We will also follow all press conferences from today. We also do this through a live blog. We will keep you informed all day long. 18.48 Ukrainian head of delegation Oksana Skybinska explains that singer Kateryna Pavlenko did not feel well, had undergone a PCR test and is now waiting for the results. The other band members have done a daily quick test. Kateryna is doing well, she is taking a rest. The neon circles in the act represent “cyber tambourines”. The ancient Ukrainians believed that all rituals should take place in groups. These cyber tambourines are to help Kateryna awaken the spring. The band members indicate that it was quite difficult to reduce the 4-minute version of the song to 3 minutes. Actually, it felt like starting all over again. After talking about the bookies, band member Taras Shevchenko remarks sharply: “Yes, but we are not here for money, we are here for music”. photo credits: EBU 18.18 Efendi says she was nervous but gave everything to show what she was worth. One sentence in the song is in Azerbaijan. It means “You don’t give up, you are a liar”. It’s in the song because it’s about Mata Hari. The eye in the act is in it because Mata Hari means “eye of the sun”. After “Cleopatra” and “Mata Hari” she might want to sing about another woman, but there are so many strong women in the world that she can’t choose. However, she says that in addition to songs about strong women, she also wants to convey other messages. photo credits: Efendi 17:58 Roxen from Romania says this is the first time at an event like this and she is enjoying it. She says that she had practiced in the hotel. “Amnesia” is really a song that suits her, because her mental state has not always been good, but now it is. She knows what it’s like, she says, asking for help and no one hears you. She wants to convey the message that you are no less if you are different. You are special! The act is to depict a fight of Roxen with her thoughts. Roxen does indicate that she is enjoying herself in Rotterdam. Sometimes she feels like she’s in a Netflix movie, and she even likes the Dutch rainy weather. Roxen chose her stage name because her actual name is Larisa Roxana and says that Roxen can do things that Larisa can’t. 17:31 Eden was more focused on the camera than before. She is proud of herself and her dancers. The crown can now no longer be seen only in the last take, but throughout the entire show. It’s good enough for the semi-finals, she says. She is impatient, she said earlier, but can wait until the semifinal very well. She learned a lot during the talent show “Hakohav haba”, for example how to dance. She indicates that the mix of different languages belongs to her: she is Israeli, she has Ethiopian roots. Step Vaessen from Al Jazeera wanted to ask a question about Eden’s feelings about the political situation in Israel. EBU did not allow this question. photo credits: Itay Bezaleli 17:08 Alex Callierfrom Belgian Hooverphonic says the band is satisfied with the exception of a few small things. Joking helps the band members to keep it relaxed. Even if you have a tour you should do that. The men do not want to say what jokes they are. Geike says she is in the Netherlands a lot, is happy with the directness of the Dutch and remembers immediately being helped when she had a breakdown. Geike had a lot of reasons to be in The Netherlands, she had a big hit with “Zoutelande”, together with Bløf. Alex says that there are many influences. He mentions a composer who made music without instruments. “The wrong place, if it were a movie, would be a Tarentino movie. What band members Alex and Raymond love about Geike is that every performance with her is different. Geike herself experiences her return to Hooverphonic as a victory. She loves to look for an interpretation for all those songs by other singers that she now has to perform. Her return actually started as a joke, but it soon turned out that the band members were serious about it. 16.18 The composer of “Tick-tock” wanted to make something cheerful, cathy. He may have found his inspiration both in and outside Croatia. Albina, the singer, dedicated the song to her grandmother. Her favorites for this year are France, Italy and Russia. However, she believes that everyone has something special to bring, everyone has something different. They are asked about the fact that she went to the national final by bus. She thinks that is much more environmentally friendly. 15.51 TIX enters dancing and jumping. He jumps on the table to loosen the press a bit. “I am ecstatic,” he exclaims. He admits he hates the big white fake fur coat because it is way too warm. TIX says that at Christmas and New Year’s Eve he was alone to perfect the song. TIX does not want to tell about who wrote his song, because he wants everyone to identify with it. Asked for a message for children in need, he has tears in his eyes. “Whatever you experience, it will either be better or it go away. I myself have turned my greatest weakness into my greatest strength. ” 15.26 When asked how the second rehearsal went, Cypriot Elena Tsagrinou sings “Better than the first, so I’m very happy”. All problems that arose with the dancers have been solved today. Elena reveals that she has been practicing the difficult choreography every day since January. There is a connection with Lady Gaga: one of the song’s composers also composed for Lady Gaga. But, she adds, there are also a lot of differences. Recently, Elena has completely mastered the song and the act. 14:59 Lesley Roy says that everything in the
