Well folks, after a long week , today we come to the end of the initial rehearsals , which have been held behind closed doors and no access given to Press. The Big 5 plus host country Sweden, took to the stage for a second time . Here is the round up of the day’s events , along with , as always , my thoughts on the acts and how I think they may fare next week . So here goes …..

United Kingdom

Well, I never thought my own country could pull off such unique staging but I have to hand it to Olly and his team, they have certainly been creative ! Olly is wearing a white sleeveless shirt and sparkly long , red trousers. He is accompanied by four male dancers, all wearing boxing gear and who are bare chested .The staging depicts a locker room , with an image of dirty , white walls and shower heads . There’s lots of camera shots and angles , which are designed to give the feeling of being dizzy !Lighting is ( appropriate for the UK !) red , white and blue . The LED walls give galactic effects and fire . Apparently there is more to come in the live shows .The dancers interact with each other as Olly sings . I reckon this is one of those performances where the staging will make a difference to the UK’s chances and we have seen it come slightly up the odds in the Betting since the first rehearsal . Could the UK now be a dark horse in the competition ? Given how open this year is , I wouldn’t be surprised !

Germany

I must confess to having a sneaking regard ( in the words of the late , great Sir Terry Wogan!) for this song.Although Isaak kind of reminds me of James Newman in looks, there’s no doubting that he does have good stage presence . He’s wearing casual black and his staging is made up of props that resemble a living room , made from black metal frames .The room has an open fire As the song gets underway, the three sides of the room bursts into fire and Isaak interacts with different parts of the room, presumably the fire is what he is “on the run ” from . There’s also pyros included . This could do better than people think. I don’t think Germany will be last this year.

Sweden

Marcus and Martinus more or less replicate the Melfest performance , in their black and blue suits and accompanied by four backing dancers who are wearing black leather body suits , as if trying to present a “cool ” look . The cubes and LED screens have pieces of code writing on them and the word “unforgettable ” on them , The now familiar dance routine from Mel fest is performed .Now this is a good one to put on to open the Grand Final but I don’t think this will be Sweden’s 8th winner .As good performers as Marcus and Martinus are, I still think “Air ” last year was a better song. Sweden will very likely still finish with respectable result though .

France

Slimane just oozes utter class with this song and those who like the old French chanson will lap this up !Slimane is in all white . He sits and kneels on the floor for part of the song on a white rectangular prop.The stage is dark, with black and blue lights , which does match the mood of the song. There’s white smoke and Slimane sings his heart out , expressing his emotions . With there being so many uptempo songs in the running this year, which could split the vote , could the public go for a gentle ballad like this in the way they did with Barbara Pravi in 2021 ? The juries will love this for sure .

Spain

I am still not sure about Spain ,I have to admit that when this won Benidorm fest , I wasn’t that keen, thinking that they have actually sent better entries .However , as songs go it’s not bad The lead singer is dressed in a black lace cat suit with flared trousers.Stage lighting is orange , red and yellow and they have brought the red sofa with them ! There’s two male dancers who have come along for the ride and they are wearing black suits and thick gold collars at the start of the song ,Later , they are stripped down to thong corsets and PVC thigh length boots There’s smoke and fire effects throughout . With there being so many uptempo numbers, it’s difficult to say how this will do . I’ll wait until we see the dress rehearsal performance before I make up my mind .

Italy

Angelina has changed her outfit from the first rehearsal. She’s now in black trousers and black shirt with a rose and purple glitter print ,with separate sleeves . It’s anyone’s guess which outfit she will use in the live performances.The performance makes full use of the LED cubes ,which are lowered to the floor, there’s an artwork of branches on them and it looks as if the branches are around the dancers . The scene is like a forest , trees , flowers and plants are also featured on the LED screens.The main prop is a huge throne , made of twigs and and branches, with red roses . It’s very colourful and Angelina struts up and down stage singing the song.Could this give Italy another win ? Possibly.

You can see a videoclip of the rehearsals today via the Official Eurovision You Tube Channel.

Following their rehearsals , the Big 5 Five participated in a draw to determine in where they will perform in the Grand Final .This year, besides the first and second halves, there is also a third option called the “Producer choice” ( where the producer decides the running order position-which could be in either half ) .

Results as follows :

UK -First half

Germany -First half

France -Second half

Spain -Producers choice

Italy -Producers choice.

Sweden have already had their position allocated through a draw made back in March . They will open the Grand Final on 11th May.

What do you think? Do you think our winner could come from any of these rehearsals today ? Let us know what you think by leaving us a comment below or you can find us on our Facebook and X feeds .

Next week we move on to the live shows and the Press will finally get the opportunity to see the acts in full for the first time . As always , we at Eurovision Ireland will be bringing you our Live blogs of dress rehearsal shows , starting with the Second Dress Rehearsal on Monday 6th May at 21.00 CET /20.00 BST , so #joinus then!

Author: Sarah Rudman

Source : Eurovision Ireland

Visual Sources : EBU Eurovision.TV YouTube