🇦🇿 Road to Malmö: Azerbaijan

  Day two of rehearsals at the 70th Eurovision Song Contest is underway in Vienna. First rehearsals remain closed to press — only three approved images per country will be released, with official photos published approximately 24 hours after each performance. Meanwhile, the official Eurovision subreddit is providing live descriptions of each performance. Eurovision Universe tried to find more information through social media, national broadcaster coverage, and press reports. All countries below compete in Semi-Final 1 on Tuesday, 12 May. 🇲🇪 Montenegro – Tamara Živković, “Nova Zora” Running order: 8 | Rehearsal: 10:30–11:00 CEST Tamara Živković opened Sunday’s rehearsal block at the Wiener Stadthalle. According to the official Eurovision subreddit, she starts “Nova Zora” lying on the floor, surrounded by four shadowy figures who gradually reveal themselves as her dancers. As the song begins, she slowly rises, pulling dramatic poses along the way. The stage shifts between deep red and small flashes of blue as the choreography moves from sharp, uniform steps into something rawer and more primal. Ahead of Vienna, Tamara told CdM that the staging carries over from Montesong in concept. Her goal is a performance combining emotion, energy, and visual impact — one that makes the audience truly feel the power of the “New Dawn.” She and broadcaster RTCG confirmed that the revamped version stays largely in Montenegrin but adds a short line in English. Tamara stated she carefully considered fan feedback on social media before finalising those adjustments. Montenegro performs 8th in Semi-Final 1 on 12 May. sources: Eurovision/RTCG 🇪🇪 Estonia – Vanilla Ninja, “Too Epic To Be True” Running order: 9 | Rehearsal: 11:10–11:40 CEST According to the official Eurovision subreddit, Vanilla Ninja’s staging stays largely in line with their Eesti Laul performance as the trio return to the Eurovision stage after 21 years. The team revamped the song slightly to give it a stronger rock feel, aiming to appeal to both the public and the juries. Their outfits are also upgraded from the Eesti Laul look, sharpening the rock identity they bring to Vienna. Audience participation plays a central role, with the track edited to build a clear “hype moment” in the middle-eight. The performance closes with a large blast of pyrotechnics in its final seconds. Vanilla Ninja formed in Tallinn in 2002. Kerli Kivilaan, Lenna Kuurmaa, and Piret Järvis make up the current trio. They represented Switzerland at Eurovision 2005 with “Cool Vibes,” finishing 8th. The band disbanded in 2008 and reunited in 2020. Estonia performs 9th in Semi-Final 1 on 12 May. sources: Eurovision 🇮🇱 Israel – Noam Bettan, “Michelle” Running order: 10 | Rehearsal: 11:50–12:20 CEST Noam Bettan opens his performance inside a massive diamond-shaped prop. Broadcaster Kan describes it as the largest stage prop at this year’s contest. The diamond’s interior uses infinite mirrors to create the illusion of countless reflections — a direct visual reference to the music video for “Michelle.”  A solo dancer draws Bettan out of the diamond and leads him to the front of the stage, where four more dancers await. Kan reports that Bettan’s vocal performance drew enthusiastic reactions from those present in the arena. Director Yoav Tzafir called it a pleasure to work with Bettan. Note that the official Eurovision reddit reports about the performance of this song, but doesn’t mention the country’s name a single time in their report.  Israel performs 10th in Semi-Final 1 on 12 May. sources: Eurovision/Times of Israel 🇧🇪 Belgium – Essyla, “Dancing on the Ice” Running order: 11 | Rehearsal: 12:45–13:15 CEST According to the official Eurovision subreddit, Essyla brings a sleek and dance-forward performance to the Wiener Stadthalle. RTBF, Belgium’s French-language national broadcaster, confirmed that Essyla performs with four male dancers: Max Lukaina, Axel Remezo, Julien Maniquet, and Tom Van de Weghe. Elena Gambardella and David Vandenplas choreograph the performance. Gambardella previously danced at the Eurovision Song Contest 2021.  RTBF shared rehearsal footage on Instagram in the weeks before Vienna, giving the first public glimpse of how the team plans to bring “Dancing on the Ice” to the stage. When RTBF announced her selection, Essyla said: “I don’t fully realize. A part of me is still elsewhere, as if I were hiding the fact that I am the one who represents Belgium.” Belgium arrives in Vienna after two consecutive non-qualifications. Essyla also managed to speak with our reporter Kal in Vienna. “The stage is huge! It’s very spectacular. All the tech, all the lights! I’m lucky that i get to be doing this for the next two weeks. And just to think that my mother will be somewhere there in the big crowd in very surreal”, she told us. Belgium performs 11th in Semi-Final 1 on 12 May. sources: Eurovision/RTBF 🇱🇹 Lithuania – Lion Ceccah, “Sólo Quiero Más” Running order: 12 | Rehearsal: 13:25–13:55 CEST Lion Ceccah brings a technically complex staging to Vienna. A large metal sculpture built from tensioned steel cables and held together by electromagnets stands centre stage. At the emotional peak of the performance, the electricity cuts. The magnets release. The entire structure collapses, live, on stage, in front of the audience.  Lion Ceccah explained his vision to LRT directly: “This is not just a stage decoration, but a living stage sculpture, an installation that becomes the axis of the performance, transforms along with the music and ultimately collapses right on the stage. I wanted to create a spectacle that the audience has never seen before in any Lithuanian Eurovision performance.” Our reporter Kal also spoke to him. “It was great to be on stage. But for next time, I fix my nose”, Lion commented. It left us wondering what he meant, but probably he was talking about his make up. Head of Delegation Audrius Giržadas confirmed the structure works as planned and was sent to Vienna ahead of rehearsals for testing. He called it an incomparably more complex stage solution than anything Lithuania has previously transported to Eurovision. Born in Vilnius in 1991, Tomas Alenčikas performs as Lion Ceccah. He is a stage artist, songwriter, drag