Day 3: start of the 2nd semi rehearsals

Day three of rehearsals: the second semifinal has started. Nobody knows about the stage anymore. We try to keep you informed. For the time being, we’ll stick to the nine countries that rehearsed.

FINLAND: Expectations were obviously high with a big name like The Rasmus in da’ house. In black and yellow rain gear, the stars stood on stage between huge black balloons. Eurovision.tv praises the professionalism of the band members.

ISRAEL: It was quite exciting whether Israel would participate or not. However, the security issues died down. And so Michael Ben David stood on stage in white, surrounded by his dancers. Remarkable: eurovision.tv reports that there is good singing. That has not been done so far.

SERBIA: Konstrakta’s act is little different from what we saw during the national final. She has the healthy hair of Megan Markle, which she also sings about. She washes her hands regularly. The dancers around her carry towels. Everything to stay “In corpore sano”, in a healthy body.

AZERBAIJAN: It was to be expected: Azerbaijan has a standout act. Nadir Rustamli sings from a sort of staircase that looks like a grandstand. There is also a dancer in that stand. Halfway through the act, the stand is split in two and the dancer and singer can see each other.

GEORGIA: Circus Mircus represents Georgia. And clowns belong to a circus. A singer in a leather jacket and flying goggles, a man with an eye patch and a belly organ and a bassist who seems to have borrowed the hat from the Ukrainians. That last man has a beard of flowers. Many colors can be seen on stage. Surreal is how even the official site describes it.

MALTA: Emma Muscat performs in a dress covered with silver. She is flanked by four dancers. Later during the act, she sits behind a huge piano. She also uses the so-called B-stage, just in front of the green room. The sun springs into action and gives off its golden light during this act.

SAN MARINO: You can expect a striking act from Achille Lauro. He wears body stocking, cowboy boots and hat, a black boa and he is at a red rodeo. While you’d expect that with the title “Stripper,” the clothes don’t come off. Where there is smoke there is fire: that certainly applies to this act, which ends with a lot of pyro technics.

AUSTRALIA: Of course Sheldon Reily wears his jeweled mask. Surprising is the huge white suit he is also wearing. At the bottom of the suit is a huge tow. Eurovision.tv compares it to a wedding dress that drags on the floor. It almost seems as if Sheldon is staying in the clouds.

CYPRUS: Andromache is singing in a purple dress with what looks like a huge fan behind her. The dancers move around that fan. The fan is also used to display the graphics. Different colors are visible.

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History

70 years of Eurovision: the singing deodorants

The Eurovision Song Contest is celebrating its 70th anniversary. That is a wonderful milestone. We at Eurovision Universe love diving into the history of the contest. That is why we are taking a closer look at the contests of the past 70 years. 1984 Luxembourg was known for its venues being too small. This time, Desirée Nosbusch hosted the Eurovision Song Contest from the Teatre Municipal in the capital. She did this in an inimitable manner, effortlessly switching languages three times in a single sentence. Israel was once again absent due to a memorial day. Greece was not present either. Ireland was back. Isolda, one half of the Yugoslavian duo Ida & Vlado, had also participated two years earlier. Mary Roos, who had also participated in 1972, was making a return appearance as well. An ABBA-like group, Bravo, participated for Spain. Johnny Logan wrote the Irish entry, “Terminal 3”, for Linda Martin. The duo Hot Eyes for Denmark was also striking. In the Danish national final, they jumped into the pool; that was of course not possible in Luxembourg. At the time, no one knew that Kirsten, the female half of the duo, was pregnant. Another striking duo was Alice and Franco Battiato for Italy. The two were accompanied by a small opera choir. Their “I treni di tozeur” came fifth, and became an international hit. By now, the song is a Eurovision classic. The Herreys It remained very exciting for a long time, particularly between Ireland and Sweden. In the end, it was Sweden that won. Three brothers, Mormons who had been living in the United States for quite some time, sang the song “Diggy-loo Diggy-ley”. There was a lot of criticism in their own country after winning the national final. The brothers were dismissed as ‘the singing deodorants’. Yet it worked; with polo shirts in primary colors and golden boots, the three won the hearts of all of Europe. Once again, the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest was a major European hit. 1985 The Eurovision circus moved to Sweden, more precisely to Gothenburg. Lill Lindfors presented the contest in the Skandinaviumhallen. She garnered much praise for that task. One clip still makes it into all kinds of song festival compilations. After the entre act, Lill stepped on her dress with her heel, which then tore. For a moment, Lill, standing in her underwear, seemed to panic; then she unclipped two clips on her shoulder and discovered she was wearing a completely different dress. “I just wanted you to wake up a little” was her explanation. The Netherlands and Yugoslavia did not participate. Both countries had a day of remembrance that day. Israel and Greece were back. Many artists had participated before. Hot Eyes competed for Denmark, just like the year before. Former winner Izhar Cohen represented Israel. The now very famous duo Al Bano & Romina Power represented Italy. The Bobbysocks from Norway had both participated before. Hanne Krogh as a child star in 1971, Elisabeth Andreasson as half of the duo Chips in 1982. Notably: the other half of Chips, Kikki Danielsson, represented Sweden! Furthermore, there were Mariella Farré and Pino Gasparini, who had both competed for Switzerland separately before, and Gary Lux, who competed for Austria for the second time. Ireen Sheer took the stage for Luxembourg for the third time. Turkey received help from the Netherlands. The trio MFÖ sang “Didai Didai Dai”. The Dutch composer Peter Schön had written the arrangement. The Luxembourg entry was also special: three duos, a French, a German, and a British duo, sang the song “Children, Kinder, enfants”. A small detail: the French duo consisted of a Belgian and a Dutch singer. Bobbysocks As mentioned, both Bobbysocks had participated before. During the national final, jury member Tony Visconti was very clear: “If this wins, Norway certainly won’t win the Eurovision Song Contest.” He was way off. After an exciting battle with Germany, it was ultimately Norway that won. The Bobbysocks were ecstatic, and the whole country with them. After a long road of entries without points and places at the bottom of the leaderboard, they finally succeeded! “La det swinge” became the very first Norwegian winner. As “Let It Swing,” it became an international hit. The Bobbysocks remained big names in Norway, but not outside of it. In 2025, they participated in the Norwegian national final again, without success.

Read More »
History
Martijn

70 years of Eurovision: the singing deodorants

The Eurovision Song Contest is celebrating its 70th anniversary. That is a wonderful milestone. We at Eurovision Universe love diving into the history of the contest. That is why we are taking a closer look at the contests of the past 70 years. 1984 Luxembourg was known for its venues being too small. This time, Desirée Nosbusch hosted the Eurovision Song Contest from the Teatre Municipal in the capital. She did this in an inimitable manner, effortlessly switching languages three times in a single sentence. Israel was once again absent due to a memorial day. Greece was not present either. Ireland was back. Isolda, one half of the Yugoslavian duo Ida & Vlado, had also participated two years earlier. Mary Roos, who had also participated in 1972, was making a return appearance as well. An ABBA-like group, Bravo, participated for Spain. Johnny Logan wrote the Irish entry, “Terminal 3”, for Linda Martin. The duo Hot Eyes for Denmark was also striking. In the Danish national final, they jumped into the pool; that was of course not possible in Luxembourg. At the time, no one knew that Kirsten, the female half of the duo, was pregnant. Another striking duo was Alice and Franco Battiato for Italy. The two were accompanied by a small opera choir. Their “I treni di tozeur” came fifth, and became an international hit. By now, the song is a Eurovision classic. The Herreys It remained very exciting for a long time, particularly between Ireland and Sweden. In the end, it was Sweden that won. Three brothers, Mormons who had been living in the United States for quite some time, sang the song “Diggy-loo Diggy-ley”. There was a lot of criticism in their own country after winning the national final. The brothers were dismissed as ‘the singing deodorants’. Yet it worked; with polo shirts in primary colors and golden boots, the three won the hearts of all of Europe. Once again, the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest was a major European hit. 1985 The Eurovision circus moved to Sweden, more precisely to Gothenburg. Lill Lindfors presented the contest in the Skandinaviumhallen. She garnered much praise for that task. One clip still makes it into all kinds of song festival compilations. After the entre act, Lill stepped on her dress with her heel, which then tore. For a moment, Lill, standing in her underwear, seemed to panic; then she unclipped two clips on her shoulder and discovered she was wearing a completely different dress. “I just wanted you to wake up a little” was her explanation. The Netherlands and Yugoslavia did not participate. Both countries had a day of remembrance that day. Israel and Greece were back. Many artists had participated before. Hot Eyes competed for Denmark, just like the year before. Former winner Izhar Cohen represented Israel. The now very famous duo Al Bano & Romina Power represented Italy. The Bobbysocks from Norway had both participated before. Hanne Krogh as a child star in 1971, Elisabeth Andreasson as half of the duo Chips in 1982. Notably: the other half of Chips, Kikki Danielsson, represented Sweden! Furthermore, there were Mariella Farré and Pino Gasparini, who had both competed for Switzerland separately before, and Gary Lux, who competed for Austria for the second time. Ireen Sheer took the stage for Luxembourg for the third time. Turkey received help from the Netherlands. The trio MFÖ sang “Didai Didai Dai”. The Dutch composer Peter Schön had written the arrangement. The Luxembourg entry was also special: three duos, a French, a German, and a British duo, sang the song “Children, Kinder, enfants”. A small detail: the French duo consisted of a Belgian and a Dutch singer. Bobbysocks As mentioned, both Bobbysocks had participated before. During the national final, jury member Tony Visconti was very clear: “If this wins, Norway certainly won’t win the Eurovision Song Contest.” He was way off. After an exciting battle with Germany, it was ultimately Norway that won. The Bobbysocks were ecstatic, and the whole country with them. After a long road of entries without points and places at the bottom of the leaderboard, they finally succeeded! “La det swinge” became the very first Norwegian winner. As “Let It Swing,” it became an international hit. The Bobbysocks remained big names in Norway, but not outside of it. In 2025, they participated in the Norwegian national final again, without success.

Read More »
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