Eurovision is here! Delegations have been arriving in Basel in the last few days and rehearsals started on May 3. After closing the first rehearsals to the press in 2022, the EBU has now done away with TikTok videoclips. They will instead release sets of three photographs a day after each rehearsal, as well as description of the proceedings on their official channels. As such, today, we cover yesterday’s rehearsals, starting with Iceland, with “RÓA”.
🇮🇸 Iceland – VÆB – First rehearsal
The following pictures have been published by the official Eurovision accounts. (Source : Alma Bengtsson, Corinne Cumming / EBU)
What happened on stage?
This description is sourced from indications given by the official Eurovision Reddit account.
- The staging does not particularly deviate from the Söngvakeppnin version, but is upgraded to the bigger Eurovision stage. Changes include:
- the boat from the beginning of the song, which has been painted in white, with some elements attached to it (a VÆB sign, a buoy, and waves at the floor level)
- the outfits of the backing dancers, who wear silver dungarees and silver bucket hats, as well as “Icelandic jumpers”
- VÆB themselves keep their outfits and signature shades
- The back LED screen shows “geometric landscapes and seascapes in neon red and blue”, as well as the word VÆB in big letters, as they have used during the national selection and in pre-parties
- The front LED frame around the B-stage is also used, to create “depth of field” effects with the screen on the back.
- No pyros apparently, but a use of smoke jets during the performance
Stay tuned for further coverage of today’s photos as they are released, and for our live coverage on the ground starting on May 10, which will include (among other things) the full dress rehearsals and the live shows, live from Basel!
