We are LIVE from Basel and the St. Jakobshalle for the first dress rehearsal of the year, which is only open to the press.
Once the rehearsal start, we will be updating this page with our first reactions to the FULL performances of the following entries:
- 1 – 🇮🇸 Iceland – VÆB – “Róa”
- 2 – 🇵🇱 Poland – Justyna Steczkowska – “Gaja”
- 3 – 🇸🇮 Slovenia – Klemen – “How Much Time Do We Have Left?”
- 4 – 🇪🇪 Estonia – Tommy Cash – “Espresso macchiato”
- AQ – 🇪🇸 Spain (automatic qualifier) – Melody – “Esa diva”
- 5 – 🇺🇦 Ukraine – Ziferblat – “Bird of Pray”
- 6 – 🇸🇪 Sweden – KAJ – “Bara bada bastu”
- 7 – 🇵🇹 Portugal – NAPA – “Deslocado”
- 8 – 🇳🇴 Norway – Kyle Alessandro – “Lighter”
- 9 – 🇧🇪 Belgium – Red Sebastian – “Strobe Lights”
- AQ – 🇮🇹 Italy (automatic qualifier) – Lucio Corsi – “Volevo essero un duro”
- 10 – 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan – Mamagama – “Run With U”
- 11 – 🇸🇲 San Marino – Gabry Ponte – “Tutta l’Italia”
- 12 – 🇦🇱 Albania – Shkodra Elektronika – “Zjerm”
- 13 – 🇳🇱 Netherlands – Claude – “C’est la vie”
- 14 – 🇭🇷 Croatia – Marko Bošnjak – “Poison Cake”
- AQ – 🇨🇭 Switzerland (automatic qualifier) – Zoë Më – “Voyage”
- 15 – 🇨🇾 Cyprus – Theo Evan – “Ssh”
We will not be able to see the announcement of the fake results, but the new format for announcing qualifiers has been confirmed at a press briefing earlier this afternoon. We will see a first version of it at the evening show.
Opening and introduction act
When we entered the arena, two small tables or stools (hard to say from the stands) were already on the frame stage, ad well as a big prop on the main stage, covered in black. Some sort of instruments have been put on the tables, and the big prop appears to be a sort of fake rock, carved as stairs, with people standing on it with very long horns (to blow into), and children in front of them on the main stage.
The “Te Deum” rings and we start with graphics of space and water, before going into the arena, where our introduction act performers are waiting. A woman in traditional garnments “vocalises” in front of the prop, with dancers around her, and the horn-players blowing into their horn.
The dancers then join the frame stage, all wearing some sort of traditional or very simple costume. They queue behind the tables, with a man playing the instruments that look a bit like xylophones on them.
The music turns into the opera part of “The Code” at some point, as dancers, wearing loose clothes, invade the walkway and the centre of the frame stage, for a final choreography, before the whole act ends. Staff members are putting the props away, and the hosts, Hazel and Sandra, walk on the frame stage from both ends of it.
“Thank you Malmö for organising the show last year. These memories will live forever.” The press corps is giggling, considering last year’s events.
Hazel remind us that Sandra Studder took part in Eurovision in 1991, finishing fifth, as “Sandra Simó”. Hazel was not even born at the time, apparently.
[the article will be regularly updated with new info]🇮🇸 Iceland – VÆB – “Róa”
First postcard, from VAEB, who receive a lette.r And we are transported to a sort of circus, where they meet with performers and play with a ball of light. The stage ready is up, and we’re in for the first performance.
The boys take their sunglasses early, before the first chorus (not including the introduction one), when the atmosphere turns to red, before turning to blue again for the actual chorus.
The boat is back, all white and painted, with the very efficient choreo used in Söngvakeppnin.
There is some augmented reality, with virtual, “LEGO-like” octopusses being thrown at the boys as they push theem back at the screen. There’s also a nice shot in the second pre-chorus, on them above a boat displayed on the LED floor, with no AR this time from what we saw.
The performance ends with a big VÆB graphic on the backscreen.
🇵🇱 Poland – Justyna Steczkowska – “Gaja”
Second postcard: the artists are actually filmed receiving a postcard, and the camera zooms on it before being teleported to Switzerland. Justyna visits a Library, then sort of rakes snow on a mountain?
The performance then starts, with Justyna already on the ground, so she does not descend on the floor at the beginning. She is barely singing the verses but does belt out the chorus parts. She is clearly saving her voice for the more important performances.
She does grab the ropes from the ceiling to be elevated a few meters above the floor, with the dragon graphics flying behind her and on the LED Floor. The dragon is back when she’s down again, and sets the stage and the LED screens on fire. The press corps is going WILD!
🇸🇮 Slovenia – Klemen – “How Much Time Do We Have Left?”
Klemen also goes to a snowy mountain in his postcard, to play some curling. The set-up for the performance take a bit more time so we are served with audience shots before it begins.
The starry pattern on the frame and back LED screen is very efficient. Behind Klemen, some footage of his wife, and sometimes them together.
After the first chorus, a dancer puts a “harness” that’s not visible on camera, and as the second chorus begins, the famous upside down moment is bacj, with the dancers leaving Klemen floating in the air.
During the bridge (“I admire your power…”), the light bars descend in a slope-confirguration, like half a roof above him, in a very beautiful moment. Klemen’s wife arrives for the last chorus, all dressed in white, as the last shot show them face to face, and kissing after the end of the song.
🇪🇪 Estonia – Tommy Cash – “Espresso macchiato”
For his postcard, Tommy Cash is doing some roller, although he’s barely doing anything himself and is more the sort of referee or instructor for local girls doing roller.
The performance begins with a red curtain on the screen, which opens to show the graphics of the “Winners Café” from outside. The café then “opens up” and we see Inside. For the second chorus, eveything floats in the café, and then the screen shows the “Tommy cash” plane flapping his wings like a bird.
There is a fake stage invasion by a Tommy fangirl: Tommy looks surprised at first, then he dances with her.
There’s also quite a few nice moments with the security guard dancers, including one when they form a throne for hims to sit on.
“Coffee for everybody!” he shouts at the end.
There’s a small break before Spain, as the hosts show us the three most famous Swiss songs in history. These are “Chihuaha” (DJ Gogo), “The Race” (Yellow) and “Dance little bird” (Werner Thomas) (which I only knew from its French version, “La danse des canards”).
🇪🇸 Spain (automatic qualifier) – Melody – “Esa diva”
We get the now mandatory explanation about the automatic qualilfiers, before Spain’s postcard. Melody meets a woman in Lucerne, and cooks some chocolate with her.
The performance begins with Mellody in her black dress with a long train, in front of the white screen, with her dancers hidden under the train.
She takes off her hat and train, and a set of curtains fall in front of her to let her take off the dress and then appear in her stunning white, sparkly outfit we saw in the pictures. As she perfoms the middle section of the song, a platform is set behind the curtains, with two sets of stairs on the side. The curtains are raised for the final section, which happens on the top of the platform.
She is giving us the best vocals and the arena is vibing, even if it’s mostly empty!
🇺🇦 Ukraine – Ziferblat – “Bird of Pray”
Ziferblat goes to Basel in their postcard, and also cook some meal with locals.
The performance begins with the high note of the beginning, on the main stage, then we switch to the frame stage where Daniel starts in front of a pilllar, and walks quickly to the main stage to join the backing vocalists. There are some shots on them when they perform the high notes, as they move their arms like birds.
We have some fireworks during the middle-eight, before Daniel starts again from the back of the main stage, and runs to the front for the last chorus, ending up on the walkway.
The blurry, bloom effect is back, although it looks less strong than in the footage we were shown.
🇸🇪 Sweden – KAJ – “Bara bada bastu”
KAJ are in Maggllingen for their postcard, where they partake in some sort of wrestling sport.
The current favourite is now performing! Not much has changed, except that there are only three dancers now. When they are at the same floor level, they are behind KAJ but slightly more on the right, like in staggered rows.
There are a lot of pyros for the bridge, and the laser show at the end is impressive. This remains a strong contender, and the press is in enthusiastic applause by the end!
🇵🇹 Portugal – NAPA – “Deslocado”
The NAPA boys are tasting some wines in a cellar in Lavaux for their postcard.
The camera moves are very sow for the beginning of the song, with the camera unzooming as Guilherme slowly walks from the back of the stage to the front of the main one. He does not walk on the walkway before the end of the first chorus, accompanied by his guitarist an bassist.
The colours on the screen alternate between blue and pastel orange, with the final section having orange lights and pastel colours over a blue background. There’s some beautiful lightning at the end, and the press is also very enthusiastic about it. Qualification remains in doubt, though.
🇳🇴 Norway – Kyle Alessandro – “Lighter”
Kyle joins boy-scouts in a forest in Egnach for his postcard.
He begins his performance sitting on the steps of his MGP prop, with two dancers joining him in the pre-chorus. The LED goes from a night to a rocky landscape engulfed in flames as the chorus hits, and remains so until the bridge.
Kyle and his dancers join the frame stage for the second chorus, as the ligh bars descend on the main stage for it, before going back up for the dance break, which is more impressive than in MGP.
We have some impressive saltos from a third dancer, who ends up performing break dancing on the frame stage as the rest of the performers finish the song on the walkway.
🇧🇪 Belgium – Red Sebastian – “Strobe Lights”
We’re back in Snowy mountains with Red Sebastian, at Jungfraujoch, described as “the top of Europe”.
He begins at the right end of the frame stage, and as he starts moving, triangles with a single red eye in them appear Under his feet and on the frame. As the first chorus (post-intro) begins, he kneels on the floor, which has turned white, and looks at the floor, as a red version of him appars on the back screen, as if he was filmed by the floor.
The routine we saw in the rehearsal footage has been kept, after which Red Sebastian joins the main stage, where the light bars are very low, and he concludes the performance with red everywhere.
🇮🇹 Italy (automatic qualifier) – Lucio Corsi – “Volevo essero un duro”
Like Ziferbat, Lucio is in Basel for his postcard, and he is invited to ride on an old trammway. He was preparing for the Turquoise Carpet, basically.
The performance begins very much like it did in Sanremo, with the addition of the giant old radios/speakers we saw last Week. The lyrics are translated as subtitles, in a way that is very literal. Tommaso sings with him at some points, and their voices work very well together. It really feelks Sanremo-esque.
For the bridge, Lucio walks to the frame stage, followed by Tommaso. He then does his harmonica soo as Tommaso sings the backing voice of the chorus. It really feels like a live instrument, and it probaby is!
We have a small break before Azerbaijan, as the hosts talk about Eurovision props. They reveal that this year, the maximum weight for props is 200kg and the maximum height is 220cm, but acts can stack them.
The hosts have small toys of famous animal props and throw them at the audience for anyone to take. These include Francesco Gabbani’s gorilla, or Dihaj’s horse.
They then show a few archives of famous props like the 2017 horse and gorilla, San Marino’s bull in 2022, and Window95Man’s egg from last year.
🇦🇿 Azerbaijan – Mamagama – “Run With U”
The performance is very much in line with the info we got from the rehearsals, with the band startin in and on the circle on the floor. The halo is lowered closer to them for the second verse.
We can’t see all the camera shots, but Asef interacts with the camera a lot. Yesterday, on the Turquoise Carpet, he told us that this was very new for him and that he was getting used to it. It seems that it’s working we for him!
He finishes the performance on a high note that gets some good applause from us.
🇸🇲 San Marino – Gabry Ponte – “Tutta l’Italia”
For his posctard, Gabry Ponte is also cooking some stuff with locals, a grandmother this time, from Bruzella in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino.
The giant head of David we saw in pictures is actually chewing a gum for the entire first verse, before making a bubble. For the chorus, it is repaced by pink silhouettes of people dancing, with “Tutta l’Italia” written in a graffiti font. For the second verse, they are replaced by two marble statue dancing together.
The references we see by the end are the Trevi Fountain, the Coliseum, a statue of Atlas, the Vitruvian Man and some renaissance paintings.
🇦🇱 Albania – Shkodra Elektronika – “Zjerm”
Shkodra Elektronika join the Basel-postcard club, where they examine paintings in a sort of museum.
Beatriçe begins the performance on the walkway, but walks to the main stage during the first verse. For this first part, she is alined with Kolë at the centre of the stage (with him in the middle and her in front). They only get face to face before the spoken words part, on a beautiful overhead stage. A small issue meant we did not hear the first words of Kolë but the mic went up after a few seconds. The camera alternates between both faces for this part, before the big finale.
Incredibly lourd applause from our side of the arena for this!
🇳🇱 Netherlands – Claude – “C’est la vie”
Claude takes a train on his postcard.
We wondered if the performance would be a single-shot one. It is not, but there is a lot from the one steadycam operator. The operator and his lighters follow claude from the walkway to the main stage, where he joins the musicians, as the operator turns around them. In the final part, a sort of door-sized mirror is installled next to him, where he sees his younger self (the one we saw in the videoclip).
Loads of clappping along and applause from us.
🇭🇷 Croatia – Marko Bošnjak – “Poison Cake”
Marko visits an ice cave in Zermatt during his postcard.
The performance begins around the cauldron, with Marko standing behind it and singing the first part of the song. He leaves it for the front of the main stage after the first chorus, then joins the walkway where he’s filmed with his dancers, facing the audience.
He takes off his costumes during the final shout, after they have a joined the frame stage. His dancers dance around him for the big finale.
The vocals are good, and there has been a slight revamp of some elements with the song (strong basses, and slightly different girly voices during the childish part).
🇨🇭 Switzerland (automatic qualifier) – Zoë Më – “Voyage”
After a small break to mention the “Rest of the World”, we get to the Swiss postcard, with Zoë visiting a harbour in Basel. This really feels like a good old postcard showing the economic might of the host country.
Zoë is surrounded by camera and lightning operators, and the screen we have in the arena cuts to black a llot, so we don’t see much of the performance. She faces the left side of the main stage, and there a few camera shots we do see. There are some plays on blurring effects, and a moment when she is shown from the left side, with the camera getting almost behind her and the lightning almost hiding her, but a quick camera movement gets her back at the centre of the stage.
The bridge is full of quick movements from her and from the camera, but it looks ilke we remain with the same camera. At the end, the LED screen invites the audience to switch on their phone’s light and to wave them.
🇨🇾 Cyprus – Theo Evan – “Ssh”
For his postcard, Theo goes clubbing in Basel.
The beginning is as efficient as we saw in the rehearsal footage. There are moments when Theo grabs the scaffolding while his dancers are rocking it front and back. Among the structures they create, there is a sort of “L” shape, with the top bar being then pushed down to aline with the low part.
The dancing is clean, the vocals a bit less, but Theo is not pushing it, preserving himself for the later performances.
The middle eight has Theo alone on stage, filmed from the side, in a bue ight, before he joins back with his dancers and the scaffolding put into a V configuration.
Theo looks quite exhausted, and finishes the song with a “Shh” sign with his finger over his mouth, as the screen quickly closes down as it opened up early.
And we’re done with the performances ! We know we cannot attend the results, but we’ll have to see about the interval acts.
UPDATE: We have been asked to leave the arena (not just me, the whole press corps) after the recap, so we won’t be able to report on the interval acts. We did hear a bit of “Refrain” as we left, but we will know more tonight at the first public rehearsal, the Evening Show.
Stay tuned for more news, including the traditional Press Poll with the press’ impressions of the first semi-final!
