Eurovision is here! Delegations are now in Basel and every semi-finalist has rehearsed at least once over since Saturday. Yesterday was the first day of second rehearsals, with all of the first semi-finalists rehearsing during shorter slots of 20m. The Eurovision social accounts have been publishing the traditional second rehearsal videos, which are short extracts of the TV feed from each performance. The Eurovision website has also released new pictures for each rehearsal.
Below, you can find all the videos in the larger Youtube format (unlisted but made available by the Eurovision app), as well as the new details they and the photos might reveal, and links to the notes taken from the first rehearsal of each country. We cover the last songs in slots #11 to #15 in the running order, but you can find the previous ones in the links below :
- Song #1 to #5 – Iceland, Poland, Slovenia, Estonia, Ukraine
- Song #6 to #10 – Sweden, Portugal, Norway, Belgium and Azerbaijan
🇸🇲 San Marino – Gabry Ponte – Second rehearsal
Check out our notes on the first rehearsal here.
The videoclip confirms that the performance is very focused on Gabry Ponte himself, although it shows at least a few close angles on the vocalists. But it looks like the performance alternates between close shots of Ponte and very wide shots of the stage. It can be assumed that the dancers get some camera angles on them too, but the video does not show any.
The videoclip and the pictures also reveal more on the graphics used during the song: it is full of reference to Italy, like the lyrics and videoclip of “Tutta l’Italia”. We’ll see, among other things, the Trevi fountain in the first seconds of the video, but also several references to the Renaissance, including a statue of David surprised by the growth of a chewing gum bubble over his mouth, and a Vitruvian man (who could just replace Lumo as the new mascot of Eurovision 2025). You can see both pictures in the slideshow below.
🇦🇱 Albania – Shkodra Elektronike – Second rehearsal
Check out our notes on the first rehearsal here.
Although we strive to be objective in our reporting of these rehearsals, we have to say that the staging for “Zjerm” looks absolutely gorgeous. The videoclip starts right after Kolë’s spoken words section, and the entire stage is divided in two part: on Beatriçe’s side, on the left, full red colours, with circular and losange patterns. On Kolë’s side, on the right, black and white with clean-cut triangular shapes. The split appears on the back wall but also on the frame (where waving red lines contrast with straight white lines and triangles) and on the floor (which remains black but has a red line marking the division of the stage).
In interviews, Shkodra Elektronike have said that in the song, Beatriçe sings about a perfect minute of peace and harmony in the world, which she wants to last forever, while Kolë brings her back to reality with the harsh sound of his unsung part. The division between the organic, circular, wavy shapes in red and the industrial, square and triangular shapes in black and white, embodies this perfectly. It is like a more symbolic and artistic version of what Jendrik did in 2021 with “I Don’t Feel Hate”.
As Beatriçe walks to the frame stage, the split disappears but the screens alternate between the red and the white shapes, as the song runs to its final section.
The pictures published by the EBU show that the split is not always present: it probably appears when Kolë starts his section. At some point, possibly at the very end (which would be fitting), the two opposite patterns seem to merge on the front frame LED screens and at the side of the back wall: circles and losanges, but in red, black and white.
🇳🇱 The Netherlands – Claude – Second rehearsal
Check out our notes on the first rehearsal here.
In our first review, we considered that the official live blog descriptions could mean that the performance would use “long takes from a single camera onstage”. The whole 30 seconds of the videoclip are from a single take, from a camera operator on stage. Will “C’est la vie” be filmed in just one take? We will tell you when we see the dress rehearsals.
The clip confirms the ideas of dancers and musicians getting in and out of shot, and of Claude being surrounded by violinists.
The pictures give more indications that close camera shots will be used, as you see camera operators close to Claude in several of them. This could fuel the speculation of either a one-take-performance, or at least a performance with a very long take, as Greece and France did last year.
🇭🇷 Croatia – Marko Bošnjak – First Rehearsal
Check out our notes on the first rehearsal here.
The videoclip is very much in line with what the first rehearsal had revealed. It shows the beginning of the final section, when Marko takes off his cape. It also shows the very intricate configuration of the light bars, and how they rise back up to be very neatly aligned for the last part of the song, right in time. The yellow lights used on the lightning rigs (the light bars) and around the frame is a very impressive sight.
The gallery also reveals some moments from the beginning of the song, when Marko and his dancers are around a cauldron, which is mentioned in the lyrics of “Poison Cake”. The image below shows the small cauldron and the smoke and low fog effects used in this section.
🇨🇾 Cyprus – Theo Evan – Second rehearsal
Check out our notes on the first rehearsal here.
The videoclip shows us the introduction of “Shh”, with the famous Vitruvian Man choreography. The video reveals an original choice in terms of aspect ratio: the performance starts with a very vertical vision of Theo and his dancers. The frame gets larger and larger, until it gets to a 1:1 square ratio. It may go wider throughout the performance, we don’t know yet.
The pictures show a few different configurations of the scaffolding used during the song, including some where the structures are organised more asymetrically.
We will come back with more information on the last first few contestants of the second semi-final later today, and with the rest of them tomorrow, as well as with the first rehearsals of the automatic qualifiers. So stay tuned on ESCXTRA! And don’t forget, we will be on the ground, starting on May 10, to bring you all the latest from Basel, including the Turquoise Carpet, the dress rehearsal, and more.
