, DE, UK, FR, AU

ITALY
Backdrop has statues, big statues, much lions. Guys are dressed in dark suits with white shirts - surprise!

When the first chorus begins, thunder clouds roll up from 'over the horizon'. Second verse, colours change to golden hues from the blue which it started in. White or the chorus.

Singing wise not so great. Ignazio has issues with in-ear it seems, not the first time this happened this contest.
First run through over and all three seem to have issue with in-ear. None look happy. Piero and Gianluca also remove their in-ear and Ignazio talks to the technical person. To be continued....

UNVERIFIED: ALLEGEDLY since unfortunately we couldn't hear very well and don't know who exactly said it, we overheard "problems" and "off stage" so we came to the conclusion that they are not happy and if it goes like this they will stop. ALLEGEDLY!

Second run they seem happier (well, less moody) and it seems the issues of the in-ear are getting resolved. It seems that when they are singing the chorus it's a bit too loud (hand gestures of lower) but only by a bit (finger squeese).

Possibly the background will be changed - it is a bit kitsch and does not really fit the song. The longer you look at it, the less 'right' it looks. I don't think the Italians will settle for less than perfect. After the third run Ignazio cracks a smile, must be good. Vocally they are doing ok, they are probably just saving themselves to ensure they don't tire themselves out.

AUSTRIA
Vocally it's exactly like in Wer singt für Österreich? Dominic is in the dark for most of the song though, it seems like the lighting is a bit off and they will need to work on it. Fire is not allowed so they tried to have a fire effect on the floor when the piano should be catching fire. But it doesn't work. As doesn't most of this - sorry Austria, but if this wasn't in the final already I don't see it being selected for a Saturday show.

Second run through and the lighting already seems to have been fixed. The fire thing still doesn't look that good in my humble opinion. Probably there is pyro waiting though, as with most delegations, they are not made of money so they use what they could buy at the later rehearsals in order to not waste it on bad camera angles.

By the third run through no one is paying any attention to what is going on... UNTIL something happened and the audio cut out and then we all turn towards the closest screen and go "oooh!" for the first time ever for this song.

God, I need to start getting bored of this many times, since now again, as soon as I going to write how boring it is ... GUESS WHAT! Only the freaking piano actually on fire, and not some silly little fire like in the national final, no, this thing is burning! They are killing it with fire! OK, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, but it's actually a good effect... for a pyromaniac. Surely though this was the last one, Austria seems to have been rehearsing for hours.

SPAIN
Well, nothing like sitting on a bare-chested man to start your performance. Literally, you can imagine the screaming in the press centre. Clapping and shouting by Spanish fans. Edurne starts clad in red but this gets ripped off her before the chorus in order to reveal a sparkly silver number with much leg revealing. Had a bit of a Madonna moment though with this since it nearly choked her the first time round. The dancer is wearing some leather gear (maybe ready for fistfet later on - yes, it's also going on in Vienna) but this is gladly also removed when he reappears later on and he is showing us that he has a healthy balanced diet and a rigorous hard exercise routine.

Backdrop is quite mystical with a huge circle of warped visuals in the centre. It does work ok-ish but wouldn't say it's amazeballs. Edurne is saving her voice (we hope) since otherwise it's mediocre at best. She has a moment where she does some Sailor Mecury routine. We hope that it's not bubbles which will be the visual effect since that will be a bit 'meh'. Hopefully more like some sonic air trail.

Second run through and it's a bit better - but not much. Still, Spaniards clapping for anything she does.

Third: Oh, she wasn't sitting on him, she was holding him. He is apparently dead. Didn't notice that when he was dancing around. But now it makes sense. Well, as much as it did in the video.

Jesus, even I'm clapping to this now. Finally, now that I understood what it's all about. And I speak Spanish, and I watched the video over and over and over again, and loved the song (I am a fan after all) but only now I managed to understand what the hell is going on with this. Still no idea about the tiger though. And no, it's nowhere to be seen - thankfully. People at home however will be a bit confused which may not work in Spain's favour. I would assume that the optical effect they will be going for is a ball of refracted light which she will be 'controlling' with her hands.

GERMANY
Dressed in a tight black number with large golden feature belt, Ann Sophie struts around with one big earring with lots of dangly bits. Vocally she is strong, and visuals at the back are simple with either white on black or black on white smoke effect. Golden spots add to the visuals.

Received an applause in the press room. Can go either way.

Second, rehearsal as good as the first. There are five large lights on stage, one for each person. Ann Sophie is in the middle while two backing singers are to her left and two to her right. Also noticed that gold plays a part in the backdrop also. The smoke effect is more for the chorus.

Third, they are playing around with the camera angles for the beginning of the song. We have seen three different ones already. Ann Sophie could do with more strutting around.

UNITED KINGDOM
May we have your performance please United Kingdom.
I'm sorry, I don't have them.

Waiting to start UK still.

LOL! OH MY GOD! This was so worth the wait. This is the biggest car crash I've seen in a while. Bianca is wearing a pink dress with some possibly Al Qaeda inspired contraption stuck to her back. Alex is dressed in black and wishing he was somewhere else - at least his face says so. They have some random stairs which they come down of which are later used by the female backing singers/dancers. The lights do go down in order to keep the neon lighting views but the whole thing is just a mess. Cannot wait for the second run. People who are drunk - which if it is on late enough will be the majority of people - will find it hilarious!

This is not getting any better. For Electro Velvet we mean. For us, it's getting to the point now the initial hysterical shock has calmed and now that we know how bad it is, it's not actually a disaster but a wonderful laugh. There is a couple of pyro moments which only one was seen correctly. The one at the end was quite ok but it wasn't strong enough to burn the whole thing down so we will still get it on Saturday night. Get your eyeballs ready folks, this is going to be a classic moment in ESC history reviews.

FRANCE
Lisa is dressed in a dark purple dress with black lace arms. The backdrop is stunning. Starting off in a scene of a wasteland with some dead trees and ruins, the scene starts remerging itself throughout the song with, the trees growing leaves, the buildings built anew, the streets repairing and doves flying. Once the city becomes liveable again we see soldiers appearing both in the visuals and also four, two on each side, as backing to Lisa. It is one of those scenes that, at least I, cannot find the right words to give it justice. Brought tears to some people in the room.

The singing by Lisa is pitch perfect. She has no trouble getting this to work for her. Could definitely see this putting up a good fight.

Second run and just, wow! If France are given a good position in the final (should EBU be interested in Big 5 having possibly 2 in the top 5) then this could also see a jump and win the whole thing! Or it could just be a bunch of us just getting overexcited because we had to watch the UK before it.

Third: First run saw the mic held on a stand, second in hand and third again on stand. This might be because when hand-held, the burst effect on the floor which happens with some of the beats in the chorus do not work as well since Lisa is not placed perfecty in the centre which is not an issue when the stand helps her judge where she needs to be. No one seems to have anything bad to say about this - again, Paris 2016?

PS: In regards to the backdrop, to try and decsribe it better, we are taken on a tour of the town. So the scene is moving as if we were walking backwards (or Lisa forwards but she does not make any 'walking' movement unlike the four soldiers and the soldiers in the backdrop who do look as if they are marching through the streets of the ruined city. Amazeballs!

AUSTRALIA
History has been made - and it's underwhelming. Think of any X-Factor performance you saw from any act which was quite hyped. And it's that. Good singing, good lighting, good backdrop but "wow"? No. 

Seems it's not only me who is thinking X-Factor. Many people are saying the same thing. Maybe the draw will help him, it's still better than many other shows this year but for apparently the country who spent most on their act this year, I would be asking for some back. There will be pyro for sure, I mean I don't understand how the six street lamps would have cost such a fortune otherwise. Edurne's dress would probably cost more than these bits of steel.

OK, well, I know you're supposed to save your voice and all but Guy is not even trying to sing some parts of the song. Or at least I *think* this is what he is doing. Otherwise it simply could be the biggest let down this year. Especially when we have Edurne belting her "hiyeahiyeah-o" part while doing interviews. But obvi it's the first.

... And there you have it. Rehearsals over - all 40 acts have had their first moment on stage now. Will be interesting to check the betting sites to see who has made the biggest leaps or falls from April 30 to today. Not that we encourage betting - but if you do already, then might as well let us know these things. Where's Martin when you need him?

1st Dress Rehearsal - 2014 Final (Songs 13-26)

Sweden
Impeccable performance, amazing staging as always, lights that work, this just screams to us top 5, if not winner. Unfortunately it is unlikely that Sweden will win again this year, but thankfully it is after a break so Conchita is unlikely to affect the result. Could Sanna be fighting Molly for the trophy? Wouldn't be too surprised if it did! 

France
The guys of Twin Twin are hanging round in a back alley street. They are playing with bikes and have hooked up smoke canisters which have colours added. The colours are those of the French tricolore.

There is a technical issue on stage and therefore Nikolaj has to do a very painful improvisation talk with the audience to keep the attention. If this happened on the night I can see many kettles being lit.

Which may not be just because of the Nikolaj speech, but also because unfortunatley France seems to be a disaster live. We start with Lorent shouting "Hello Copenhagen" and continuing with "We are Twin Twin!" - not to ruin his excitement but we know who they are, the commentator just told us.

No one would love to see these amazingly funny guys do really well in the contest but even though they have fun staging, fun attitudes and a fun performance, it does not manage to distract you from the fact that they are at best Euroclub karaoke singers who have decided to go on stage after a bit of Dutch courage being ingested. I can see Elaiza and Twin Twin fighting for the wooden spoon this year.

Russia
As many reports have been made in various media, there was a lot of boo's for the girls on their qualification on Tuesday. Even though we may all have our personal views on the situation regarding the policies of Russia and the decisions of their elite, this does not allow for the ruining of one of the happiest moments for two 17-year-old sisters who have nothing to do with the decision making of their political leader.

The song itself is good enough, and it's representing Russia so it will not do terribly even if the juries are not impressed as they were not with Alex Sparrow back in 2011. Could just miss out on top 10, but most likely between 7th and 11th.

Italy
Emma is in an open-air market. She goes round the stalls and buys some basil, tomatoes and mozzarella. She then goes back and is seen on a roof terrance cutting the produce bought and paces them in a serving bowl. Basil, mozzarella and tomatoes form the Italian flag.

Someone should inform Emma that clapping on the microphone is probably not the best thing you can do when you're singing live. Playback maybe, but live not. She still sounds very out of breath and you're half expecting her to decide to take a break and light up a cigarette. Shots of the cameraman's arse behind the lead singer bending over is lovely and will work well I'm sure *cough*.

Hot mess, and not in a good way. Probably Italy's worst result since coming back to Eurovision.

Slovenia
My wild prediction made it thorugh so very glad about that. Even though my second one of Israel passing and failing was beaten by the fact she didn't even get through to the Saturday show...

I still think this will do quite well, maybe not amazingly well, but well. I say top of the right hand side. It is not going to be lighting up living rooms accross the continent but will find enough classic supporters to persuade a decent showing. Slovenia as we know used to be considered doomed, with not even their former compatriots of former Yugoslavia bothering to give them many points. Neither their neighbours of Austria or Hungary, the forgotten country if you will, so the fact they qualified for the first time since Maja Keuc back in Düsseldorf is an achievement in itself. 

Finland
This was bound to get through to Saturday and it did ot fail to deliver. Will it be enough though to see them have a strong showing on the night? Not convinced that it will. It was a strong song in the semi-final but now that there are the strongest songs from both semis involved and having Spain just after them might mean they are quickly forgotten. Having said that however, the aficionado's of the genre will be voting for them en masse. Hard to predict this one but I would keep Finland in the second half of the score board. 

Spain
Ruth and her dancer friend are using woold and twirling it round two columns of a building. They obviously use yellor and red wool and once they have enough, a picture is taken of the Spanish flag.

And Ruth has wet hair, or at least appears to be wet, which may not be the most advised when the weather is as changeable as it is here in Denmark. Nonetheless, she belts out her rendition of the song, and in a much cleaner and less screachy style we have seen in the rehearsals. A big applause in the press area in heard after once done, but that is mainly since again it is dominated by Hispanics. A strong top 10 showing I believe.

Switzerland
Another lovely song next. Sebastiano is still the cutest thing and you can't help but go "awww!" every time you see him. His charm and song were enough to see him beat the likes of Mei last night, but what would they be able to grant him on Saturday? Unfortunately I would say not too much, since cuteness and charm do not always translate in votes for the Saturday when Joe Public is watching. I believe Sebalter will be celebrating their achievement anyway, which they should be proud of, however I doubt we will see them very high on Saturday.

Hungary
Running, running, running, yes she is! And it's great that András and the Hungarian team managed to portray the song so well on stage. It could have easily gone very wrong for the Magyars this year but it did not - to which a big sigh of relief I am sure. Currently Hungary are 6th favourite to win, could an extremely electifying performance help them do better? There are always many factors to take into consideration but with the level of the songs this year I doubt that we are too expect much more. A top 5 is possible but I agree with the standings and say 6th is more likely.

Malta
Michelle is wearing her glasses this afternoon - I guess too much celebrating last night. Another good rendition by this group even though at points they appear not to be as enthousiastic as they have been in previous days, again possibly due to the celebrations. But an artist must be professional at all times and hope they bring it out of the bag for the Jury Final tonight.

Trying to keep an open mind about the song and not let my personal connection hype it more than it should, I believe the performance is strong enough for a top 10 or at least a close to. First half of the board.

Denmark
Well, the danes doe things a bit differently... Basim and his friends decide to paint old furniture, including three-piece suit in the colours of Denmark. The picture does not seem to correctly represent what they were doing but since when did that matter?

Yes it is catchy, and yes you have the skubidubida thing but really, I still don't see what this is all about. And the fact that many a Dane thinks it will win just because it is catchy makes me question it even more. Vocally it is struggling this afternoon and that is without him having to have passed a semi-final just last night. The face flag has gone and now just the big heart with "Love" written on it remains.

The host country generally does well, but could we be facing another You so close to last year? If the performance is anything like this was, possibly yes!

Netherlands
After the Dutch post card ended, Pilou appears on stage in order to tell us three songs remain. It appears that the crew behind the song were not ready and therefore we are needing a new filler. It could be that this is just to test if it would happen in a real situation since a pre-prepared roll is played. The voiceover says "Ladies and Gentlemen, it appears we are having technical difficulties. While we fix these, here are some of the hits of the Euovision Song Contest". The video then continues to show some of the best known hits that came from the contest.

Once Calm After the Storm starts, you get the feeling that this will create a riot if there really were difficulties on the night. The interruption does make the whole continuation confusing and you're not expecting the song to just start. Maybe if they replayed the video first. I would complain vividly if I were in a delegation and this happened.

The song itself is a contender I feel. Currently third favourite this is an amazing feat since just two weeks ago they were a rank outsider where you could get amazing high odds for the country duo. Only the performance on Saturday and the voting public will be able to reveal if the bookies are right.

San Marino
Finally in the final, it is still a shock how this qualified but we all assume it is a mathematical reason of how she finished 10th due to the voting system. We don't need to be amazed at her not lighting up the scoreboard on the night however, being in between two of the top favourites while finding herself on 26th place in the odds does not bode well.

Ralf is still on the piano and Valentina is doing her best to try and make the song more appealing but it is not working. Apart from Germany and France, San Marino will probably complete the last three spots on the Final night.

United Kingdom
And we finally arrive at the song we were all waiting for. The UK postcard shows Molly rolling out white paper on a big car park. She directs old red-double decker buses to form the St. George's cross. She then directs red post office vans to be the cross of St. Patrick. After being lifted on a large fork lift, she then encourages various individuals in blue plastic raincoats to fill in the spaces in order to represent the blue of St. Andrew.

The performance is still amazing, even though this rehearsal did not have any pyro. Singing last was not the preferred choice of many of the British journalists and fans gathered in Copenhagen but it was quite likely to happen and so it did. It appears the last time a song which performed last won was back in 1989 when Riva's Rock Me clintched it for Yugoslavia. Could this be the following one? Possibly so - Manchester 2015?

Lise then comes on screen to sell off the CD and DVD and also the app where you can download all the song.

Watching the first rehearsal of the final

The whole thing starts off with what can only be described as a Eurovision version of the "Parade of Nations" in beauty pageants like Miss Universe and Miss World. The stage shows the flag of each country, one at a time, while a voice reads the name of the country in three languages as the entrant walks across the stage and waves to the audience. Sadly, they aren't wearing ginormous feather-embedded national costumes :/

They managed to mess it up by announcing Greece as Poland and Poland as Greece, so they stopped it and will presumably start over...

One more try, and this time everyone entered when they should. A rather nice start of the contest

Something has actually changed in Ukraine. The whistle bits seem to be properly back. I can't tell if they are being done live or if they've changed to another backing track. But would this be the furst time (excluding 1993 and 1996) that a song has actually changed musically between the semifinal and the final?

The next few countries are all performing very similar to the semifinal, so not much to say there

Germany finally. In the postcard they're baking sweets in the colours of the German flag. The performance is quite basic, just the three members if the band performing it in the same way that someone would probably have performed this in Eurovision 1996 or so. Except for the pink confetti strips falling down at the end, which totally covered the lead singer making her look a bit like a pink egyptian mummy.

Now another Record book segment. The highest note ever is apparantly the one by Maja Blagdan. Congratulations Croatia, you managed to get a mention even though you're not participating this year.

Technical issue before France. But eventually it starts. The singer shouts random stuff in the intro and the rest of the performance is rather messy. But it might just be the kind of thing that works better with audience reactions.

Next country not from the semi is Italy, with the postcard of course being mozzarella, cherry tomatoes and basil. Visually I think the performance works well, even if there are a few notes that aren't quite working. 

Slovenia and Finland did their thing. Now Spain. Ruth made the Spanish flag with yarn. The stage looks really awesome, in my opinion. And the fake rain almost looks real, especially as Ruth performs with WET HAIR! (a first?). The white light at the end isn't that great though... And the backing singers are nowhere to be seen unfortunately. But overall the performance is very effective

Eventually we get to Denmark. Vocally it's not great today, but the camerawork looks good. 

Then there's some technical difficulties... They're taking quite some time. So they decided to cut to a clip containing a medley of "some of the greatest hits in Eurovision". I suspect this might be a clip they've created especially to use in case of technical issues on the final night, ans that we won't get to see it if there are no problems. Oh well, it was just "Fairytale", "Congratulations" (no, not the Silvia Night one sadly) and "Satellite", so no big loss :)

Now eventually the UK. Molly in a goldem short dress with a feather-like collar. Almost like something from the videoclip further up above. Vocally she and the backing singers are alright, but the performance isn't as effective as I hoped it would be. Maybe it'll work better with a more interested audience though.

Rehearsals1 Final (Part 1)

By the end of today we will have witnessed the rehearsal of the final six nations competing in the Eurovision Song Contest. There was a good party on at Euroclub last night which might explain the lack of visitors this early in the morning. Also it could be due to the song order and people deciding which acts they would watch and planning their arrival accordingly. And talking about the first act...

Germany
Not much excitement seems to be gathered in the press area for this song. Even though many accredited media are in Copenhagen, there is probably in the region of 150 people in the press tent even though the rehearsals today are closed and therfore may not be viewed in the hall.

In regards to the song, Ela's voice in a bit flaky and the staging is quite simple. A few bad camera angles but it was not terrible. The song however does not impress and even though probably most of the people gathered are German, there was no cheer, no clapping - just silence.

Onto round three and looking at the stage and the first thing the backdrop reminds me of is an American diner - and Elaiza is there to do the live band background music. In fact, that could probably the general mood of the song, background music, not really anything to pay attention to but not annoyed by it.

Update: In the final round we have an explosion of confetti and streamers! No pyro though - just as well, probably a bad combination. The girls however should also try and stop using so much hair spray, it seems they couldn't find how to get off the stage and needed assistance from the stage director.

United Kingdom
Molly's voice is really good but unfortunately she had some problems with her in-ear and therefore missed a few lines due to it. The staging is black and white and the floor creates a flowery motif. Apart from the slight issue above, the song was performed very well in the first run through and was greeted with applause in the room. Recently we have seen the UK send the big names and not achieve their goals but this year it seems that common sense prevailed and we might see a very good position for the nation come Saturday.

Second run and it went better than the first. Another applause from the press area.

Onto the fourth run and we are now being promised pyro! And pyro we have! LOTS! A nice long pyro waterfall falling for the whole last chorus. A rupturous applause enveloped the room and loud clapping all around. This is becoming truly quite contenderish.

France
Well, vocally it appears there must have been a lot work done on the studio version since it sounds karaoke-ish. Patrick Biyik is topless and there seems to not have been much working on the dance routine since it seemed they were a bit confused on what came next. There are two backing dancers accompanying them - both dressed in white, one male and one female. These dancers seem to have learnt their steps a bit better but Lorent seemed to have thought the female should have been somewhere else in the bridge and pointed her where to be - which was wrong. After the first run, this seems like it will be one of those - love it in studio, hate the terribly bad live entries.

Run two and it seems they are a bit more secure of where they should be but not always. François seems to jump a lot, sometimes jumping right into the camera angle covering Lorent. Also noticed that the backdrop, which is mainly a drugged up dream of brightly coloured flshing moustaches, has central moustaches which quickly go through the flags of all the participating nations. It is at the speed of blink and you'll miss seven but they are noticed. Waiting to see what round three will bring us.

Run three and update about the backdrop. During the verses th backdrop is more of a mix of brightly coloured checkered blocks. The moustaches come during the chorus. Lorent takes a pretend selfie on his way back from the catwalk which he goes on with the female dancer. The song will still get votes but not as many as could have with a good vocal. Not sure if there will be another run and if so if any pyro would be included. It is a song which could allow for pyro but have the French requested it?

Fourth run and unfortunately no pyro to be seen but there was another incorrect camera shot right at the end. This time the camera flying accross the ceiling was in position to take a shot from the front however another camera was used to take this and therefore the shot consisted of the prominent ceiling cam and Lorent in the background of it pointing to the audience.

 

Denmark
One needs to be very careful of what one says about this song. It's like saying something bad against Jedward or One Direction, you will need to change your name and break away all contact with your family just incase you put them in danger. Basim and his friends are in costume for this, all wearing suits with red ties or bow-ties. Basim has a bow-tie for those who care.

Vocally he does well and the act blends well. The staging is like the Dansk MGP with golden hues in the backdrop. Basim plays with the camera and keeps your attention. Liking this but not loving it. Still, don't think it will be fairing badly.

Second run and it went just as well as the first. Not really anything important to add.

Apologies for the delayed update - was at Elaiza's press conference which was full of people. Getting updated on the happenings of the third and fourth round of Denmark's rehearsal and I hear there is a bit of pyro and a massive flag in the red and white colours of Denmark but not the Danish one as per DMGP but of Basim's face. Well, this is interesting and works extremely well... *cough*. Hopefully the team will realise that maybe a gimmick which worked well for a Danish act in Denmark will not necessarily work for a European audience.

 

A break from the rehearsals now and it is off to Molly's press conference.

EXCLUSIVE: Evidence found for blatant favouritism for certain songs!

One would think that, as a host nation, the importance of welcoming each participant equally enthusiastic cannot be overstated. It is simply bad form to display favouritism towards a small number of your guests, whilst at the same time obtusely ignoring others. Sadly, that is EXACTLY what this reporter has found to be the case this year! And in the process, the Danes even try to make some money out of it! In this exclusive undercover report, we will provide proof that some people high up in the organisation have already decided who will get some extra "Attention" ahead of the tv-broadcasts later this month!

For our evidence, we don't even need to be in Denmark.

Our sources hinted to us that proof can be found ALL OVER Europe!

After doing some more research, mainly simply by googling, we thought it was time for some field work. Eventually we decided to tackle the challenge head-on: We would go and do some SHOPPING! Analysis* indicated that the Netherlands might be a good place to start. We focused our attention on Rotterdam.

In this bustling shopping area, the usual chains and franchises greet you with their loud and gaudy street signs. 

It is here that we stumble upon an unobtrusive shop.

The name seems to be more indicating to an Asian background than to anything Danish. Remember Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon? Incidentally, that movie is from 2000. And what country WON Eurovision in that year? Indeed! And the title of the song? "Fly on the wings of love". Fly… as in FLYING TIGER! Just stating the facts. That is all.

Back to the storefront in Rotterdam. On the shop's website, the company does admit to be linked to Denmark. But the information divulging its origins is well hidden away. Just a first clue to how deep this deception goes!

It is inside the shop though, where we find the unacceptable levels of favouritism.

It all starts innocent enough, with this little trinket.

Why would a quirky pencil sharpener be a controversial item, you ask? Well, arguably, it could be said that most countries taking part this year are more or less clearly indicated on the globe. HOWEVER, the more savvy Eurovision fan surely recognises this as a very obvious nod towards the Montenegrin song: After all, once I bought it, it IS mine! My world. Moj Svijet exactly.

"The Pirates aren't even taking part this year!" I hear a cocky eurofan smirk under his breath. Immediately he exposes himself as a very unknowledgeable fan. Yes, the packaging clearly states this item to be a Pirate Beard, but also staring us, quite aggressively so, right in the face is A MOUSTACHE!  

After that, they don't even seem to pretend to be impartial, because all over the shop floor we find merchandise blatantly supporting this year's French entry. 

Does TwinTwin even get a percentage of these sales? We should ask them at the next press conference. If they deny any knowledge of this, we can regard that as more proof.

The French aren't the only ones being cheated out of some merchandising revenue. It seems that the Israeli song has also been used as inspiration for yet another line of products. "One heart not enough? Well, here are a few more!" Notice how they are all the SAME.

It's unbelievable how they got away with it. They're not even the same shape as the ubiquitous Eurovision heart! The company managing the rights to that logo is just another party in this scandal that will not be amused.

It's remarkable how creative the perpetrators have been. Here you see some head lights. Innocent though it may seem, one only needs to see the product in action to understand that this is nothing less than trying to appease the Russians, by selling this SHINING tool.

And don't even get us started about the Swiss. They have been generously showered by the Danes this year. All over the shop you see song-related stuff propping up. It would be requiring too much bandwidth to show all infringements concerning the favouritism towards this entry. 

They may as well had changed the name of the shop to Flying Hunter of Stars!

In some cases they didn't know what song to favour first, so they decided upon some cunning combos.

If you love both the Israeli AND the Latvian entry, this is the item to buy: A cake spatula in the form of a heart! You can buy two if you need them to be the same.

The list goes on. And on and on. 

If you are near one of these stores, you can go and look for yourself!

It's as clear as the light of day, that such levels of favouritism by the host nation cannot go without consequences. To ensure the absolute fairness of the competition we are calling upon EBU to instate a moratorium on all products that are based on this year's songs.

Luckily there are some things that can't be influenced by voluntary partialism.

We need the competition to be as unpartial as the draw.

Therefore it is of utmost importance that we, the free eurofan press, keep reporting on these excesses. 

Pasha will agree. Though next time, he may need to do some proof-reading before sending his poster to the printer.