Thursday, May 15, 2008

A single prop door for Russia and Greece

esctoday.com reports:

A potential staging problem has emerged after the stage production team realised that the props for the performances of Russia and Greece were too large and complex to switch in the 30 second gap between performances. After a round of heated debate, both sides are working against the clock to make changes to their props.
A spokesperson for the Greek delegation confirmed that there would be no movement of the commercial break to faciliate the movement of the two countries props. Neither country was prepared to accept the possibility. The problem seems to be that both performances have large and heavy props, and there is only one door to the stage for prop changes, as opposed to two or more in recent years. As a result, the switch-over between the two countries is taking longer than the time allowed.

The Greek delegation have adapted the giant book that turns into a heart, adding wheels to speed the movement of it to and from the stage. They are also looking to make the prop lighter in order to make sure everything is done during the alloted time period.

So far, we are informed that the Russians have agreed to look at changes to their props, but that no changes have been offered. They rejected the request to remove the ladder prop and are said to be very unhappy at the situation, although it has been strongly denied by both countries and the EBU that they threatened at any point to withdraw from the competition.

Portugal rehearsal and press conference

Vânia Fernandes has everything what is needed to succeed in the contest nowadays: a touching, melancholic song performed with utter professionalism! The charismatic Portuguese singer gave several faultless performances today, using the gigantic stage to great effect with dark-blue and green projections on the LED-screen.



Press conference

In her press conference Vânia expressed her happiness about being in Belgrade. When asked about the lyrics of the song, the composer, Carlos Coelho, explained that it's funded upon a historical poem and Vânia added that it is a very emotional song for her and that it is about her native country, Portugal. The Portuguese team explained that they went on promotional tour to Bulgaria and Malta. When asked if Vânia has plans for an album, she asked that she would like to start working on one.



sources: eurovision.tv; esckaz.com

FYR Macedonia rehearsal and press conference

Tamara, Vrčak, and Adrijan are young, talented, and very popular performers in FYR Macedonia.

During rehearsals, the team were trying one of two ideas they have for the stage performance in the Eurovision Song Contest Semi-Final. The first idea involved a wall on stage, divided in to three parts, the left and right sides with photographs and the middle one being a gate. Tamara emerges through the gate at the start of the song, and there are two male dancers on stage and one female backing vocalist to support the trio.



Press conference

Head of Delegation Milanka Rasic introduced the team at the press conference. The first question came from a British journalist who was interested in finding out how the idea of three singers, who had enjoyed successful solo careers came together for the Eurovision Song Contest project. Vrčak replies "It was my idea, we were all close friends beforehand, I was the complete author of the song. I knew the others voices, so it was a natural choice really, we have the same energy."

Press conference part I


Press conference part II



Press conference part III





sources: eurovision.tv ; esckaz.com

Cyprus rehearsal and press conference

Evdokia Kadi, the singer representing Cyprus in the Second Semi-Final of the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest, amazed everyone with her performance.

Evdokia performs on and around a black dining table together with four backing dancers: She steps onto the table and leaves it again through "human" stairs, built by the backing dancers. Towards the end, the table is being popped up, revealing a red tablecloth, on which Evdokia takes a seat while the backing singers lift the table and carry it around.



Press conference

In the press conference, Evdokia was asked if she had ever considered singing Femme Fatale in any other language than Greek in the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest. She answered that they had tried out French and English version, but decided to stick to the original lyrics instead.
When the Head of Delegation was asked if Cyprus was ready to host the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, she reminded everyone that Cyprus will be the host of the 2008 Junior Eurovision Song Contest, and that therefore, the country would of course be able to host the Eurovision Song Contest, too.

source:eurovision.tv

Malta rehearsal and press conference

Morena is backed by a female vocal and four male dancers. The dancers choreography is up-tempo and tailored for the song which indeed will not be boring for the audience at the second Semi-Final on 22th of May. The four male dancers all wore black sunglasses, and Morena wore high-heeled, long boots decorated with small mirrors. The outfits for the live performance was revealed, and the theme is black with silver and black glitter.





Press conference

At the press conference after Morena's rehearsal, she told the fans and the accredited press that participating in the Eurovision Song Contest "is a dream come true". Moreover, the Maltese delegation elaborated on the meaning of the song, which is about Morena being a spy in a Russian setting where vodka is a secret code.



sources:eurovision.tv; esctoday.com

Hungary rehearsal and press conference

Hungarian singer Csézy had a stunning first rehearsal of her 2008 Eurovision Song Contest entry Candlelight. The classy ballad, beautifully performed by the pretty singer was well-received by the present media and fans.

Csézy is accompanied by a piano-player and four backing vocals. Vocally, there was no doubt that the attractive Hungarian can carry the song and the excellent backing vocals give the song some more depth.




Press conference

In the press conference, fans and media were treated with a short version of Csézy's song in Hungarian as well as an acapella version of the Hungarian song in the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest. Csézy revealed that there were five different outfits for her preview video offered to her, and she chose the Japanese-styled clothes as she liked them best.

source:eurovision.tv

Georgia rehearsal and press conference

Diana Gurtskaya, the Georgian representative in the Second Semi-Final of the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest performed in front of a stage scenery that looked like a flowering meadow.

On stage, she was supported by five backing dancers, who all finished the stage act standing behind Diana.



Press conference

Diana Gurtskaya started her press conference by singing her song for the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest, Peace Will Come, a cappella, and she did the same with the Hebrew song Jerusalem Of Gold, which she had previously recorded as well. When Diana was asked if she believed in the message of her song, she responded that, in fact, she was convinced that peace will come sooner or later. Talking about that, she also referred to her home region in Georgia, which is still in state of war today.



sources: eurovision.tv; esckaz.com

Denmark rehearsal and press conference

Simon Mathew's performance is simple, though energetic, and together with his band, they perform All Night Long very impressively.

Besides Simon, the band consists of two male guitar players, a keyboard player, a drummer and a female backing singer.



Press conference

At the press conference after the rehearsal, the Danish delegation expressed their satisfaction with the rehearsal and the whole arrangement at the venue. In regards to the actual rehearsal, Simon Mathew said it went "excellent" and he was very excited about being in Belgrade, representing Denmark.



sources: eurovision.tv; esckaz.com

Czech Republic rehearsal and press conference

Tereza Kerndlová was brilliant throughout her rehearsal. In addition to Tereza, there are four female dancers on stage. The choreography of the dancers fits the song well because it brings out the feeling of being happy, having fun and being in a discotheque - just as the title of the song implies.



Press conference



sources: eurovision.tv; esctoday.com

Switzerland rehearsal and press conference

Swiss Paolo Meneguzzi entered the stage with a piano-player and four additional backing vocals.

Vocally, Paolo gave a solid rendering of his Era Stupendo which is very popular with Eurovision Song Contest fans.




Press conference

Paolo revealed in his press conference that his second passion besides music is soccer. He has frequently participated in charity soccer games with other singers, like Eros Ramazzotti, trying to raise money for children in need. When asked how he would feel entering the Eurovision Song Contest, he answered that he is used to taking part in music competitions as he has participated a lot of times in the Italian San Remo festival.



sources: eurovision.tv; esctoday.com

Latvia rehearsal and press conference

The Latvian group Pirates Of The Sea consists of three lead singers Aleksandra Kurusova, Jānis Vaišļa and Roberto Meloni.

During the rehearsal it seemed that not all of the props were in place, and the final visual aspects of the performance will not be clear until the dress rehearsals.

The Pirates are joined by three other backing singers.Amongst the items used on stage are antique weapons and swords, with skull and cross bones flags being waved. Rumour has it that the Pirates could be using an authentic ship steering wheel and this has been held up in customs but will be available for the next rehearsals.





Press conference

The pirates arrived in full costumes to the press conference with Pirates of The Sea playing in the background. With regards to the staging, the obvious question of what happened with the other props was raised, to which Roberto answered "Well, they considered us pirates very dangerous at the airport so we couldn't bring the items straight away!".




sources:eurovision.tv; esckaz.com; estoday.com

Belarus rehearsal and press conference

The singer Ruslan Alehno showed a lively performance together with four female dancers - he even climbed on one of the shining baubles placed on the stage floor.

Overall, the performance was very lively and elaborate. There were no problems with his vocals and everything looked very convincing on the screens.





Press conference

At the press conference, Ruslan Alehno was asked if there are also Russian and Belarusian versions of Hasta La Vista. He said that a Russian version was recorded and is already on heavy rotation at several radio channels in Moscow.

source: eurovision. tv

Albania rehearsal and press conference

The Albanian representative Olta Boka, who is only 16 years old, managed to convince everyone with a heartwarming and professional performance in her first rehearsal.

Even if one could see that Olta was very nervous in the beginning of the rehearsal, she coped with that very well and showed a vocally impressive presentation of her ballad Zemrën E Lamë Peng.

The stage is rather dark during the performance, with a spot on Olta, who is reaching out for the camera with her hand towards the camera towards the end of the song. Olta was accompanied on stage by two guitar players and a drum kit player.



Press conference

In the Albanian press conference, Olta Boka apologized for being nervous on stage during her rehearsal. She explained that it was her first time to perform in front of an international public, and that she hoped to improve her stage act during the second rehearsal.


source: eurovision.tv

Lithuania rehearsal and press conference

Lithuanian representative Jeronimas Milius perfomed his beautiful ballad Nomads In The Night very convincingly.

Jeronimas performs alone on the stage which is shrouded in dark blue colours and smoke. Moreover a bright-shining moon on the huge LED screen is enhancing the ambience of the song.




Press conference

At the press conference after the rehearsal, Jeronimas seemed satisfied with todays rehearsal. Moreover he talked about what kind of music has inspired him. He emphasized that he always have listened to rock music from early childhood. An example of this is Metallica. Jeronima and the Lithuanian delegation expressed their content with being in Belgrade, and they were looking forward to exploring more of the city.

source: eurovision.tv

Ukraine rehearsal and press conference

Ukrainian representative Ani Lorak delivered a polished and slick performance of her Eurovision Song Contest entry Shady Lady during her first rehearsal.

At the beginning of the song the four male backing dancers are revealed one by one as the individual sections of the wall light up. The dancers then emerge on stage to join Ani. Towards the end of the song, Ani climbs to the top of the wall and is helped back down by the dancers. It seems that we will get more surprises within the performance during the full dress rehearsals.



Press conference

Ani Lorak has worked with composer and former Eurovision Song Contest singer/songwriter Philip Kirkorov for over six years, and a question was raised as to how the Shady Lady project was born. Philip replies "When I heard that Ani Lorak was representing Ukraine I called her and said I had an idea for a song. I had wanted to work with Ani for some time, we met and Ani listened to the song, liked it very much and within three days we were recording it in Greece!".



sources: eurovision.tv ; esctoday.com

Turkey rehearsal and press conference

The members of Mor ve Ötesi, the band representing Turkey presented themselves on stage like a typical rock band, with the lead singer and two more musicians playing the electronic guitar, and the fourth band member playing the drum kit.

Mor ve Ötesi showed a powerful and convincing performance, which looked and sounded flawless from the very beginning of the rehearsal.




Press conference

In their press conference, the band members were asked about the meaning of "Mor ve Ötesi". They replied that it means "Purple and beyond", referring to the colour spectrum, where purple is the last visible colour for human eyes. When they were asked about the lyrics of Deli, they explained that they had decided to sing in Turkish because they can express themselves better in their mother tongue.




source:eurovision.tv; esctoday.com

Sweden rehearsal and press conference

Charlotte Perrelli is joined by five backing singers - one of them located at the back part of the stage - and it was revealed that she will be wearing a glamourous, silver dress.

Charlotte starts her performance on a podium and usess the whole range of stage tricks: a special, jewelled microphone, a windmachine and also a green laser will be used in her performance!



Press conference

In her press conference Charlotte said that she believes in her song Hero as it is a fantastic song and hopes that people around Europe will like it too. Charlotte admitted that it's her first time in Serbia and that she really likes the country.



source: eurovision.tv; esctoday.com

Iceland rehearsal and press conference

Icelandic Euroband were the first to enter the stage at the Belgrade Arena singing their song This Is My Life.

The duet made up by Regína Ósk and Friðrik Ómar already wore their outfits for the Semi-Final.

Regína and Friðrik gave a powerful performance, and it seems like the choreography is more or less perfect.



Press conference

At the press conference after the rehearsal, the Icelandic delegation were very satisfied with everything in Belgrade, and they thought today's rehearsal went very well. A journalist from the accredited press asked why Euroband changed the original lyrics in Icelandic to English, and Regína replied that the English version was better for the up-tempo, techno song.

source:eurovision.tv