Day 8 | Second Rehearsals | Auto-finalists | 🇮🇹 🇩🇪 🇳🇱

Good morning from the Irish extension of the press centre! Sild and myself will bring you live reports of the last day of technical rehearsals, while Jordy is back in the arena taking videos. He's allowed to post a combined total of 2 minutes - if you have any special request, please put them on our message board! (personally I'm hoping for a Blas howling compilation)

🇳🇱 | Netherlands, No Definite Article

Starts off with Jeangu doing his sexy moves and surrounded by two backing singers and it's just fine, and then when he sings the title a red dancer appears very close to the camera quite awkwardly - at first I wasn't sure if they were meant to be there or is just a stage invader / photobomber. Rather confusing.

The dancer in red seems to be still there after a while and even interacts with the rest of the team, so I guess it's intended. I'm sure it means something very deep and important, but I'm not quite sure it's working. 

Vocally I cannot fault Jeangu - he's flawless at every runthrough and sounds very pleasant too. And he's quite charismatic too. If anything's going to save this rather messy staging, it's him.

Third runthrough and I'm enjoying it more, possibly because I knew what to expect. Over to Sild for the next three finalists.

🇩🇪 | Germany

If you take the LED background of La Venda and replace Miki with Plastic Bertrand, this should give you a clear idea of what to expect. It's obvious that Jendrik isn't a professional singer, struggling to keep up with his own song and becoming out of breath, but I guess none of this would matter for the target audience of this. He does have charisma and enjoys it, which is perhaps more important here.

Oh, and it seems he gave up on Dutch and speaks German again. I think.

Despite his best effort, I don't feel hate towards this. I just feel "aww, overexcited non-singer gets to be on a Eurovision stage! How lovely for him! As long as there's just one of these..."

Also, I can confirm that all colours on my rather old TV work. Good to know.

🇮🇹 | Italy

After so many favourites sabotaged by SJB, it's nice to see a performance that's just, well - a performance, focusing on the band's skills that we already know they have. There's a good play of lights (black and white at first, then turning to a red theme during the "parla.." bit, and near the end changing to blue and red again) and silhouettes on the background, but mostly the focus is on the band, as it should be.

Third runthrough and first goosebumps moment for me this year with the pyro. At first it's a curtain and then it's EVERYWHERE... OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG SOOOOO GOOOOD OMG OMG

But anyway, yeah, this should do as well as this song can, whatever that means.

Second rehearsal: Russia to Georgia

Georgia

Small improvements on the camera angles, but they still look like it's their first time on TV. Think of this, only with a better song and better vocals:




Australia

The dress is still here. Still too many camera switches (at some part of the song, every time the drum beats), and some ouch notes there. I still really like it, but their best hope is that juries are as forgiving to Australian vocals as they were last year.


The Netherlands

I still don't like the song, the routine, or anything made of leopard, but here's a few things it has going for it:

1. Waylon's voice
2. Waylon's eyes
3. The six packs on some of the dancers

Moldova

Didn't improve, because it didn't need to. People loved it.

Russia

Watching this in the arena, in which the acoustics made everything sound good so far, but not this. More focus on the three backing singers this time, and there's an on-screen exploding snow effect during the first chorus. Three people applauded. Julia is rolled out with her volcano as the Moldovan prop rolls in.


I won't wake

Last night did not go well. Food ordered at 20:30 and arrived at 22:00, bill took another hour. This country has a pace of its own. Then I got an urgent message from the Belgian press that I left a mouse and a sock at the press centre. Oops.

First rehearsal: Netherlands and Australia

End of day

Semi 2 is feeling fun and entertaining, comparing to the 'heavy' Semi 1. And a good word about the Portuguese police at the arena gates, they handled the scanner malfunction well this morning and have always been nice and smiley, which isn't a given.

Australia

Pre-opinion: I've never had a problem with their inclusion, but haven't warmed up to their entries. Until now. This lifts me up in all the right ways. There are some questions about Jessica's lower notes, but if they overcome this it could be a contender.

First run-through: It's her in a glittery purple short dress with a side trail, standing in front of a structure made of symmetrical LED lines, that are pink/turquoise most of the song but turn red during the climax. Doesn't sound good at the start (but this may be sound issues). Backing singers are not visible sadly, but Jessica's personality carries it well.

Second run: Sounds better now. A short pyro shoot from behind after the drummy bit. This aims at looking great with the audience in. The camera shots keep switching too often for me, but despite the cold reaction in here I'm not willing to rule it out yet.

Last runthrough with some more pyro around the outside of the ring. This is fine, if a bit underwhelming.


The Netherlands

Pre-opinion: I was a huge fan of CATS, even before the staging allegedly lift it from nothing to something. Can't say I feel the same about this one. Not ruling it out from qualification, but it's very lucky to be in this semi.

First run: A family of leopards were murdered for this. He's on a simplistic platform with lights on the sides, Waylon 'doing his thing' on top of it, busy dancers doing all the moves around him.

Second run: Waylon sounds fine (but that was never going to be an issue). One of the dancers-pretending-to-be-guitarists is particularly eager with his breakdancing while still wearing a guitar. Not exactly buying me over, but Waylon is as great eyeing the cameras as he was four years ago.

Day 3 of first rehearsals - Netherlands and Australia

Australia

Australia is in my top 5 for this year, so my expectations were high. Jessica performed it well, with good presence, in a short glittery asymmetric purple dress with gold details and a tail on the side. This will do well, but I'm not as impressed as I would have liked to be, not sure why.

After the second and third run, I have figured out what is missing in this for me. I don't like her dancing. It's a bit too messy. Some adjustments there would help, if you ask me!

Netherlands

So far we've just gotten a glimpse of the run through, without sound. But we have this pattern, in gold and black, going on, on Waylon's jacket:

He and his band are standing on platforms, with constantly blinking yellow lights. Two dancers are with them on the side, they're going crazy, with almost robotic movements.

However, robots don't have six-packs like that...

[LIVE] Semi 2 : Dress Rehearsal 1 - live reporting

That's it for this rehearsal, people!
Was really fun to see how everything clicked together.

Me signing off!!

OUTRO
The 10 winning songs are being shown once more.

GOING THROUGH
-Israel
-Serbia
-Bulgaria
-Belarus
-Malta
-Ireland
-Austria
-Croatia
-Romania
and finally...
-Switzerland!

FAKE QUALIFIERS
Volodymyr announces Jon Ola Sand as the Mr. Miyagi of Eurovision. Does that also mean he can catch flies with his chopsticks? Before Eurovision once again turns into a cut-throat business, Volodymyr reminds the performers how amaaayzing they are and how great it is that they were allowed to perform in Kyiv.

INTERVAL ACT
The interval act is something dance-y. It's all very interpretative but looks slick because everyone is wearing black clothes with some red ribbon accent. In background of the predominantly percussion backtrack you can hear female voices singing Tatar-style melodic lines. Ukrainian horns warn us of Ruslana's arrival, but luckily for us, for the time being, she's not showing. Then it all ends.
Before we are officially introduced to the leftover finalists for next saturday, Timur gets to chat to Belarus.

VOTING COUNTDOWN
'They say time flies when you're having fun' Time was very slow today, I felt. Maybe there's a button to speed up time in a special app. The Eurovision App isn't the one though. After the countdown, they're talking to Macedonia.

VOTING REPRISE 2
Just before the second reprise Poland is being interviewed. Nothing earth shattering happening here...

VERKA II - The Rise
We now see Verka and mom live the independence of Ukraine, Dana International and eventually her taking part in Eurovision. Again, some of the years mentioned in the captions don't add up, but don't let that spoil your fun watching this.

VOTING REPRISE
Oleksandr and Volodymyr are bantering away as their life never depended on it. In any way the reprise soon follows.

HOST COUNTRY: UKRAINE
O.Torvald are bringing their show with gusto. They really enjoy performing out there. A bit screamy here and there, but I'm glad this type of song is in this year's final.

BIG FIVE: GERMANY
Same story for Germany in the camerawork department. But at least it starts really interesting enough. Sadly it quickly descends into dullness. Although I really like the stark architectural backdrop they've gone for, I feel a splash of ONE extra colour could've lifted it a bit. In this run there was new pyro too.

BIG FIVE: FRANCE
Alma is a bit breathy in the English bits during the first chorus. I feel that the camerawork could've been much tighter on Alma. The graphics are impressive in themselves, but do nothing to emphasize or help how amazing the song is. Instead it's almost off-staging the French entry.

ISRAEL
Imri's big hurdle throughout all of his rehearsals has been getting the vocals right. In this rehearsal he's much more in key. Occassionally 'just' getting away with sloppy singing. But dancing and singing at the same time is a challenge after all. If he repeats this in 6 hours, he'll be qualifying with ease.

ESTONIA-AH-A
What can I say, I love the 80s throwback. Koit seems to have finally mastered his cues and the entire thing is, to paraphrase mister Sofabet, a Telenovella fest. And they'll all repeat it on Saturday.

LITHUANIA
Victorija is wearing very long razorsharp white fingernails. If she would have a blackboard she could torture us all by scratching those of it. Instead she's singing her song. She sings it well though, and it's well performed. Well, as in, fully committed to annoy us for three minutes.

BULGARIA
I wish Kristian would stop hiding his mouth behind his microphone. Just keep it a tad lower. Still not sure of the line graphics that appear on-screen. I don't feel they add much. The more I hear the Bulgarian song, the more I feel it's a dull dirge. But he's quite good, being such a young singer.

BELARUS
The sound mix is off here once more. The male voice sounds much clearer. Kseniya is also a bit more shaky on the vocals. I would so love this to qualify, but they will need keep everything much tighter.

BREAK
Timur again singing his prepared script.

SWITZERLAND
That yellow... thing. Someone get me a bucket of anthracite gray paint now. Vocally she's fine, though in the high notes she clearly lacks power. Or confidence. I like this song in fact, but the dress isn't helping her. After the bridge, she tries channel Mariah, but sadly only Isaiah shows up. Luckily only us press center fanalists are the one subjected to it. Gosh. Not sure about this one.

NORWAY
Joust and his song 'Grab The Moment' is of course the streetcred that Eurovision has been craving ever since the mid 70s. However after Croatia it just seems a bit too mellow. The boys themselves are doing it fine, but I feel myself getting annoyed by the long fast sweeping cameracrane shots. Also not helping Norway's chances is the mumbling during the bridge. At this point in the show, it comes across as filler.

CROATIA
If San Marino was the appetizer in the car crash department, then Croatia is a full-on three course meal. But I adore it. Hope it qualifies, because I feel saturday night needs this. To be honest, I don't think Croatia's camerawork has improved since the last rehearsals. Still Jacques pulls it off. What 'it' is exactly, still remains to be determined.

SAN MARINO
They are very good! 'Nuff said.

IRELAND
Brendan is not doing well vocally. He sprinkles his performance with singing 'just' under the melody. The backing vocals are also all over the place. He was MUCH MUCH MUCH better during last rehearsal session. At least he's a way better body language performer than some of his age cohorts in this competition. It felt as something was wrong in the sound mix.

DENMARK
The backing vocals open the song a capella and the vocal balance is not there. The female voices in there just sound too shrill. Anja is moving professionally on stage, selling the song well. A bit slippery on some of the end-notes, but she's a great singer anyway. Songwise it's such a shame, just because she is so great. Pyro-curtain to end off the song.

HUNGARY
Joci Papai still looks a bit 'Blanche-y' when he starts his song. But I feel that he, just like Blanche, seems to have found his comfort zone on stage. And at the latest by the rap bit he's actually winning me over with his performance. Happy for him, but not feeling the song. But that's only me.

BREAK
Gosh. Timur's English is horrible. As he rambles off his Eurovision facts, he sings his phrases in a totally artificial manner. Luckily his bits are being kept to a minimum.

NETHERLANDS
Talking about vocal powerhousing. Although one of the sisters starts a bit early. The trio seem a bit more nervous than they have been throughout rehearsal week. And it's a bit audible in the voices. By the bridge they've all composed themselves and are vocally back on track. I seem to have noticed a few faintly flat notes. But nothing to be worried about.

ROMANIA
Finally! It's Romania. And nothing too soon. Not really fond of Alex's sleeveless jacket. Nor am I wild about the child letters that spell 'Y - o - d - e - l - i - t' on the big screen. It's harmless, unpretentious fun until the bridge, where they show that vocally they mean business. This is sailing through.

MALTA
We got the wrong credits. Those of Romania.
Claudia still has her breasts projected on the gigantic videowall behind her. This is Slovenia 2017 territory. Competent, yet somehow sleep inducing.

MACEDONIA
Macedonia's postcard has a bit 'NOT FOR AIR' message slapped over it, meaning this isn't the definitive version for the show tomorrow.
Backings aren't pitch perfect, but to the untrained ear they'll sound okay. I think Jana is doing well in this rehearsal. The entire package isn't in the top tier though.

AUSTRIA
Nathan is his impish self throughout the entire performance. I feel that he'll go full on energizer bunny once the arena is filled with a responsive audience. For now the rehearsal is almost faultless. A bit slidey on the wailing, but apart from that smiles all round.

SERBIA
Tijana starts and the sound mix in the press centre is off. The music sounds way too harsh. She looks great this rehearsal. I wonder if the hair will stay the same. Vocally on the cusp of being shouty, but still powerful enough. Ok, now she does cross that line into shouty territory. She ends her song with overemphasizing the last 'p' in deep.

INTRO
The host boys are on stage now. Oleksandr takes the word. And again the guys try to be funny. They'll get it right by tomorrow evening. Also, they're still heavily relying on their cue cards.

Next they 'freestyle' with some musical instruments. Oleksandr is quite good with his flute. Volodymyr likes to handle an accordeon.

Hahaha! They're Ukrainifying some of Eurovision's best known hits. :-)
Awww... a glitch in the sound tape and they have to restart. Volodymyr calls out for his accordeon. Henrik keeps his cool as always. They restart.

Oleksandr's flute is called sopilka. Whatever you say Oleksandr. But keep playing it please.
So, the Eurovision hits... first Euphoria, which is actually quite nice and epic in traditional music style. Next up is Fairytale, which already sounded quite folksy. So not too much of a stretch there. Third hit is 'My Number One'. Think the male choir in 'Moja Stikla'. That kind of singing.
Wow. Even 'Rise like a Phoenix' gets a treatment. It's nothing short of impressive! I like!

As this is the first dress rehearsal, they get to do this intro act a second time. As the production team sets everything up for the second go, Oleksander occupies himself with the logistics of swapping his musical instrument with the cue cards. Quite ingeniously he suggests that one of the Ukrainian grannies has them stuffed in their skirt. It sounds more ridiculous than it is, really.

During the second go, 'Rise like a Phoenix' gets pyro during the final.
A few more hiccups in the transitions - The choir has to leave the stage immediately. But that's what rehearsals are for. Did you know that you can vote using the Eurovision App? It's like a Eurovision party.

16:05
The show starts with traditional dressed young Ukrainian ladies similar to Semi 1. I 'think' they're different but I can't be sure.

16:02
Still waiting. What did I rush for?

15:57
Right. So a bit later than usual.
I'm by myself this afternoon, so it won't be a verbatim report. Only the stuff worth mentioning.
Think performance, camerawork and the likes. For a description of the postcards, well, you'll have to wait for a bit more than a day.

Day 7 - 2nd Run Through : NED / HUN / DEN / IRL / SMR

SAN MARINO

While Jummie is wearing pretty much the same as in the first rehearsal, however he is wearing a black t-shirt instead of the sleeveless v-neck. We do not approve. Someone needs to have stern words with the delegation. Valentina now has white stripes down the sleeves of her jacket and her pants are now black at the front, white at the back. For the rest, the two are vocally compatible and the backing singers do not overtake the show as we've seen in some other entries. Looking forward to the next rounds.

2nd Run - Oh! And the handbag is gone. Valentina seems to be a hoot to go out clubbing with. Might even be worth befriending her. Does she still live in London or has she moved again? But back to the contest - much colour, very spirit, wow - no hashtag. I would love to give this a spot on Saturday but do I really believe it or is it just wishful thinking?

3rd Run - And since there is no fog, or pyro, there is not much more to comment on the song. We will just have to wait and see if Europe will be feeling this duo's spirit on the night.


IRELAND

Brendan is wearing pretty much the same however the shirt is now unbuttoned and he has a white t-shirt underneath to stop his belly showing. Other than that it seems there were not any major changes made to the package being shown. Few colour changes of lighting but that's all we could notice. Coming after Anja however, unfortunately this entry seems a bit amateur. Brendan does his best but he's not the strongest singer here by any means. And we're still waiting to see that damned balloon fly somewhere. Why have such a prop if it's not going to do anything. At least the giant head has lazers and scary yellow-glowing lights coming out of those eye sockets!

2nd Run - Well, I don't see it personally but I've been suggested that apparently the balloon looks like it's actually moving since the wind machine is pretty strong. I'm not totally convinced but thankfully there is another go to help me make my mind up.

3rd Run - I don't see it. But the fog works nicely. I however don't think we need to worry about which half of the final Ireland will be singing in.


DENMARK

After that disaster she wore on Tuesday, it seems Anja went back to the frock she wore in Dansk MGP. Camera work needs a bit of improvement, quite a few funky shots and also we get to see the steady-cam people filming her ... that is not supposed to be the case - ever. Vocally this girl can give it though. We heard her warming up earlier and now she is belting the song out perfectly. There are also rumors at the table that this could be the semi winner. I probably wouldn't go that far but I'm sure she'll feature in the top 5.

2nd Run -  Another good run. At least this time we didn't see the steady-cam people. Confident and composed.

3rd Run -  Pyro curtains are the accessory of choice in Denmark it seems! Although the stage is already mainly just golden hues (sometimes purple) the effect adds a little bit but it's not as breathtaking as we've seen in other entries. Still, doubt we'll not be seeing her on Saturday.


HUNGARY

Joci's shirt has change from a simple black t-shirt in the first rehearsal to a blue shirt with golden embroidery. The dancer is wearing the same while the violinist is now fully clad in black. Joci is performing adequately vocally but there is just something missing about this whole package. The dancer looks scared (maybe she's supposed to be but we don't know) and there is no real chemistry between the two. The violinist (Emese) is just on Stage B minding her own business, getting involved when she needs to. I wouldn't want to have lots of money on this reaching the final.

2nd Run -  Still not sure why the milk jug is on a stand. It could have simply been handed to him or left on the floor. Another decent rendition but not giving me any palpitations and I doubt it will give much to Europe either.

3rd Run - There is pyro in the instrumental and have to admit it works well - but since when has pyro ever failed us? Joci and Alexandra (aka Mulan - thanks to Bálint for the comment below) dance around in the fiery circle which has been created until this turns down and we go to the rap section.


NETHERLANDS

No costume change for OG3NE. Vocally amazing, these girls can really sing even at silly o'clock am. The camera work is spot on! The girls look extremely confident and are just beautiful in their simplicity. The backdrop accompanies the mood and melody and has some lyrics shown - choosing carefully which ones in order to make the best effect to the audience and viewers at home (even though these are not always seen on camera). Even though I am usually considered emotionless, heartless, a soul as black as the depths of the ocean (to name but a few) this song is actually the first time this year that I've been nearly brought me to tears. Qualifying.

2nd Run - Camera was not as good as it was in the first round but still the vocals are amazing! Unfortunately however the camera is what makes the package work as well as it does. Still qualifying but the Dutch need to make sure that their time in the viewing room is spent well.

3rd Run - *shiver* that is all.


EARLY MORNING REALNESS

What? No Uberdrama? No updates blocking my laptop for 45 minutes? Actually arriving at 09:32 instead of 09:56? There are strange mystical forces at work and I am not liking it one bit - this is going too well.

Day 3 - ROM-NED-HUN

HUNGARY

We have an glittery vase on stage, which is one of those instruments very popular in Eurovision in the mid 1990s.

Violinist on the satellite stage, dancer on stage with Joci. He's looking ever so slightly terrified during the performance, but is also smiley once it's done, so maybe he is just feeling the lyrics. Could do with softening up though

This is basically the performance we've seen before. I think the vase/instrument just gets in the way as it is used so little, it's just a distraction. Some pyro surrounding him and the girl when they do their little dance. Doves on backdrop.

Maybe I need more coffee, I'm struggling to keep an interest in this one, and it's a song I really like.


NETHERLANDS

CRY NO MORE it says insistently from the LED wall.

Vocally strong (no surprise), rather well dressed (surprise), some subtle backdrop references to sick mother (holding hands etc). Some minor choreography, turn left, turn right, a mini-strut to the front.

Some more literal stuff here (sing about candles, fill the LED floor with candles - sing angel, fill LED floor with an angel), but it works.  Some of the moves seem a bit forced, but overall a very good impression.

Lovely last shot zooming into the trio, unlike the dodgy long shots we have seen at the end of some other performances.


ROMANIA

Gosh.

They know they have a silly song and they are flaunting that silliness completely. Lots of colour, the song title splashed across the LED wall, lots of colour.

And the most literal interpretation of a glitter cannon you will ever see.

Alex rides his cannon in a manner that garnered applause from the press boys.

Ouch, final run through and Alex thrust his cannon too forcefully rendering it un-mountable. He ended flat on his back, visibly shaken by the large prop.

Semi 1 surprises - what did the bloggers miss?

I'm not in Stockholm this year, so, like you, I'm relying on rehearsal videos and the descriptions of bloggers watching rehearsals in the press centre to get an impression of what's going to do well. And as you'll have seen, I only got seven qualifiers right out of ten last night. So what went wrong? Who can I blame other than myself?

Croatia
A key example of an artist turning it on for the night. Where did all Nina Kraljić's personality come from? She found cameras, she smiled, she was warm - it was almost enough to make you forget the dress! And she sang really well! An obvious qualifier seeing it on TV last night.

Photo credit: Andres Putting (EBU)

Netherlands
That silence. We were told by several bloggers that the Netherlands had put in a short silence in order to encourage a crowd singalong. That never happens, and it seems it was never the intention. Perhaps an example of the groupthink that can sometimes afflict a hermertically sealed-in press centre, and something I've certainly been guilty of in the past.

I was expecting Netherlands to be great, based on reports, and found it only okay. Throughout, Douwe Bob seemed to be struggling to keep his eyes open, and I didn't feel a real connection from him. And I suspect the silence was meant to lend authenticity - in a 'real' country gig, it wouldn't be uncommon to have a period of quiet like that, to bring up a swell of noise and applause from the audience, which would grow and grow to make a massive reaction. The gap in 'Slow Down' was too short for that to work, but just long enough to be awkward.

Russia
Nowhere near as impressive as we'd been led to believe, I felt. The first minute to so is underwhelming, you can see the shadows of both Sergey and his dancers separate from the projections, and then for the second verse and chorus, we lose Sergey's face; as the camera zooms out to show the impressiveness of the technology, we get no close-ups of what is a very warm and charismatic performer. Why get someone in like Sergey, with that beautiful face, and fail to show it? The last 20 seconds, where he could stand on the top, be natural, stop concentrating on stepping and show his face, were easily the best of the whole song.

Azerbaijan
It seems everyone in the press centre focused on Samra's bad vocals to the omission of everything else, including how the Azeris had come up with some of the best uses of the screens of any act. 'Miracle' didn't sound great (though nowhere near as bad as we might have expected), but it looked fantastic!

Iceland
Okay, I have no bones to pick with the bloggers about this. It looked great, it sounded great - the projections looked much more impressive than for Russia, Greta Salome showed personality - I thought this was a nailed on qualifier and potential Top 5 contender. But then Måns said the word 'Malta' instead :(

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.

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.

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.)

SEMI FINAL ONE : FIRST DRESS REHEARSAL

Conchita montage of her win from Copenhagen opens the show. The back of the stage opens up to reveal an orchestra - AN ORCHESTRA! AT EUROVISION! First time in years (I can't remember myself when the last time was but sure one of you will). The lights from the ceiling also dance and flutter like the flags and light bubbles of the logo.
Conchita emerges dressed in white singing Rise Like a Phoenix. The lights behind her flutter still but they also have a sort of wing effect. Conchita is helped down by a hot guy dressed in a tux. She then goes into the arena surrounded by dancers in sparkly evening wear. Being lead back up a flight of stairs to the second stage, Conchita continues singing and then welcomes us to the "Eurovision Song Contest 2015, live from Vienna", "Contestants, the stage is yours" follows. She then welcomes all the delegations in a parade as has been the case in recent years.

Trijntje appears to have chosen the second outfit - best choice.

Sound has cut out in the press room after Estonia has been announced so we have no clue but we can see that Russia is currently being welcomed. Denmark follow suit. Romania and Georgia have been announced and now all contestants are making their way slowly but surely to the stage from the green room which one again is part of the arena.

Still no ound but there appears to be a musical number since there are dancers going about. Conchita is also involved in this number.

The sound is just back when the musical number has finished. In the meantime, Valentina Monetta is lurching around the press room. Edward af Sillen and Sanna Nielsen were also here, sitting in front of us needing help for the priter. To the rescue, non other than Daniel Lynch of ESC Bubble.

The presenters are welcomed by Conchita but there is already a technical issue - to which "well, it's a rehearsal!". They cannot find their standing spot since there is no standing spot to find.

"Conchita has made herself comfortable in the green room with the contestnats". We are then informed of how to vote, not that I think it is a surprise for anyone any more - but hey ho, maybe for the Czechs, who are not even in this semi. You can vote up to 20 times for any of the countries apart from your own. SKANDAL!

MOLDOVA
Driving around in an open top car in Moldova, we have a engine wrench in the box. To which we pan up and we are in the Austrian countryside, using the wrench to start the gear of a tractor. Eduard helps the peasant farmers and they all celebrate with VIN!

Hashtags seem to make an appearance this year "01 MOLDOVA #MDA". There will be trendings this year.

Eduard is there dancing his solid beehind off - as are his dancers, all of them. Much rippage going on still, they have a big budget! Camera working well, but that is the luck of this song, you dont need much to make it work. Was typing so missed if the flippy bit worked or not. Eduard "tackles" the male policemen and wins - obvi!

ARMENIA #ARM
The package is left in front of a house which Essai was just happening to visit with all the group. Inside, coins and cards from a fun park. They enjoy the rides and take pics. Something tell me Eduard got unlucky.

Camerawork slightly changed for the better. Still awaiting the circle-moment. All sing well. I am biased, I love this so ... there. Ooh, somethin happened with the camera, like someone bumped into him.

The circle camerawork has been changed, they still can't form a circle though - unhappy face :(

BELGIUM #BEL
Brussels atomium, driving in a scooter around the city. Loïc receives something he is to young to know about - a cassette. He then is in some dance studio for some reason. He joins the group and they go to the streets of Vienna (or somewhere else in Austria) and do a street show.

Just like in the music video, this is working like clockwork. He might be young but he is very professional in his singing and his dancing. Camerawork is quite simple but effective. And it has rapapap. Still personally usure about the whole grabbing his mouth thing but oh well, I am not aid to understand these things. Big applause in the press room.

THE NETHERLANDS #NED
Scenery from Amsterdam, Trijnthe opens her post and finds an old compass like that from The Golden Compass movie. She then takes a hot air balloon ride over Austrian scenery.

In true Dutch 'f you all' style, my previous thought of her using an outfit from the other rehearsals was wrong. She is gone for outfit number 127 it seems. This is getting silly now. Then again, the more we talk about dressgate, the more publicity she gets, the more publicity she gets, the more people hear of her. You can never trust the sneaky Dutchies!

Some cloth is on the floor - maybe it's part of one of her previous outfits. It's over.

FINLAND #FIN
Pelle Miljoona (thanks anonymous comment who quoted my original comment *like*), which to me looks like he could have done with a wash, gives the pack to one of the guys at the door of his apartment block in Finalnd.. They then go on a tram ride through Vienna. They blow kisses to girls in the tram and to the tram driver. Everyone smiles and is happy building bridges.

Well, it's Finland, it's short. That's the best thing about it. He doesn't slam the mic on the phone, the fattest one walks off stage immediately.

BREAK
Since it's so short, we take this opportunity to speak to Arabella and Mirjam. They give a shout out to Australia (to which an applause in the press is given by one single person - we really do not care any more about Australia) and then some other discussion which we didn't follow.

Conchita interviews a delegation, Belgium is selected. She calls Loïc "darling" and is loving is. She is actually lovely. "There´s just water on the table, what´s going on?!" ponders the lady. We agree!

Alice then is on screen to continue the show. We go to...

GREECE #GRE
Maria-Elena is taken to a school in Austria where she colours and plays with the children. Germs aplenty! Thankfully she had her injections before she went ... we hope. Well, she didn't seem like she was riddled during rehearsals.

Greece is just one of those counties, you can pretend you really cannot be arsed with their drama any more, but you find yourself always talking about them. Great staging and lighting. The white piano on stage sometimes looks a bit funny since you can't see the guy playing it in all shots.

ESTONIA #EST
SKANDAL! Stig and Elina spent the night together - well, how else do you explain Elina opening the door and Stig coming to check what arrived. They then go to Austria and scateboard in the forest. As you do.

IT WORKS! IT WORKS! At least for now, no mistakes with the shadow and the effect is AMAYZING!

Typed to soon obviously, oh well, seems they don't show the angle much so not as obvious as it was - Elina gives Stig the eye for most of the song. But then again, with her eyes, who wouldn't want them focused on them?

FYR MACEDONIA #MKD
The package has an address of Macedonia. #pissedoffgreeks. They go skiing.

Not much changed from the rehearsal. Let's keep this politically correct. They did the best they could in the time they had and with the equipment that they had. Make out of that what you wish.

SERBIA #SRB
Bojana goes to dye some cloth in traditional Austrian fashion. She then wears what she made. And is happy. Not like the person she did not pay.

They stuck with the coloured flags, which to me personally, don't think fit in the beginning of the song. Love it or hate it, she knows how to belt out this song. It seems, for the time being, that maybe more 'press' than 'fanpress' is here since not so much screaming and clapping as during rehearsals. In fact, it's quiet after the end of the performance.

HUNGARY #HUN
Boogie is putting out fires in Austria. 

She is not liked in the press/fan voting but the song works. I don't like it either but I have to admit it works. She will do well. She thanks us in English and in Hungarian. This may not be the same in the live show obviously.

BELARUS #BLR
Apologies, too many people asking too many things so this missed me completely. I only managed to catch the last few seconds which did not really let me understand the gist.

Maimuna has found the good balance between too moody and too smiley which she seemsed to have problems with in the rehearsals. The two play around on stage and Uzari uses his shots to get his charm accross. The backdrop is stll a bit of a mix. We are to believe they are dancing on the clouds but there are no clouds beneath them, only on the back.

RUSSIA #RUS
Polina, where would we take Polina if it were not a huge place full of crystals. She admires the sparkly stones.

Nothing I can write will make any news. She knows she has this semi final in the bag. Unless something really bad happens tonight and tomorrow night, there won't be many open mouths when she walks on to the stage as part of the ten. Gets a large round of applause from the room. She also looks emotional.

BREAK
Conchita thanks Polina and continues by interviewing Stig and Elina from Estonia. Later "Hello GORGEOUS!" "You look fabulous darling!" she tells Bojana. Fabulous is a word used a lot here.

Arabella and Alice are now on stage to remind us the voting will be open soon. We can also download the official app from the app store, or we can use social media platform to discuss with others using the official #eurovision.

DENMARK #DEN
The danes get a hat. And they go sleding. They have a race down an old village lane.

The audio had gone quite low but it seems that was due to the room and not actual audio issue. 

The boys are quite well oiled. Nothing bad happening, nothing I would say they deserve huge praise for, but its harmless enough.

ALBANIA #ALB
Elhaida receives a key. A key to a huge Austrian snow plough. Thanks to her handywork, a single skier can go down the piste. Something smells like ORF have got some free labour from some of these artists.  If it was real anyway ... which it is not just in case it was a question.

Some camera crew was filming a bit before Elhaida started which made the shot look weird until you realised what was going on.

Not sure if Elhaida is saving her voice but she has sung this much better in rehearsals. Could it be a bad year for Albania?

ROMANIA #ROM
Horseriding is the activity for the members of Voltaj. They got the trophy! Will this be a sign?

Călin was out last night at the Euroclub as were many others. He is a really nice guy and has time for everyone, regardless of how pointless your chats to him are. Unfortunately though, I still don't see this working for them. It's in Romanian (for part), it's got sad movie shots of children, and it's late on when people will not be listening much (if they were in the beginning) to the commentry. The little kid is there, smiling and waving to the camra after the performance.

GEORGIA #GEO
Nina got fabric. Not black which she probably is not happy about but still, when in Austria she gets something more appropriate to her taste from the shop.

Starting well but we soon realise something is a bit off. The backing singers are a bit too high in this run. Also, Nina seems to have made a couple of mistakes in pitch. What is happening? She was a dead cert until just now. No don't worry - she is saving herself we are sure. You don't force your horse to run for miles to train for a race they need to win later on today. She knows when she is needed - and this is not it. 

BREAK
And there we ave it. It's done. Conchita back on stage asking the empty green room how they feel! She is funny. Don't let Conchita down, "support your favourite".

Arrabella, Mirjam and Alice are on stage to bridge until the recaps.
Recaps go through and the artists are shown at points just before their section will end.

After the recap the three presenters are bck on stage and start talking about pets and animal. Arabella starts talking to a horse who goes through the streets and find Alice who has a cat which then also goes through Vienna to find Mirjam whose dog is next in line. Various scenes of these animals going around town, kitty also jumping into a Eurotaxi and paying the €10 fee is seen. The dog goes to smell the butt of another dog.

This is actually quite funny, if it wasn't so long.

Arabella and Mirjam on stage mention the official DVD and CD. So there will be a DVD release.

Recap number two ensues.

Arabella back and quickly followed by Conchita to ask for votes.

Alice is next to speak, in French but was looking at the wrong camera. She starts again.
Herself and Mirjam then proceed to the countdown to stop the voting.

History Lesson & Talks to Artists
The contest we are told, was always going to have to return to Austira sooner or later. This is because Austria is known for music and hospitality. We then go on a tour of Eurovisions past and great Austrians. The audio in room is not great since lots of people are having loud conversations so cannot understand what is being said all the time. Elżbieta of Elaiza fame should be arriving in Vienna (if not the group itself) where she will be interviewed by Arabella. Mirjam then interviews a member of Genealogy. Mentioning Mary-Jane being the Australian member from the group, this gives the cue to talk about Australia in Eurovision. Really, you'd think we had no other thing to talk about apart from Down Under.

Eduard is next to be speaking to Arabella. How did e accomplish so much at such a young age. Mirjam then has Maria-Elena and Polina next to her. She asks her question but the stand in didn't hear it. Mirjam says "it doesn't really matter, no one is listening anyway!" we love her now.

Uzari and Maimuna are up next with Arabella. How many has that been now? Are we going to talk to all of them? Has there been internal skandals which we were not made aware of? Has everyone been talked to at least once throughout the night?

Recap of Finalists
Austria, United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Germany - FROM REHEARSAL! All others was the music video, France, Australia.

Alice goes to talk to Jan Ola and calls him a Math Magician. She has to repeat that part since it went wrong the first time. And yes, we have combined the televoting and jury votes and we have the winners.

Arabella and Mirjam are to announce the finalists. In random order.

"The first finalist is..." ... long wait, unsue of what to do, look at podium. Arabella waves at the audience. We laugh.

Arabella and Mirjam go into some German talk. We go on. The board is sponsored by Microsoft. Nice big logo at the bottom right.

We wait again to find out who is going through,. Finally find out.

01. Russia
02. Romania
03.

We go back to German. That was it, those are the qualifiers! :D
Arabella and Mirjam are good though, they just start clapping to the audience and go into an impromtu standup. Asking where people are from.

03. The Netherlands. Mirjam says "gefeliciteerd, goed gedaan!"
04. Moldova
05. Greece
06. Finland
07. Armenia
08. Albania
09. Belgium "felicitacions!"
10. FYR Macedonia - but this was announced without the FYR in front. Again #pissedoffgreeks

The recap is in order of appearance not announcement. This could be changed though for the real night.

Recap over, all four presenters are on stage with the artists in the background. One thing left to say "Good Morning Australia, and have a good night Europe".

SHOW OVER.

Only 10 minutes away from the first rehearsal of Semi 1

Time is like thunder, and it flies by so quickly. Doesn't seem like yesterday we were here admiring the press centre for the first time, and look at us now, already a week has gone by, EuroClub has opened, parties have already happened and also, there was some red carpet thing.

But the time we've all been waiting for is near, we get to see the opening of the show, the postcards and what have the delegations done since the second rehearsal - and was it a right choice.

Stay tuned for more ... in 10... 9...

Recap of Breakfast: Semi 1 run 2 day 5.

MOLDOVA
Music seem to have caught everyone off guard and at some point Eduard stops singing. He then mentions "I can't hear". This surely shouldn't count. Jump could do with better angle. it seems he should be breaking the floor when he lands, but it didn't quite show or time that properly.

ARMENIA
Still not getting the circle very circular and some funny camera angles while trying to get in it. Would have been better if they just moved around in a circle until they met rather than the awkward way of it currently. Other than that, it is the only song which gives me goose bumps.

BELGIUM
Nothing really wrong is happening, but also, nothing really great. Some moments that I'm not sure about like - why is there a shot of his crotch while lying on the floor? Not complaining, just asking. And why is he having an argument with his face at some point?

NETHRLANDS
THE DRESS IS GONE!!!! Good times! The vale still has not - bad times! It does get taken off after a short while but it still does nothing for me and many others. Still so many questions in the song lyrics and in general about the whole thing. At least that damned dress has gone, but will it be enough to save her?

PS: OOh, a red suit this time - but prefer the leather!

FINAND
Watch any video of the performance from anything on youtube and just add the ESC stage. Done.

GREECE
Blueness, shinyness, fabulousness. Why did we ever have a doubt on this song? How far it came from a parking lot in Athens Mall. Such sassy. Much emoting. Wow.

Guten Morgen

Another cloudy day in Vienna. I mean really. Someone tell them the sun is meant to shine non-stop during Eurovision fortnight!

Having said just about all I could manage to say about the first rehearsals, I'll be handing over to Tom today who will summarise the complete set of semi 1 second rehearsals for you in easy bite-size nuggets.

I'm planning to be a bit of a tourist and if you're all very lucky I might post some pics of big, old buildings.

(Although I might pop into the press centre first to laugh at the Netherlands)

Winners and losers on Day 1

Hello everybody! I'm live-blogging the rehearsals with my escgo hat on this year, so I'm leaving the ESC Nation work in the able hands of Roger and Tom - but in addition to supplying the occasional photo and bit of colour from the press centre (and, of course, the traditional betting blogs next week), I thought I'd pop in at the end of each of the rehearsal days and give my quick thoughts on what we've seen, framed in terms of the "winners" and "losers" from my point of view.

For me, today's winners were Greece insofar as they delivered the most persuasive individual performance, regardless of what you may think of the song; Finland for coming across as a breath of fresh air; and Belgium and Estonia for giving us high-concept stagings that work well visually, though that means both will take some time to get right on camera - we'll see what the second set of rehearsals on Friday bring us in that respect.

Somewhere in the middle we find Armenia, which is still a confusing mess of a song (and the first minute today never quite gelled right even after several attempts), but which has some really effective moments on camera that use the video wall and floor to perfection.

The losers - to be understood in the sense of "compared with prior expectations" - include Moldova, whose police-in-hotpants routine just comes across as unpleasant and sleazy; Macedonia, where I can see what they're trying to do but it's still an awkward blend of under-rehearsed choreography and faux-R&B stylings; and, in particular, the Netherlands, who appear to have thrown the kitchen sink at their visual performance in order to distract from the song, except the sink has a leaky plughole and the hot and cold taps are marked "NO" and "YES" and the owner of the kitchen is a mad old bat with a fetish for funereal bondage gear. I mean really, what the fucktje.

So that's it for Day 1. It's certainly been a fun and varied start to proceedings! Let's see what tomorrow brings, from Bojana and Boggie right through to emigration and oximation. Till then!

Day 1 rehearsals: MD, AM, BE + NL

We're just about ready to go. Will update this post as the rehearsals happen. So don't be afraid to refresh!

MOLDOVA

So the first thing has gone wrong - screens in the press room weren't showing anything. Based on the 'official' video, there is a giant climbing frame prop thingy, which I assume will be used to great effect. And you've no doubt seen the pics of the police uniforms, Not mot more I can say really, so I'll go and get some more coffee instead.

Oh update to the update! We just got the last run through. Much grinding and booty shaking (close up of lady dancer there). There's a strip so we get to admire Eduard's torso for the last chorus. The police dancers are in PVC lederhosen. As you do.

ARMENIA

Dark blue clothes, flappy arms and a wind machine (complete with giant animated tree blowing accordingly). They've put in some Nicki Frech-esque choreography for the time-ticking part of the lyrics. Why wouldn't you?

At one point a map of the world appears on the floor and the singers move to their respective continents. Subtle!

Vocally decent, if somewhat nasal in parts. The girls and better than the boys,

BELGIUM

Well, it sounds better than it looks. There's all kinds of odd choreography from the backing group (who are Witloof Bay Juniors) and indeed for Loic himself. He was just going through the motions though (as it is, indeed, a rehearsal) and I reckon it will look good once they tighten things up.

Vocally, no probs.

(I should add this is one of my fave songs and I am notoriously bad at disconnecting my opinions from what I see and hear)

The choreography isn't going down well in the press centre, but I think it works. It's a quirky song, and as such quirky moves fit nicely.

NETHERLANDS

Mwahaha. Fashion disaster de luxe. But it does at least distract from the monotony of the song.

Where to begin? Trijntje is trying out different veils to start the song, as if she's planning to go to a funeral. But you wouldn't go to a funeral in THAT dress. Think Mando in 2003, but with even more cleavage. Backing singers also look an absolute mess. At one point L O V E appear on her fingers with some magic lights. Goodness knows what they were smoking when they came up with this (or well, I can guess).

Vocally competent, but there's so much visual weirdness you really forget the song.

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.