#ESC24: Live Blog of SF2, Dress Rehearsal 1 – from 14:45BST/15:45CET

The Wednesday afternoon technical rehearsal is the first time we get to see how Semi Final 2 hangs together. It’s bound to involve a few hiccups here and there, but it’s also bound to be all right for the Wednesday and Thursday evening shows.

We’re blogging the action to give you an idea of what to expect. It’s sure to be interesting. We’re unable to post images, as it’s forbidden from here in the press centre. All times below are CEST.

17:53 – We’re wrapping up this live blog now. But we will be blogging again from 20.00BST/21.00CEST. Come back and see what more happens.

17:51 – Petra and friends are back!

17:49 – From Petra to Kaarija and Cha Cha Cha!!!

17:45 – Petra takes to the stage to sing a little ditty. She is joined by some familiar faces.

17:44 – Tech issues!

17:42 – A look back at the Turquoise Carpet – AGAIN!

17:38 – Time for a look back at National Finalists who never reached the Eurovision stage across the years.

17:37 – The lines close. I make that 17 minutes of voting.

17:34 – Another voting recap.

17:26 – It’s time for the first Interval Act – a giant sing-along, with Helena, Charlotte & Sertab.

17:20 – It’s time for the voting instructions and first recap.

17:19 – Joost rounds off the competitive performances this afternoon with this bouncy number. The back projection rotates between various European landmarks as well as other cultural elements. Yes, this is been considered as another marmite entry and while it is annoyingly fun, the 100% televote will send this through easily – just like Finland qualified.

17:16 – Edsilia 1998 & Duncan 2019 grace the Dutch postcard.

17:15 – Gåte are dressed in black under a strong mix of pale blues and green lighting. The lighting emulates the northern lights. The performance of Ulveham has an air of mystery and intrigue about it. This could potentially be the first entry to transition a story from the video to the stage.

17:12 – Ketil 1986 & Alexander 2009 grace the Norwegian postcard.

17:10 – Eden Golan is alone on stage and like Dons, is stood in a ring type structure. She is soon joined by five backing dancers – considered of the contemporary nature. Eden performs the ballad well and while there is a mid tempo, the ballad hold its own. Eden shows a strong vocal range and connects with both the camera and audience.

17:07 – Duo Datz 1991 & Dana International 1998 grace the Israeli postcard.

17:06 – Angelina is bringing many vibes of her Official Video to the stage here in Malmo. The performance is high octane and is quick moving for both Angelina and her five backing dancers. Dancing is synchrosined in terms of moves, but these might all be done in the same direction.

17:02 – Maneskin 2021 and someone else grace the Italian postcard.

17:02 – 5miinust & Puuluup seem to be returning Estonia to their comedic days of 2008, well it feels like it. A lot is going on and I really don’t know where to focus. This is considered a marmite entry for sure and has many divided opinions – you’ll see why tomorrow evening.

16:59 – Tanal and Dave 2001 & Urban Symphony grace the Estonian postcard.

16:58 – Mustii begins the performance as a silourhette. He is then revealed dressed in a white ensemble. Surrounded by microphone stands, it gives the impression he is imprisoned. Leaving the podium, Mustii rocks out this power ballad. ANother lighting show with golds and oranges. James Bond is calling for his next movie song…

16:54 – Sandra 1986 & Loic 2015 grace the Belgian postcard.

16:54 – Nutsa is dressed in a copper-type colour outfit, with the heavy red lighting reflecting off it. The stage is surrounded by pyrotechnics during the chorus. At times, I’m beginning to this that Nutsa is trying to replicate Eleni from 2018. Her backing dancers do keep her in some sort of control. A little bit of self control and the emotion will be executed perfectly.

16:50 – Sopho 2007 & someone else grace the Georgian postcard.

16:50 – Megara is in a hot pick and black combination – both in dress and hair. The heavy rock has finally arrived in Malmo and I must say Megara is executing it well. Not quite the OTT staging we’ve grown to love from San Marino over the last few years, but the element of bonkers is still there. Definietely one to rock out to.

16:46 – Valentina 2014 & Serhat 2019 grace the San Marinese postcard.

16:46 – Nebulossa brings a 1970’s disco vibe to Malmo. Vocals are quite spoken and one tone at the start. This does improve slightly as the performance goes on. The backing dancers are struggling to strip off. Again, a restrained performance for the first dress reheasrsal.

16:42 – Massiel 1969 & Chanel 2022 grace the Spanish postcard.

16:41 – Dons is stood in a giant ring performing Hollow. We have some dark blue lighting, to match Dons outfit. He gradually moves forward out of the ring and to the front of the stage. Not the vocal range I expected, but this is only the first dress rehearsal and resting the vocals isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

16:37 – Marie N 2002 & someone else grace the Latvian postcard.

16:35 – Malin & Petra highlight the fact that the UK have purchased the most tickets.

16:33 – Ladaniva have brought the ethnic sounds from the Official Video to the Contest stage here in Malmo. Ethnic patterns are used on the floor projecdtion too. Great vocals and it was good to see a band join Ladaniva too.

16:30 – Slight tech issue as the Armenian performance hasn’t been set to go.

16:30 – Inga and Anush 2009 & Rosa 2022 grace the Armenian postcard.

16:29 – Saba starts the performance sprinkling some sand. Dressed in white, Saba is complemented by some golden/orange lighting. The back projection adds the element of sand granules been sprinkled from above and dry ice adds an air of mystery. Vocally, Saba is one of Denmark’s best artists for the last few years.

16:25 – Hot Eyes 1988 & The Olsen Brothers grace the Danish postcard.

16:25 – Kaleen brings another high octane number to the stage here in Malmo. A lot of neon blues and pinks in the lighting, creatinmg a nightclub vibe.Kaleen is in a sparkly silver dress and matching boots. Another performer who likes to be flung around by her backing dancers.

16:21 – Slight tech issue as the Austrian performance hasn’t been set to go.

16:21 – Conchita 2014 & Cesar 2018 grace the Austrian postcard.

16:20 – Slimance starts his performance laying down on the stage, however soon gets up. Again, we have another performer who knows how well to express his emotions through both his vocals and his body. The lighting is icy blue and Slimane is dressed in white, so I feel left cold a bit.

16:16 – Marie 1977 & Barbara 2021 grace the French postcard.

16:12 – It’s time to have a look back at Jahn Teigen. It’s time for a look back at those entries who finished at the wrong side of the score board.

16:11 – Aiko performs with her backing dancers with the stage set lowered to just above their heads. This looks quite claustrophobic for them, before they are raised. Not the strongest of vocals we’ve heard so far. Just like Greece, the overall performance seems quite busy, which again detracts your focus from where it should be.

16:08 – Mikolas 2018 & We Are Domi 2022 grace the Czech postcard.

16:07 – Nemo is wearing a rather fluffy red jacket. Nemo uses the large cubes from the stage set to help navigate the stage, before reaching a seesaw disc. They are able to show emotion well through their movements, while carrying the vocal range well. Another high octane number after Malta earlier on.

16:04 – Celine 1988 & Gjon’s Tears 2021 grace the Swiss postcard.

16:03 – Marina, those notes! The staging is full of bright lighting. Marina’s performance element mirrors that of the Official Video from Greece. Just like the video, the overall performance is rather busy in places and your focus is required in too many places.

16:00 – Marinella 1974 & Helena 2005 grace the Greek postcard.

15:59 – Besa is draped in a sparkly green dressed. She is joined from the start by one contemporary dancer on the stage. Other dancers join during the performance. While not as high octane as Malta, Besa delivers a certain level of fierceness. The beat picks up in the final chorus.

15:56 – Kejsi 2009 & Ronu 2012 grace the Albanian postcard.

15:55 – Sarah takes to the stage with a high octane version of Loop. Dressed in a sparkly silver nnumber, leaving not much to the imagination, she not only strolls around the stage with authority, but gets flung around by the bacvking dancers too. Vocally, Sarah can belt out those notes.

15:52 – Chiria 1998 & Destiny 2021 grace the Maltese postcard.

15:51 – We get reminded that the automatic finalists will get performed during the two semi-finals.

15.50 – Malin Åkerman and Petra Mede are the hosts, so we get introduced to them now. They’re in yellow and red respectively.

15:46 – We have a montage of Malin & Petra getting ready for the show. They perform their own version of Tattoo.

15:45 – And we get Te Deum. Exciting or what? We should have a recap of Semi Final One, but the video package isn’t ready yet.

Let us know what you think about the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest – either in the comments below or on our FACEBOOK, TWITTER, YOUTUBE, INSTAGRAM and TIKTOK pages.

Author: Richard Taylor

Source: Eurovision Ireland