Rehearsals for San Marino’s 1in360 kick off…in Austria

The rehearsals for San Marino’s big Eurovision selection process, 1in360, have already begun. One rather…unexpected detail: the rehearsals are happening in Vienna, Austria.
The purpose of the rehearsals is to prepare the artists for the variety of genres and styles of music that they will be performing through the selection process. Although SMRTV, the San Marinese broadcaster, are yet to confirm the dates for 1in360, one of the participants, Giovanni Montalbano, says that the dates are:

• 27 January – Heat 1
• 28 January – Heat 2
• 3 February – Heat 3
• 10 February – Heat 4
• 27 February – Final

The elephant in the room: Vienna?

Yup. The participants are rehearsing in the Austrian capital, Vienna. SMRTV hasn’t revealed the answer to the obvious question: “Why Vienna?”, so we’ve no idea either!
SMRTV also haven’t revealed where the shows will take place. It seems logical that rehearsals should take place in the venue that the performances will happen in. On the other hand, it seems illogical for the San Marinese selection for Eurovision to take place in Austria!

The 1in360 participants

The eleven acts who will compete for the right to represent San Marino in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 are:

• Emma Sandström (Finland)
• Giovanni Montalbano (Italy)
• Irol (San Marino)
• Sara de Blue (Austria)
• Franklin Calleja (Malta)
• Jessika Muscat (Malta)
• Judah Gavra (Israel)
• Tinashe Makura (Zimbabwe)
• Camilla North (Norway)
• Sebastian Schmidt (Germany)
• Jenifer Besky (Germany)

San Marino in the Eurovision Song Contest

San Marino have participated in the Eurovision Song Contest eight times since they first participated in 2008. Their best result was achieved in 2014, with Valentina Monetta’s Maybe. It’s the only San Marinese song to take part in a Eurovision final, but achieved only 24th place with 14 points.
Last year, Valentina Monetta & Jimmie Wilson represented San Marino with Spirit of the Night. Unfortunately, they came in last place in the semifinal, scoring only 1 point, which came from the German televoters.
What do you think of this? Can you think of any reason that the San Marinese rehearsals are taking place in Austria? Which is your favourite out of all the contestants?
Let us know in the comments below and on social media @ESCXTRA!