The big week has arrived ! Tonight , we at Eurovision Ireland are kicking off our live coverage when we bring you the first of our Live Blogs for this year. Tonight we are covering Semi Final 1 Dress rehearsal 2, where the international juries will be watching and making their judgments. But the Semi Finals are public vote I hear you cry ! Yes they are but the role of the juries is just as back up only, should anything go wrong with a country’s televote.

Tonight , the countries competing in the 1st Semi final ,which takes place tomorrow evening, will be appearing in front of a live audience at the St Jakobshalle , Basel . PLEASE NOTE YOU WILL NOT SEE THIS ON PUBLIC TV ANYWHERE, ! So don’t try to tune in , you won’t be able to .

Please join me , Sarah ,as I take you through the proceedings tonight and give you my thoughts on how things are looking . Unfortunately , we cannot bring you any pictures due to media restriction .

LIVE BLOG STARTS HERE!

I appreciate your enthusiasm, but you’re too early .Please come back at 21.00 CET /20.00 BST AND #joinus for the fun and action live from Basel. In the meantime, cast your minds back to last year when Nemo won the 2024 contest with “The Code”, which is why we are in Basel this year.

And welcome back ! I’m in the online press centre and just watching a video of non stop 24 hour Eurovision hits. The joys of having online press accreditation :-) . Just waiting for the link through to the St Jakobshalle in Basel and we’re good to go ( pardon the Martin Osterdahl pun there !) . As said earlier , I won’ t be able to publish any pictures tonight as it’s against the rules for us but hopefully my descriptions will give some idea of what to expect !

Eight minutes to go, this is where I start to get a bit nervous, hoping the live link works !

And we’re in…..starting off with contemporary dancers, Swiss alpenhorns and a singer in traditional Swiss costume on stage, this then proceeds to several singers coming on in traditional swiss dress, it’s all very dramatic !The contemporary dancers dance to The Code, which of course Nemo sang last year for Switzerland and won !Hence why we are in Basel.

We are welcomed home to Switzerland and meet the two presenters , Sandra Studer and Hazel Brugger.They thank Malmo for hosting last year and make a joke about the fact that once again there are two women presenters like last year !. They remind us that Switzerland hosted the first contest 69 years ago .We’ll probably hear that a lot during the course of the week.

They show Sandra Studer performing for Switzerland back in 1991, they make a joke about her being “recycled ” as Switzerland recycles everything !

They kick off the proceedings .

The acts performing tonight are ( in running order):

1. Iceland: VÆB – RÓA

And it’s a lively start with Iceland, they have more or less stuck to the National final performance. Dressed in silver futuristic outfits with a backdrop of changing colours , at one point the graphics give the image of Vaeb being on a rowing boat . There’s smoke effects too. It sounds a bit like a football anthem . A lively start.

The postcards this year show the performers in various locations in Switzerland . It is a lovely country , even if a tad expensive !

2. Poland: Justyna Steczkowska – GAJA

Justyna starts off on stage surrounded by her backing dancers , looking very warrior like . The backdrop cahnges colour and the backing dancers dance around Justyna. There’s pyros galore , we then see Justyna lifted up and the backdrop shows the image of a flying prehistoric monster coming towards her . It’s all very busy on that stage , I think we could have done with seeing more of Justyna rather than the backing dancers though

3. Slovenia: Klemen – How Much Time Do We Have Left

Now thi is nice. Klemen is alone in stage with gold lights backdrop , and family film images . The lights move around him as he sings . His vocals are good and you can really see the emotion in his facial expressions as he sings .He is joined towards the end by his wife and they finish the song touching each other face to face . It’s a lovely performance but I fear for it being on so early .

4. Estonia: Tommy Cash – Espresso Macchiato

He starts off on stage holding a paper cup in front of red curtains which then open to reveal a stage prop designed into a cafe, called “Winners cafe “.He’s joined by 4 backing dancers, the stage backdrop then changes into the image of a plane . Now I don’t know whether this is supposed to be part of the act but they had a woman dressed in a tee shirt with I love Tommy on it . Who was then carried off the stage . Vocals a bit shaky but we’ll see if that changes in the performance tomorrow .

Back to Sandra and Hazel and they are introducing us to Swiss music , including the Birdy Song! Those of you who lived through the 80’s and 90’s will remember this . But how many of us knew it was from Switzerland ?

They tell us about the Big 5 and Switzerland and that they are directly qualified for the final. They now get to perform in the semi finals , so that they get equal opportunity to showcase their song before the Grand Final First up , Spain.

Spain -Melody “Essa Diva “

Melody starts off as she did in Benidorm Fest in a hat and cape, which then reveals a thigh length silver outfit and she’s joined by her backing dancers , performing a dance routine with her , dressed in black . The staging is a white stair prop, and images of white block shapes. Not bad .

5. Ukraine: Ziferblat – Bird of Pray

Lead singer is in a red , all in one suit , joined by three female backing singers . This staging is very pink , with flashing images .Which kind of detracts from the performance. I can’r fault the vocals but it does remind me a lot of something I might have watched as a kid in the 1970’s , Not Ukraine’s best entry I feel . Is their 100 % qualification in danger ?

6. Sweden: KAJ – Bara Bada Bastu 

Needs no introduction , they are the hot favourites to win !The staging is pretty impressive with the guys surrounded by images of being in a Nordic forest, there’s fire and pyros and of course the guys in their sauna towels . They do their quirky dance at the end . I loved that and it got a good reception from the crowd .As expected .

7. Portugal: NAPA – Deslocado

Portugal certainly got the worst draw possible coming on after Sweden . But that might be what’s needed to bring us down a bit after the steamy sauna act before ! The guys have more or less kept to the National final performance. They are casually dressed. It’s pleasant enough and their vocals are good. Think The Beatles in the late 60’s and you get the picture . The crowd really liked it though, could they do the same as Black Mamba did in 2021 and be an unexpected qualifier ?

8. Norway: Kyle Alessandro – Lighter 

And we’re back to uptempo music again . Kyle has stuck with the routine of the NMGP , which was pretty much Eurovision ready anyway. There’s fire effects in the front of the stage and the song climaxes with pyros galore . Kyle and his backing dancers perform their dance routine flawlessly , in their warrior type gear.

9. Belgium: Red Sebastian – Strobe Lights

And we take a trip back to the 90’s with Red Sebastian, who , not unexpectedly , is in all red, as is the staging , with…..strobe lights! He’s dressed in his red shiny gear and joined by three backing dancers dressed in very robot like gear . The ending shows a stage backdrop giving images of people on a nightclub rave . That brought back memories of my nightclub days in the 90’s and no doubt will for many people out there too. I loved that and could feel myself bopping along to it . This should qualify .

We’re being treated to Italy ‘s performance now. They are part of the Big 5 , so not competing

Lucio Corsi “Volvevo essere un duro “

He’s dressed in the costume we are used to seeing by now . He starts off at a piano and then during the performance gets up and walks around the stage, joined by another singer on guitar. I do feel this has been very underrated by the fan media. It’s a nice gentle song , very typical of Italy .The crowd liked it .

Hazel and Sandra tell us about stage props and their different sizes. We then get treated to the usual look back at Eurovision history . They have even included Dustin the Turkey in this! And I though we had all forgotten him !

Sandra tells us there are five more countries to go..

10. Azerbaijan: Mamagama – Run With U

The guys are joined by three female backing dancers , dressed in black leather and the girls scantily clad . Red seems a popular colour for staging tonight. The backdrop as the song climaxes gives an image of several images of the band members running . It’s ok, but I think Azerbaijan have brought us better in the past . The badn engage well with each other but I would like to see a bit more connection with the audience.

11. San Marino: Gabry Ponte – Tutta L’Italia 

The staging has props and images representing Italy, with Gabry at his DJ table . Joined by a backing singer singing along with him. I do think think it lacks the power of the promotional video and not having lots of people around takes away the powerful effect of this . May struggle.

12. Albania: Shkodra Elektronike – Zjerm

Red is the colour again staging wise but this actually suits the song . Beatrice looks stunning in a long , shiny red dress and Kole in a smart jacket . Beatrice owns that stage as she walks around singing the song . With Kole playing his part too. I love the ethnicity of this song, the stage flooring changes from white to black and the backdrop goes to half red and half white/black . It’s stunning . Should qualify .

13. Netherlands: Claude – C’est La Vie

Claude is dressed in a burgundy outfit and starts the performance alone . He’s then joined by two contemporary dancers in black and Claude walks across and immerses himself in a circle of three violinists . He then moves and the backing dancers perform behind him. Just to pull at the heartstrings, he ends the song by looking at an image of himself when younger . You could hear the emotion in his voice as he ended the performance. The crowd liked that !

14. Croatia: Marko Bošnjak – Poison Cake

Marko wearing a large thick overcoat with fur on,the shoulder. This is very in your face and slightly bonkers in my view, lots of green , flashing lighting, . Marko joined by four backing dancers , in frilly edged tops .They perform very almost robotic like movements. It reminds me of something I might have seen in the 80’s . And he really does remind me of Luke Black (Serbia 2023) !

Now we have the home team Switzerland , performing their song.

Zoe “Voyage”

Now if Switzerland weren’t hosting this year, I would have put a bet on this for the win ! This is a lovely song, simply and beautifully staged. With just Zoe on stage, sat down . Images of spotlights around her. It’s beautiful and I think Switzerland could go top 5 with this , as it’s such a contrast to all the uptempo , in your face performances we have this year.

15. Cyprus: Theo Evan – Shh

Theo has brought a giant , steel climbing frame apparatus , which he and his backing dancers move around during the performance. Having seen the preview clip , I was expecting more if I’m honest. Theo gives a slick performance as expected and a good end to the proceedings tonight

And that’s it, we’ve seen them all !

Sandra and Hazel explain the voting procedure and we get a recap of the songs .

Now we get bit of Swiss Winner history . Starting with Lys Assia and Refrain , then Celine Dion and finally Nemo. Sandra and Hazel then burst into song, and we get several little scenes where we are told what is made in Switzerland and some Swiss history in , going back to t he 13th century and the land of Helvetia, William Tell , Heidi . It’s all quite a lot of fun .

Hazel takes us on location to the Turquoise carpet event , which was held yesterday and interviews members of the public, who seem very excited about Eurovision being in Basel .

Back in the arena and Sandra asks us all to look at the Green room where the performers are…..except that they aren’t really there tonight. We get another recap .

Countdown to the end of the pretend voting

We are now being treated to some Eurovision records…e,g who can wail…. errm,.I mean reach a high note the loudest ! Jedward from Ireland voted the highest hair , most claps in a song, longest note held .80% of costumes in interval act recycled !!

There’s a tribute to the stage hands who have the task of moving props on and off the stage .

We get a run through of songs that didn’t win but stole people’s hearts. With Finland 2023 being one of them , Barbara Pravi in 2021, Go -A and Shum in 2021, Italy 2019, Armenia 2022.

There’s a little surprise in store but I am not going to give anything away and spoil the surprise.

It does seem a long time until we get any results….just be prepared for this tomorrow night

Offering swiss chocolate in the green room . We are then treated to what acts we will see in Semi Final 2 on Thursday

At this point , we are going to leave the blog now.As it’s just mock voting coming up . Thanks for joining me this evening, it’s been fun . Enjoy the live show tomorrow night and let’s hope that the best 10 get through !

Good night Europe/Good morning Australia

Author : Sarah Rudman

Source : EBU SRG /SSR