Day 4: new sun troubles, a Swedish circle and many more

Today is the day of the stage again. Today the EBU has made an official statement about it: “During the technical tests in Turin, the production team has experienced challenges with how long it takes to adjust the “sun” to different positions in the time between the different performances. Together with the host station RAI it was therefore decided that the sun will remain in the same position during all 40 songs, to ensure a fair competition for all participating countries.”. What position that is, is still being discussed. So to be continued again. It is certain that a number of countries now have to make changes in their staging.

Meanwhile, 9 countries rehearsed for their performance in the second semifinal.

IRELAND: Brooke takes the stage in a bright blue suit. During her performance she is assisted by four dancers. They start the song lying on the floor! Ireland uses many floor projections. Brooke is also praised by Eurovision.tv for her strong voice. Pyrotechnics are used at the end of her performance.

NORTH MACEDONIA: Andrea stands alone on the podium for North Macedonia. She sings her song completely wrapped in black leather. In her performance she uses the lifting bridges over the water. Shadows of hands are visible on the LED screens. The sun is not only orange but also white and blue.

ESTONIA: Stefan starts his performance on the B stage. He is accompanied only by his guitar. Later in the song, he goes wild: then he uses the entire stage to present his performance. The two cowboys from the national final stayed home.

ROMANIA: WRS from Romania wears glittering wetlook trousers. He also wears a red blouse, but according to Eurovision tradition, that goes off. He turns out to be wearing a sleeveless shirt with glitter underneath. There is a lot of dancing. As a result, the Romanian likely gets a lot of attention from the crowd.

POLAND: The Polish competitor Ochman is also in black, he wears a black suit. He is assisted by four dancers, who seem to represent some kind of water spirits. Flashing light effects can be seen during the performance. The waterfall on the stage is also used… what else could we expect with a song about a river?

MONTENEGRO: Vladana has her entire performance on the B stage. She wears a blue dress during her performance. The background is also blue, with splashes of white as graphics. Vladana mainly remains in one place.

BELGIUM: The Belgian Jérémie Makiese impressed with his song. Jérémie is flanked by four dancers. He himself wears blue-grey trousers, a black shirt and a silver jacket, while the dancers wear black jackets. At the end of the act all the light falls on Jérémie, who is standing on a platform on which flames are projected.

SWEDEN: Cornelia Jakobs ranks high among the bookmakers. As the Swedes always do, Cornelia Jakobs also puts on the same act as during the national final Melodifestivalen. The starry sky at the beginning, the large, first green and then red, circular plate right behind Cornelia, even the silver-black clothing and the bare feet are the same.

CZECH REPUBLIC: The Czech group We Are Domi is the last to rehearse today. The group uses a lot of light, which makes you feel like you’re in a disco. Funny effect: the ‘sun’ on stage looks like a vinyl album here. Eurovision.tv mentions the cello-string guitar: the guitarist made it himself.

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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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