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 continue with Austria, the sixth rehearsal of the day, with “Wasted Love”.
🇦🇹 Austria – JJ – 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.
- JJ wears a long glossy black leather coat, over a black outfit, with small metallic rings on some of the surfaces (the collars, the edge of the coat, etc.)
- The performance uses a large prop in the middle of the stage : a “boat” made of packing crates, with a wooden mast, a small lamp, and a white sail
- JJ spends the performance inside the boat, clinging onto the mast during the second chorus, and being subjected to a wind machine in order to create a storm-like effect on stage
- The entire performance is meant to be filmed in black and white, which means the lights are more contrasted than usual in order to produce the desired effects and shadows on camera. Camera effects are also used to simulate a storm, along with the wind machine and the LED screens
- As we’ve just said, the LED screens are used for the storm in the middle of the performance, but also at the end:
- the floor LED screens are used in an overhead shot in which the boat look like it’s about to be sucked into a water vortex
- at the same time, a lighthouse appears on the back wall, symbolising the beacon of hope in the storm
The stage director for Austria this year is Sergio Jaen, who is also working with Cyprus 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.
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!
Austria gewinnt eurosong contest