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, and start with Norway, the first rehearsal of the day, with “Lighter”.
🇳🇴 Norway – Kyle Alessandro – 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. Norway’s stage director this year is Mona Bernsten, who also worked on “Ulveham” last year.
- Kyle keeps an armour that looks similar (or possibly identical) to the one he wore in MGP, with steel plates and chainmail
- He performs with three dancers, wearing outfits that are also similar to those worn by the MGP backing dancers ; one of them will perform some breaking at the end of the performance
- The performance retain a lot of dancing elements, including the dance break, and will usse the B-stage (aka the “Frame stage” for the crew onsite) and the walkway behind it
- Lightning will be put to good use, with the light bars being lowered in a zig-zag formation during the song, in order to surround Kyle by spotlights for the sung bridge (“Silence fills the room, and I’ve taken off my jewels…”)
- The LED back screen will show “post-apocalyptic mountain graphics”
- In terms of pyrotechnics, the flames put on the floor in MGP will remain, this time on the frame stage ; more traditional flame jets will also be used in the second half of the performance
After his rehearsal, Kyle had to be rushed to the dentist as he complained from pain in his mouth. He underwent an operation to remove a wisdom tooth and has been asked to rest until Wednesday.
Stay tuned for further coverage today, with the rehearsals of yesterday, 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!
