Live Blog: Friday 5 May

The live blog is all done for today – thanks for joining us once again, we’ll be back tomorrow for a final 2nd rehearsal for the Big 5 and Ukraine. Here’s the running order:

🇩🇪 Germany
🇫🇷 France
🇮🇹 Italy 
🇺🇦 Ukraine
🇪🇸 Spain
🇬🇧 United Kingdom

See you at 10:30 GMT/11:30 CEST! 
 

...and it's  the perfect finish to another amazing day. 

SO much joy in this photo. It's what's Eurovision is all about.

...but we've still got three more studio shots to share with you, from Albania, Lithuania and Australia. Don't go away! 

Oh mio padre, Teya and Salena are in the studio...

it's our final rehearsal of the day, and Australia are bringing the house down. Can't imagine a better way to finish next Thursday's semi-final - no changes from Tuesday, but still looking and sounding fabulous. 

Only Italians are allowed to look this cool. It's the law.

...and there's a change of outfit for Monika Linkytė - today she's wearing an orange strapless minidress with matching platform shoes. Very understated and absolutely beautiful.

And she's brought the wind machine...

Albania's Albina and the Kelmendi family are rehearsing for the second time - this is another performance that goes to a whole other level on a big screen. You'll be able to see a clip of the as-seen-on-TV version on YouTube later - SO much drama, and a brilliant use of the LED wall and floor.  

...he's off duty, so he can do a lazy sit. 12/10 might go to Euroclub later. 

Teya and Salena are back on stage for their second rehearsal, looking and sounding great. We didn't get the full impact of the graphics live in the arena on Tuesday - this performance packs much more punch on the big screen. We can't wait to see Poe-mania take over Liverpool next week. 

San Marino are back on stage, and it's still full sequins and mood lighting, which is a Friday vibe we're definitely planning to take into the weekend. We'll post a picture shortly! 

Rylan and Clara Amfo have been chatting to each Eurovision act, asking your questions, and playing daft games (Pasha the parcel, anyone?). It's a LOT of fun, and the first six videos are already on the Eurovision YouTube channel in a handy playlist. They're short, they're fun, and eventually you'll be able to watch 37 of them.

Friends are the family we choose.

...and she's brought her own sunshine. 

We have an outfit adjustment for Georgia's Iru, in that her dress has a much bigger train than it had on Tuesday. The wind machine is going full blast, lovely to see it back at Eurovision.

...and he's bringing plenty of that on-stage energy

We'll be back at 13:50 GMT/14:50 CEST for the second half of today's rehearsals. See you then!

...and she definitely has the power.

Slovenia are back on stage for a second rehearsal, and we're delighted that Bojan's crushed velvet trousers have survived the week. He's been handing out Joker Out-branded condoms in the delegation bubble this morning, because he's all about the health & safety. Thanks Bojan! 

A few minutes with our photographers is enough to heal even the most broken of hearts...

Blanka from Poland is back on stage to sing Solo, which is an all-inclusive tropical holiday in song form. Someone has just walked past the live blog desk and said "this song has been stuck in my head for days". Only for days? We've been humming it since February.  

Greece's Victor Vernicos is back on stage - we saw him in Moroccanoil earlier getting a fresh fade, but otherwise it's the same staging and costume we saw on Tuesday. It's another performance with great energy - this Iceland-Greece-Poland interlude is going to have the whole arena dancing next Thursday. 

All the artists will be sharing the tea with Timur Miroshnychenko LIVE on TikTok after their second rehearsal today - you can see the full schedule below. Andrew Lambrou from Cyprus is up first at 11:55 GMT/12:55 CEST - don't miss it!

Iceland's Diljá is rehearsing for the second time, and the only change we can see is that she's wearing rather fabulous earrings that she definitely wasn't wearing on Tuesday - never let it be said that we don't pay attention to the details (apart from Andrew Lambrou's feet). 

This performance has such great energy and Diljá makes such clever use of the stage - there's so much originality in the staging this year, it's going to make the live shows next week feel really special. We can't WAIT. 

Andrew Lambrou from Cyprus is back on stage - the only change that we can see is that he's now barefoot, and we're fairly sure he had shoes on during the first rehearsal. We'll check, because to be honest we've seen a lot of feet and wouldn't bet our front row seat on this. Andrew's vocal range is extraordinary - those high notes are really quite something. 

There's a new episode of the official Eurovision Podcast out, in which Steve Holden talks to Käärijä's Cha Cha Cha dancers about representing Finland and the iconic Käärijä 'Piggy Train'. Gustaph from Belgium drops by to introduce his amazing team, and Steve also has a surreal chat about teleportation with Let 3 from Croatia, hangs out with Moldova's Pasha Parfeni and finally tracks down Piqued Jacks, representing San Marino. Enjoy! 

Like Wednesday, we’re out and about in the backstage area today, keeping an eye on the big screen for any changes of outfit or staging. We’ll also be sharing EXCLUSIVE shots taken in the Eurovision studio, and anything else fun/interesting/intriguing we spot backstage. 

Also if you missed all the action from Day 5, check out the YouTube roundup of 2nd rehearsals from yesterday morning below, AND watch our exclusive look at 1st rehearsals for the Big 5 and Ukraine over on TikTok. You can watch the whole lot in about six minutes, and then you’ll be up to date.

Morning everyone, and welcome back to the live blog for Eurovision Day 6! It's another day of 2nd rehearsals, with the eleven remaining acts from the second Semi-Final returning the Liverpool Arena stage for the second time. Here’s today’s running order:

🇨🇾 Cyprus
🇮🇸 Iceland
🇬🇷 Greece
🇵🇱 Poland
🇸🇮 Slovenia
🇬🇪 Georgia
🇸🇲 San Marino
🇦🇹 Austria
🇦🇱 Albania
🇱🇹 Lithuania
🇦🇺 Australia

Kick-off is at 10:30 GMT/ 11:30 CEST, so please join us then!