Eurovision 2024: Roundup of Day 5 of Rehearsals in Malmö

By rudsar73 on May 1, 2024 • ( Leave a comment )

Today has seen the fifth day of rehearsals in the Malmö Arena, this time the acts who will participate in Semi Final 1 get a second round of rehearsals on the Malmö stage . This round of rehearsals is to check any changes made from the first rehearsals and as has been the case with previous years, the second set of rehearsals are also closed to the press .From today, you can see clips of all the rehearsals on the official Eurovision You Tube channel .Today saw Cyprus opening proceedings , followed by Serbia , Lithuania ,Ireland , Ukraine , Poland, Croatia, Iceland , Slovenia,Finland,Moldova, Azerbaijan , Australia, Portugal with Luxembourg closing the day .

Here are my thoughts about the day .

Cyprus

We see the cube effects in the staging again and Silia and her backing dancers in all white.We have green light effects with swirls of green spiral effects in the background as they perform . Lots of acrobatics and dancing going on and for me it’s typical of most cypriot entries that we have seen over the last years . Difficult to judge camera angles from the rehearsal clip , we will be able to judge this more when it comes to the dress rehearsal shows .

Serbia

Teya is in a grey/purple/lilac outfit with black decorated sleeves . She’s alone on stage with a huge rock as a prop. There’s clouds, lightning and the staging is initially very dark, but we also have purple , blue and white lights . We also have smoke effects around Teya’s feet . It’s a lovely song but I do fear for it being second in the running order and with there only being televoting on semi final night .

Lithuania

Silvester has mainly stuck to the format that he used in his National Final and indeed is wearing the same outfit. It remains to be seen whether he will change that for the dress rehearsal shows .He is joined by his four male backing dancers wearing black masks over their heads . There’s no doubt that this is a catchy song with a repetitive chorus that makes it stick in the head but he’s got an early draw in the running order. The fact that the Semi Finals are televoting only may work in his favour .

Ireland

Oh my goodness Ireland , you couldn’t have sent something more different this year! This is wacky , weird ( in the right way !) and is going to be totally different to anything else on that Malmö stage ! I must admit to being concerned about how this would be staged but Bambie and their team have got it so right !Bambie is in a black outfit with their face painted in white, with some black make up …very Malificent – like ! There are black cones on their outfit .Hair styled into horns On stage , Bambie is in a circle of candles and accompanied by a bare chested dancer painted in blue and black . Staging has galaxy type effects there’s smoke effects and blue /pink. I am curious to see how people react to this in the audience next week .

Ukraine

Jerry and Alyona are in the same outfits as the first rehearsal . The staging consists of a rock . Jerry climbs this rock and there’s a wind machine blowing her hair . There are also firelight effects. Alyona still does her rap part . You can never write off Ukraine at Eurovision and judging by the snippets we have seen , I don’t think this year will be any different either.

Poland

Luna is still in her red and white outfit from the first rehearsal and yes, the red cones are still there on her shoulder pads. She’s also in red boots. She starts the performance wearing a PVC red cape with large, pointy shoulders , which is then removed later on in the performance . The floor looks like a giant chess board.There’s a dark backdrop of a starry sky with a large moon ( astrology fans will love it !) , then later in the performance, we get an LED effect depicting a red horse which Luna looks as if she is riding on . It’s quite imaginative staging , but I just wonder if this may have been better having a later draw as it may get forgotten by the time we reach the penultimate acts .

Croatia

Second rehearsal for Croatia . Baby Lasagna still in the same outfit as rehearsal 1 with the dancers wearing white and black outfits . Performance very similar to that of the National final with pyros, smoke effects , traditional dancing and , not forgetting the neon animals and cats !This is the full package , very televote friendly and will undoubtedly qualify, with there being a public vote only and be up there in the running on Grand Final night.

Iceland

Second rehearsal for Hera Bjork and there appears to be little that has changed from rehearsal 1. Hera is dressed in her all in one cream, spangly suit with tassles dropping from the sleeves. She’s joined by five backing singers in black and gold outfits . She starts stood on a platform which has stairs leading down to the stage .LED screens are in gold . This is so like the National final performance, Hera is a great singer but I fear the staging may seem quite tame compared to other acts in this Semi Final .

Slovenia

Raiven is an accomplished performer and her confidence shows on stage . She wears a dark silver body suit and underneath a transparent outfit .She’s joined by two male backing dancers who are topless and don’t have much else on and female dancers in “nude” body suits . The LED graphics create a mysterious atmosphere with the backdrops consisting of sky and water . There’s also wind and fog included.

Finland

Much the same as the National Final and first rehearsal. This is really going to divide opinions, some will love it for the bonkers element , others may just see it as a chaotic mess ! While Finland came close to winning last year, this year, I fear they may not even make the final but with a public vote, you just never know .

Moldova

I must admit when I saw this in the National Final, I didn’t rate it highly as I felt the staging was a bit too regimented . But I reckon this is going to be one of those acts where the change in staging will make a difference and improve qualifying chances. Rather than packing the stage with backing instrumentalists as in the National Final, Natalia is alone on stage and this puts the focus more on her . She is more elegantly dressed although the top part of the dress is a bit revealing in parts! Her hair is down and in a simple bob style . As in the National Final, she has her violin with her . The staging has LED backgrounds containing nature and at one point forms angels wings to either side of Natalia. This may now qualify .

Azerbaijan

Fahree and Ilkin wearing black futuristic style suits . The LED effects are quite something with an animated figure coming out of water and there are giant cupped hands onstage which we see Fahree stand between .Staging mainly dark with some light effects . Azerbaijan missed out on qualification last year and this may well get them back into the final this year.

Australia

Zaachariaha wears a long white dress with a head covering with Michael in a sleeveless shirt and trousers . Australia have brought a bit of their culture to Eurovision , with the inclusion of a didgeridoo during the performance . The LED backdrop has the words of the song title “Milkali La with the English translation “One Blood” underneath . There’s also two backing singers and there’s movement around the stage and interaction with each other .

Portugal

Portugal have kept to the performance from their National Final with Iolanda and her backing dancers in all white. The dancers have their faces covered ,Once again there are cube effects in the staging .It’s the penultimate act in the running order , which may help Portugal’s chances, especially if people prefer something more gentle compared to the bonkers and more uptempo acts in this semi final

Luxembourg

And after a marathon day, we finally come to the final act which is Luxembourg .Apparently the outfit Tali is wearing today isn’t going to be the one she will wear for the dress rehearsal shows next week . She’s accompanied by 5 backing dancers wearing red outfits .Staging props are a set of cubes which Tali and her backing dancers stand within.Once again we have ceiling cubes .LED backdrop shows colourful swirls, sparkles and fire and includes the word Fighter .There’s smoke effects on stage . Being last in the running order won’t do Luxembourg’s qualifying chances any harm.