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 conclude with Cyprus, the last rehearsal of the day, with “Shh”.
🇨🇾 Cyprus – Theo Evan – 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 and by the production notes published by the Cypriot delegation.
- Theo is wearing black trousers and a black tank top
- He is accompanied by four dancers, similarly dressed, with shorter trousers
- These five performers dance by using two scaffolding towers, which change positions to “create different formations”: Theo and his dancers integrate this formations in their choreography.
- At the beginning of the song, Theo and two dancers form the shape of the Vitruvian Man (the famous drawing, by Leonardo da Vinci, of a man with four arms and four legs, inscribed in a square and a circle, showing the Renaissance vision of ideal proportions): this is the mysterious person singing the song, “with golden locks” and famed for his beauty, as described in the lyrics.
- The lights are black and white at the beginning and end of the performance, but switch to black and red in the middle
- There will also be some camera effects, with a special effect of Theo breathing into the camera and fading “into the ether” before the final drop
- In terms of pyrotechnics, fire and jets are used on the front stage during the final two choruses, with the final section having smoke jets mirrored on the LED wall
The stage director for Cyprus this year is Sergio Jaen, who is also working with Austria and Finland this year. Last year, he worked with the Irish delegation on Bambie Thug’s stunning staging, which was an important element of the entry’s success.
The Vitruvian Man reference was already revealed yesterday by Theo himself, on his Instagram account, where he explained that “Shh” was a way to bring the Vitruvian Man to life.
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!
