Day 5: A sun that doesn’t move, a Greek tavern and COVID19

Today we saw the second rehearsals for the first 14 countries from the first semifinal. For the first time the press was allowed to see the rehearsals on large TV screens in the press center. It is now certain that the kinetic sun does not rotate. During the first rehearsals it turned out that the time between performances was too short to move the center part of the sun. As a result, several countries had to adjust their graphics, because they were not or only partially visible

ALBANIA: The outfit had been changed and Ronela Hajati also had her own blond hair again, instead of the pink hair she had during the first rehearsal. It was a dynamic performance, in which there was almost constant dancing, together with her four dancers and a dancer. After the first rehearsal, there were some comments about an allegedly offensive dance move by Ronela with her dancer, but she kept it in anyway.

LATVIA: The six were wearing the familiar colorful suits and the decor was also very colorful. Various types of vegetables were displayed on the LED screen. In the middle of the song there was a moment for the saxophonist. The performance ended with the singer making a split.

LITHUANIA: Monika Liu stood alone on the big stage in Turin and mainly sang her song into the camera. She moved elegantly and attracted all the attention. The song doesn’t really need anything more.

SWITZERLAND: Dressed all in black, Marius Bear was on stage and a broken heart was visible on his face and on the floor. So emotions abound.

SLOVENIA: As said before, it was a big disco ball that mainly caught the attention of the Slovenian act. The boys wore 1970s-style velvet suits and the drummer appeared to be drumming above the disco ball. Compared to the previous rehearsal, there was little change.

UKRAINE: There was a lot to see on stage, besides the colorful costumes there was a lot of visual spectacle. It was traditional, ethnic with a modern twist, just like last year’s contribution. Because of the war in Ukraine, this performance has something emotional and that is subtly reflected in the visual spectacle.

BULGARIA: The performance started with a split screen, showing the drummer on one side and another member of the group. A small rock concert with all the trimmings, including a lot of fire(work).

THE NETHERLANDS: There were few noticeable changes from the first rehearsal of S10. In the Netherlands, there was some fuss about the singer’s bare belly, but it is still naked for a while. A lot has been taken out of the lighting of S10.

MOLDOVA: After the intimate moment of the Netherlands, a party erupted on stage with the contribution of Zdob şi Zdub, who are participating for the third time. They used the entire stage for their folklore song: Hey ho, let’s go…, but no train on stage. Lots of color, matching the contribution.

CROATIA: During rehearsals today, Mia had problems with her in-ears. No surprises at Mia’s performance. The postcards were also shown to the press today. A drone searches for the location where the artist of the country in question can be seen and we see the visual artist in the area.

DENMARK: The beginning was just like in the national final, Siggy starts alone at the piano, with her quieter part of the song and then the rock show starts. Last year we went back to the eighties with Denmark, now it seems back to the nineties. In case you don’t remember the name of the band, REDDI appeared on the LED screen.

AUSTRIA: Of course there is a Halo on stage. Lots of fireworks and strong staging. The vocal part of the duo was, as we can see now, quite disappointing.

GREECE: For those who don’t understand the act of Greece: Amanda seems to be in a Greek tavern; hence the chairs around her. But some of the seats have fallen over. That fits with the lyrics of the song. Amanda could count on a big round of applause from the audience.

PORTUGAL: A delegation member from Portugal tested positive for corona, so the entire delegation had to go back to the hotel and be tested. Fortunately none of the ladies tested positive and they were able to rehearse for their performance, but later than planned. After all the rehearsals had been completed, Portugal was allowed to go on stage after Greece. During this rehearsal it was clear that it was one of the background singers who tested positive for corona. The ladies were lined up in a circle and brought this atmospheric contribution in a good way.

Share

Related news

News

Weekly update: Confirmations, Host City Bids & National Finals

Another weekly update comes up. This time we tell you more about confirmations, host city bids and national finals. Countries Confirmed for Eurovision 2026 Three more countries have officially confirmed their participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026. The United Kingdom, Serbia, and Malta have all announced that they will compete in next year’s contest in Austria. Each country’s broadcaster has affirmed that they will send an entry to Eurovision 2026. These confirmations continue to build excitement as more nations sign up for the 70th edition of the contest. Host City Selection Update Austria has started preparations for Eurovision 2026. ORF, the country’s national broadcaster, met with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in Vienna this week to begin organizing next year’s contest. ORF confirmed that it will announce the host city on August 8, 2025. Several Austrian cities have already entered the race to host the event. Vienna, which hosted in 2015, is among the candidates, along with Graz, Innsbruck, Linz (in a joint bid with nearby Wels), St. Pölten, Oberwart, and Ebreichsdorf. Each city has expressed strong interest and is currently preparing detailed proposals. Fans and organizers alike are now counting down to August 8, when ORF will reveal which city will welcome the Eurovision Song Contest in 2026. National Final News Several countries are starting to plan how they will select their Eurovision 2026 entries. They will have a mix of national finals and song submission processes. Key updates from this week include: 🇲🇹 Malta: Malta’s broadcaster PBS has announced it will hold a national selection for Eurovision 2026. The Malta Eurovision Song Contest (MESC) will be held to choose Malta’s entry (Eurovoix). 🇦🇹 Austria: Austria is looking to organize a televised national final to pick its 2026 act. According to Kleine Zeitung, an ORF spokesperson stated that the 2026 representative will not be chosen internally, paving the way for Austria’s first public selection since 2016 (Kleine Zeitung). 🇪🇸 Spain: Spain has opened song submissions for Benidorm Fest 2026, its national selection event. RTVE (the Spanish broadcaster) began accepting entries on June 5, 2025 (Eurovoix, June 5, 2025). Spanish artists and songwriters have the chance to submit songs for Eurovision 2026. 🇮🇹 Italy: Italy’s famous Festival di Sanremo 2026 has confirmed its dates. The festival will take place from February 24 to 28, 2026, slightly later than usual to avoid overlapping with the Winter Olympics (Quotidiano.net, June 2025). These dates were announced to ensure Sanremo – which often determines Italy’s Eurovision act – does not conflict with other major events. Each of these developments shows how countries are gearing up early for Eurovision 2026. With more participants confirmed, host city bids in progress, and national finals being planned, the road to Eurovision 2026 is already taking shape. We all can look forward to further updates in the coming weeks as Europe prepares for another exciting song contest season. We will keep you updated next week with another weekly update. Share

Share
Read More »
News
Martijn

Weekly update: Confirmations, Host City Bids & National Finals

Another weekly update comes up. This time we tell you more about confirmations, host city bids and national finals. Countries Confirmed for Eurovision 2026 Three more countries have officially confirmed their participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026. The United Kingdom, Serbia, and Malta have all announced that they will compete in next year’s contest in Austria. Each country’s broadcaster has affirmed that they will send an entry to Eurovision 2026. These confirmations continue to build excitement as more nations sign up for the 70th edition of the contest. Host City Selection Update Austria has started preparations for Eurovision 2026. ORF, the country’s national broadcaster, met with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in Vienna this week to begin organizing next year’s contest. ORF confirmed that it will announce the host city on August 8, 2025. Several Austrian cities have already entered the race to host the event. Vienna, which hosted in 2015, is among the candidates, along with Graz, Innsbruck, Linz (in a joint bid with nearby Wels), St. Pölten, Oberwart, and Ebreichsdorf. Each city has expressed strong interest and is currently preparing detailed proposals. Fans and organizers alike are now counting down to August 8, when ORF will reveal which city will welcome the Eurovision Song Contest in 2026. National Final News Several countries are starting to plan how they will select their Eurovision 2026 entries. They will have a mix of national finals and song submission processes. Key updates from this week include: 🇲🇹 Malta: Malta’s broadcaster PBS has announced it will hold a national selection for Eurovision 2026. The Malta Eurovision Song Contest (MESC) will be held to choose Malta’s entry (Eurovoix). 🇦🇹 Austria: Austria is looking to organize a televised national final to pick its 2026 act. According to Kleine Zeitung, an ORF spokesperson stated that the 2026 representative will not be chosen internally, paving the way for Austria’s first public selection since 2016 (Kleine Zeitung). 🇪🇸 Spain: Spain has opened song submissions for Benidorm Fest 2026, its national selection event. RTVE (the Spanish broadcaster) began accepting entries on June 5, 2025 (Eurovoix, June 5, 2025). Spanish artists and songwriters have the chance to submit songs for Eurovision 2026. 🇮🇹 Italy: Italy’s famous Festival di Sanremo 2026 has confirmed its dates. The festival will take place from February 24 to 28, 2026, slightly later than usual to avoid overlapping with the Winter Olympics (Quotidiano.net, June 2025). These dates were announced to ensure Sanremo – which often determines Italy’s Eurovision act – does not conflict with other major events. Each of these developments shows how countries are gearing up early for Eurovision 2026. With more participants confirmed, host city bids in progress, and national finals being planned, the road to Eurovision 2026 is already taking shape. We all can look forward to further updates in the coming weeks as Europe prepares for another exciting song contest season. We will keep you updated next week with another weekly update. Share

Share
Read More »