Liverpool live: Sweaty sweaters, video games and red feathers

Every participant has it’s second rehearsal today. That means we already know a lot and we can just say whether there are (major) changes or not. Different from other years, no independent journalists or fan media can join the rehearsals. What you read is what Eurovision.tv wants us to know.

photo credits: EBU/Sarah Louise Bennett/Corinne Cummings/Chloe Hashemi

Norway

The Norwegian act is the same as in the first rehearsal. According to the reporters of eurovision.tv she hit the high notes. Alessandra is currently 6th at the bookmakers, which means she might do well for Norway this year.

Malta

The Maltese act is one were a lot happens. And singer Dav jr. even wears two sweaters. He takes one off during the show. According to him that is quite…. sweaty. Dav already took part in the national final in 2020. However, he says it is now the right time to go to Eurovision. The day after he was eliminated from the X-Factor 2020, his father passed away, so that was not a good moment for Eurovision.
Unfortunately the bookmakers are not happy about Malta yet. Hopefully they are wrong this time!

Serbia

Sometimes it is difficult to know what will happen on tv when you are in the hall. That is why only now a lot of on-screen video game references came up in the reports. It fits in the act: somebody who just wants to sleep as there are so many bad things going on in the world. The song is written during the COVID19 lockdowns. Currently, Serbia is no. 17 in the betting odds.

Latvia

At least they have their outfits now, so it seems the luggage problem is solved. The band members are all wearing jackets and blouses with long, thin ties over it. Lead singer Andrejs Reinis Zitmanis wears a beige jacket, the others have darker cloths. Currently Latvia does not do well in the betting odds with a 35th place. However, we can not exclude a place in the final.

Portugal

Enthusiasm for the uptempo song Portugal brings on stage. There have not been many changes at all in the Portuguese entry. Mimicat still wears the feather dress that impressed in the first rehearsal. Portugal is currently 26th in the betting odds, which makes it likely that Mimicat will go through to the final.

Ireland

About Ireland, the same information is given by eurovision.tv as they did Monday: the members of Wild Youth are having fun on stage. Ireland is currently 24th at the betting odds. However, if you look at the qualifiers of semifinal one, they are 14th. A strange contradiction, and it makes the line on the official website quite cynical: “…and they look like they’re having the best time ever – the Irish delegation should be really happy”.

Croatia

Croatia’s Let 3 is having their second rehearsal, and their performance looks just as impressive on the big screen as it did in the hall, says eurovision.tv. However, the visual spectacle appears even more impressive and vibrant than before. The colors are now more intense and psychedelic, and the removal of clothing is now even more detailed and noticeable due to the high definition visuals. Judge for yourself if you should be happy with that. The betting ods give Croatia a 15th place.

in collaboration with Eurovision Artists

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Related news

Blast from the past

Blast from the past: Germany 1967

We know a lot about Eurovision and we want to share this knowledge with you! Therefore we’d like to bring you a blast from the past. Today, we go back to 1967 when Inge Brück represented Germany with the song “Anouschka”. Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest Germany has a long Eurovision history, having competed since 1956 and won twice: in 1982 with Ein bißchen Frieden (Nicole) and in 2010 with Satellite (Lena). Being part of the “Big Five”, Germany is always in the final. Recent entries have had mixed success. In 2022, Malik Harris sang Rockstars and ended up 25th with 6 points. In 2023, Lord of the Lost performed Blood & Glitter, finishing 26th (last) with 18 points. The year after, Isaak represented Germany with Always on the Run, placing 12th with 117 points, a much stronger showing. For 2025, Germany was represented by Abor & Tynna with Baller. They were selected through the national competition Chefsache ESC 2025 – Wer singt für Deutschland? and finished 15th in the final, scoring 151 points. Internal selection for Germany Germany selected their song internally. 145 songs were submitted to the Hessischer Rundfunk (HR), the broadcaster responsible for the German entry. The winning song was sung by Inge Brück. The titles of the top-3 are known: Anouschka (lyrics and music by Hans Blum) Die Nacht hat viele Gesichter (lyrics and music by Fred Strittmatter) Das Glück dieser Welt (lyrics and music by Hubert Wolf) Inge Brück Inge Brück, born on 12 October 1936 in Mannheim, Germany, passed away on 8 September 2025 in Meschede, at the age of 88. She began her career in the 1950s as a singer with the Erwin Lehn dance orchestra, where pianist Horst Jankowski discovered her talent. After a television appearance with Hans-Joachim Kulenkampff she was offered a record contract. In 1957, she scored her first hit with “Peter, komm heut’ abend zum Hafen”, the German version of Green Door, which reached number seven in the German charts. Her international breakthrough came in 1966 when she won the International Song Festival in Brazil with the song Frag den Wind. A year later, in 1967, German broadcaster NDR internally selected her to represent Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna with the song Anouschka. She finished in shared eighth place with 7 points. After Eurovision, Brück increasingly turned to acting. In 1970 she starred in the ZDF television series Miss Molly Mill, playing the lead role of a cleaning lady turned amateur detective. The show was a huge success, often attracting more than 20 million viewers per episode. From the 1970s onwards, she shifted her focus to religious music and joined the group Künstler für Christus (“Artists for Christ”), together with other well-known German performers such as Katja Ebstein and Peter Horton. Inge Brück leaves behind a rich legacy: as a popular singer of the radio and television era, as an actress on screen, and later as a performer of religious music. Her voice and versatility made her a beloved figure in German culture. Anouschka Anouschka was the German entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1967 in Vienna, performed by Inge Brück. The song was written and composed by Hans Blum. It finished in eighth place, scoring seven points. Musically, Anouschka followed the classic schlager style that was popular in Germany during the 1960s. The arrangement featured a melodic, light orchestral backing, with a clear emphasis on Brück’s warm and emotional vocals. The song had a gentle rhythm and a traditional structure, making it easy to follow and appealing to a broad audience of the time. The lyrics told a story of longing and heartbreak. The singer addresses Anouschka, a woman who left, and asks why she had to go, leaving behind sadness and emptiness. The combination of its melodic charm and emotional theme gave the song a nostalgic quality, typical of many Eurovision ballads of the era.  

Read More »
Blast from the past
Martijn

Blast from the past: Germany 1967

We know a lot about Eurovision and we want to share this knowledge with you! Therefore we’d like to bring you a blast from the past. Today, we go back to 1967 when Inge Brück represented Germany with the song “Anouschka”. Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest Germany has a long Eurovision history, having competed since 1956 and won twice: in 1982 with Ein bißchen Frieden (Nicole) and in 2010 with Satellite (Lena). Being part of the “Big Five”, Germany is always in the final. Recent entries have had mixed success. In 2022, Malik Harris sang Rockstars and ended up 25th with 6 points. In 2023, Lord of the Lost performed Blood & Glitter, finishing 26th (last) with 18 points. The year after, Isaak represented Germany with Always on the Run, placing 12th with 117 points, a much stronger showing. For 2025, Germany was represented by Abor & Tynna with Baller. They were selected through the national competition Chefsache ESC 2025 – Wer singt für Deutschland? and finished 15th in the final, scoring 151 points. Internal selection for Germany Germany selected their song internally. 145 songs were submitted to the Hessischer Rundfunk (HR), the broadcaster responsible for the German entry. The winning song was sung by Inge Brück. The titles of the top-3 are known: Anouschka (lyrics and music by Hans Blum) Die Nacht hat viele Gesichter (lyrics and music by Fred Strittmatter) Das Glück dieser Welt (lyrics and music by Hubert Wolf) Inge Brück Inge Brück, born on 12 October 1936 in Mannheim, Germany, passed away on 8 September 2025 in Meschede, at the age of 88. She began her career in the 1950s as a singer with the Erwin Lehn dance orchestra, where pianist Horst Jankowski discovered her talent. After a television appearance with Hans-Joachim Kulenkampff she was offered a record contract. In 1957, she scored her first hit with “Peter, komm heut’ abend zum Hafen”, the German version of Green Door, which reached number seven in the German charts. Her international breakthrough came in 1966 when she won the International Song Festival in Brazil with the song Frag den Wind. A year later, in 1967, German broadcaster NDR internally selected her to represent Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna with the song Anouschka. She finished in shared eighth place with 7 points. After Eurovision, Brück increasingly turned to acting. In 1970 she starred in the ZDF television series Miss Molly Mill, playing the lead role of a cleaning lady turned amateur detective. The show was a huge success, often attracting more than 20 million viewers per episode. From the 1970s onwards, she shifted her focus to religious music and joined the group Künstler für Christus (“Artists for Christ”), together with other well-known German performers such as Katja Ebstein and Peter Horton. Inge Brück leaves behind a rich legacy: as a popular singer of the radio and television era, as an actress on screen, and later as a performer of religious music. Her voice and versatility made her a beloved figure in German culture. Anouschka Anouschka was the German entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1967 in Vienna, performed by Inge Brück. The song was written and composed by Hans Blum. It finished in eighth place, scoring seven points. Musically, Anouschka followed the classic schlager style that was popular in Germany during the 1960s. The arrangement featured a melodic, light orchestral backing, with a clear emphasis on Brück’s warm and emotional vocals. The song had a gentle rhythm and a traditional structure, making it easy to follow and appealing to a broad audience of the time. The lyrics told a story of longing and heartbreak. The singer addresses Anouschka, a woman who left, and asks why she had to go, leaving behind sadness and emptiness. The combination of its melodic charm and emotional theme gave the song a nostalgic quality, typical of many Eurovision ballads of the era.  

Read More »
Follow Us: