Liverfpool Live

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

Liverpool live: rehearsal schedule

The rehearsals continue with the 2nd rehearsal of 15 countries. The countries now have only 20 minutes to rehearse. 11.30 – 11.50 Norway11.55 – 12.15 Malta12.20 – 12.40 Serbia12.45 – 13.05 Latvia13.10 – 13.30 Portugal13.35 – 13.55 Ireland15.00 – 15.20 Croatia15.25 – 15.45 Switzerland15.50 – 16.10 Israel16.15 – 16.35 Moldova16.40 – 17.00 Sweden17.05 – 17.25 Azerbaijan17.30 – 17.50 Czechia17.55 – 18.15 The Netherlands18.20 – 18.40 Finland

Liverpool live: eyes, a typewriter and a car

The third day of rehearsals is already halfway. We are looking at the last six entries we haven’t heard and seen yet (except the Big Five and Ukraine). photo credits: EBU/Sarah Luise Bennett/Corinne Cumming Georgia Iru wears a white dress, and what is very remarkable on her looks is the huge bracelet she is wearing on her right arm. Iru is standing on a raised platform in the middle of the stage. She stands there during the entire performance. The LED screeen shows smoke that twirls and turbulent weather. And if you see that, there is only one thing you need: indeed, a wind machine! And it’s there! And of course Iru is surrounded by smoke. San Marino Singer E-King wears a glitter jacket while the rest of the band Piqued Jacks wear black. On stage we have the huge LED wall that spots a lot of red: we see eyes, we see lips, all in a cartoon way. Piqued Jacks use the whole stage, E-King appears as the clear frontman. At several moments, he even lies down on the floor while singing. Austria Teya and Salena are wearing opposite colours: Teya wears black and Salena white, both with red blouses. The LED-screens play the main role in the Austrian act. It looks like Teya and Salena start their performance in front of a huge oldfashioned typewriter. In the typewriter a piece of paper with a picture of Edgar Allan Poe. Later we see the two ladies in red and with sunglasses on the screen, and Edgar in red. Albania Albina and the Kelmendi family all wear black. The colours at the LED screen are also black…. and red, the colours of the Albanian flag. Many flames during the Albanian performance. This song has quite an emotional performans. Albina sits on the floor for a moment, family members surround her with raised hands. Sacha Jean Baptiste did the staging for this entry. Lithuania Monika Linkytė wears an orange suit. She is surrounded by the four backings who all wear black. First she stands on a red background. Later we see half a circle, black, with indian like signs projected on it. She and the backing vocals are standing still at some moments, but walk around later, especially when the “Čiūto Tūto” part is sung. Australia Australia is the last country to perform. Voyager singer Daniel Estrin wears a blue suit with a chequered pattern. The band has a car on stage, a Toyota MR2, a car from the eighties and nineties. On the LED-screens we see a road, mountains and a setting sun. Red fireworks are visible at the end of the song. in collaboration with Eurovision Artists

Liverpool live: a headroll, tropical graphics and little hearts

Today is the 3rd day of rehearsals. After today we have heard and seen all the songs, except the Big Five and Ukraine. photo credits: EBU/Sarah Louise Bennett/Corinne Cummings Estonia Estonian Alika is wearing an all blue combination when she sings her song. As in the national final, the song starts with a piano that plays itself. In the beginning Alika sits on the music stool, later she stands behind the microphone. The LED screens on the background are greenish blue, varied with gold. Iceland Diljá is wearing a silver suit. She shows a lot of energy with kicks and gymnastic moves. She even makes a head roll! Diljá is surrounded by drums. The background colours change all the time, from green to blue to black with a daffodil (?) and to a sunflower. A lot happens during this show! Greece Victor Vernicos weirs beige while on stage, and yes, like in the video he has shorts. Victor dances but every now and then he is sitting on the floor, also just like in the video. On the LED screens in the background we see huge pictures of Victor himself. Later we see Greek letters in white on the screens. Victor is surrounded by smoke. Poland Blanka has a dress that is half in purple and half in orange. She is on stage with four dancers. At the background during the song you see tropical pictures on the LED screen. Halfway, Blanka changes her dress in a short, red one. The last chorus of the song is accompanied by a rain of fireworks. Slovenia The band Joker Out is wearing pink and purple pants with blouses in all kind of colours. A lot of red stroboscopic light is surrounding the band. In the end, you see the words Joker Out in white on a black screen, and the band members make hearts with their hands. Eurovision.tv mentions the enthousiasm of the band. in collaboration with Eurovision Artists

Liverpool Live: rehearsal schedule

Already for the third day, we have rehearsals. Eurovision Universe will keep you updated about everything that happens during the rehearsals. This is what you can expect today: 11.30 – 12.00 Estonia12.10 – 12.40 Iceland12.50 – 13.20 Greece13.30 – 14.00 Poland15.10 – 15.40 Slovenia15.50 – 16.20 Georgia16.30 – 17.00 San Marino17.10 – 17.40 Austria17.50 – 18.20 Albania18.30 – 19.00 Lithuania19.10 – 19.40 Australia

Liverpool live: a somersault, pink clothes and intimate performances

photo credits: EBU/Sarah Louise Bennett/Corinne Cummings Israel Today’s rehearsals start with Israel. When the performance begins, Noa is in a huge lightbox. There is also a lot of strobe lightning on stage. The vife dancers around her all wear black and white with a pink touch. So does Noa. During the show there is a lot of movement and dancing. Helped by the dancers Noa even makes a somersault! The show ends with a lot of fireworks. Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, in other years the country of the extravert staging, decided to keep it more intimate. It’s just the twins with matching suits, one in green and one in purple. They are standing on a heart on stage. They have their guitars with them. That’s how the two perform their songs. Czechia After this Chzechia follows. The girls are all wearing the same pink pantsuits. They will perform a dance routine. The background is also pink, but changes into black with the text “We’re not your dolls”, hands and faces. The girls all have very long braids. The Netherlands And than we see the Netherlands. Mia Nicolai and Dion Cooper have matching clothes, black with white pinstripes: Dion has a sleeveless vest and Mia wears a top with silver and a jacket over it. The performance is very intimate: on a small stage they are moving around eachother. They are surrounded by smoke. “It’s a complex camera set-up that makes the whole performance feel really intimate”, eurovision.tv adds. In collaboration with Eurovision Artists

Liverpool live: rehearsal schedule day 2

Today is already the 2nd day of the rehearsals. What to expect today? After Sweden, we have another favourite in the contest today: Finland. But there is more: 11.30-12.00 Israel12.10-12.40 Azerbaijan12.50-13.20 Czechia13.30-14.00 The Netherlands15.10-15.40 Finland15.50-16.20 Denmark16.30-17.00 Armenia17.10-17.40 Romania17.50-18.20 Belgium18.30-19.00 Cyprus

Liverpool live: about sparks, costumes and a lightbox

We’ve had the second half of today’s rehearsals. Here is what we saw and heard today. photo credits: EBU/Sarah Louise Bennett/Corinne Cummings Ireland Spotlights are on Conor, the singer of Wild Youth. He has a rock gold catsuit with flares. There are stairs on stage. And there will be pyro technics. A lot of sparkles are visible by the end of the performance. Eurovision.tv is enthousiastic about the singalong capacities of the song. “Even on the first rehearsal, it’s easy to imagine the crowd in the Liverpool Arena singing along to this euphoric chorus.” Croatia As expected, the members of Let3 wear the costumes they also had in the national final. At eurovision.tv they speak about ‘high fashion hat/dress combo’s’. However, we do not reccomend you wearing this to a party. At the end of the song, they strip down to their underwear and they wave with huge missiles. On the LED-screen you see the faces of the band members. The missiles emit a shower of sparks over the Let3 members! Switzerland As in 2021 and 2022 it is Sacha Jean-Baptiste who is responsible for the Swiss staging. Where you would expect Remo Forrer alone on stage with a spotlight on it, nothing less is true. There are dancers with Remo on stage and he also dances himself. There’s also pyro technics: a short interlude of smoke and red fireworks raining down from the roof. Moldova For the second time, Pasha Parfeni enters the Eurovision stage. We saw him for the first time in 2012. He is surrounded by huge drums, a flutist and two backing singers with horned headdresses. A lot to see and a completely different act from what we saw 11 years ago. Sweden Loreen currently tops the bookmakers. She has the same act as in Melodifestivalen, herself sitting under the huge lightbox. The one from Melodifestivalen however was too heavy, so a lighter version can be seen in Liverpool. It is also lifted a little bit off the ground. The catsuit, the long nails and everything else is the same as in Melodifestivalen, including Loreen’s strong vocals.

Liverpool Live: about sweaters, luggage and more!

Today, the rehearsals started. Ten countries will have their first rehearsal. No press is allowed to watch them, but EBU keeps us updated. photo credits: EBU/Sarah Louise Bennett/Corinne Cummings Norway The rehearsals started with Norway. Alessandra has an act that is quite similar to what one could see at the national final, wearing black and gold with a metallic bustier, huge shoulders and a black cape. Alessandra is accompanied by four dancers having giant glo-sticks. Eurovision.tv is quite enthousiastic about the high note at the end. Malta It is clear that The Busker, representing Malta, feel better in their sweater. It is what they wear. Singer Dav jr. even changes his sweater during the performance! A lot of things happen on stage: first they are on and around a bench in a park, later you can see them in a discotheque were the word ‘DANCE’ is visible. Later they are in a red car and in a small room with a sofa. Note that there are also cardboard cutouts of former Maltese participants like Destiny, Glen Vella and Chiara. Serbia Also the Serbian act looks the same as in the national final: Luke Black starts singing from a huge shell/bed. The four dancers are connected to she shell with long hoses. There’s smoke coming out of the hoses at the end. Eurovision.tv is positive about the act: “With the pulsing bass and video game graphics, the whole thing is dark and surreal and hypnotic – definitely a performance viewers won’t forget.” Latvia Panic in the Latvian delegation: the members of Sudden Lights are here, but their luggage isn’t. The guys expect their luggage to still be in Germany. The airlines company told the band the problem will be solved soon. However, the planned costumes could not be worn on stage today. The staging almost looks the same as during the national final. They perform as a band, with the drums on stage. They are surrounded by big lamps. The colours are quite dark, although we don’t know what the band members are going to wear. Portugal Portugal has chosen not to do a similar act as in the national final. Mimicat is performing with four dancers. The colour red remains however. The dress Mimicat herself is wearing is entirely made of feathers. The backing dancers are wearing red too. Eurovision.tv reporters are very much impressed by Mimicat’s strong voice. “This is a classy cabaret crowd-pleaser and the final note is HUGE.”, they say. in collaboration with Eurovision Artists

Liverpool Live: rehearsal schedule

Today, the rehearsals start. Wanna know if your country rehearses today? Eurovision Universe keeps you updated! 11.30 – 12.00 Norway12.10 – 12.40 Malta12.50 – 13.20 Serbia13.30 – 14.00 Latvia15.10 – 15.40 Portugal15.50 – 16.20 Ireland16.30 – 17.00 Croatia17.10 – 17.40 Switzerland17.50 – 18.20 Moldova18.30 – 19.00 Sweden