Welcome to the Eurovision.tv Live Blog for Friday 7 May (Day 8).
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So that’s live blogging complete for first and second rehearsals – the next Live Blog will be the first Semi-Final on Tuesday, and you can find the schedule for all the Live Blogs here.
Thank you SO much for joining us for Eurovision rehearsals – it’s been a pleasure and privilege to be your eyes and ears in the arena for the past week. We’re off to eat pasta and gelato in the sunshine, and we’ll see you next week for the LIVE SHOWS. Ciao!
More breaking news! Germany will perform in the FIRST HALF of the Grand Final.
Take an exclusive look at 🇩🇪 Germany’s second rehearsal – only on YouTube.
Breaking news! Spain’s Chanel will perform in the FIRST HALF of the grand final.
Take an exclusive look at 🇪🇸 Spain’s second rehearsal – only on YouTube.
Take an exclusive look at 🇬🇧 United Kingdom’s second rehearsal – only on YouTube.
Sam Ryder stopped by for a cup of tea and a chat, and he’s got a message for the UK…
“Hey what’s up UK? Remember – Eurovision is about fun, it’s about joy and it’s about watching with the people you love most in the world. It’s not about the scoreboard; it’s about singing our heads off and celebrating music, performance, songwriting, expression and inclusivity.”
Breaking news – United Kingdom’s Sam Ryder will perform in the SECOND HALF of the Grand Final.
We can’t decide, they both look fabulous.
…and left a message for their fans.
“We are very thankful to our fans – we are here because of you, so thank you so much and we will do your best to make you proud. Betek an trec’h!”
Take an exclusive look at 🇮🇹 Italy’s second rehearsal – only on YouTube.
Italy will perform 9th in the Grand Final – this is not new news, it was confirmed back in March. But we like to keep you informed anyway,
Take an exclusive look at 🇫🇷 France’s second rehearsal – only on YouTube.
Germany is the last of the Big 5 to rehearse today, with Malik Harris singing Rockstars. Watching this on the big screen rather than in the arena, the way Malik manages all the instruments on stage and works the cameras is really smart – this is very much a one-man show from Germany, and the close-up camerawork gives it a special kind of intimacy and intensity. Definitely something a little different in this competition.
During today’s post-rehearsal press conferences, the Big 5 are drawing first or second half to denote when they’ll perform in the Grand Final on 14th May. So now we know that France will perform in the FIRST HALF.
Spain are up next, with Chanel performing…wait, we’ve got a Spaniard on the Live Blog team. Let’s do it this way, shall we?
Nada más empezar la canción, hay unos pequeños cambios en el arreglo de la música, incluyendo unas trompetas que nos indican que “llegó la mami”. Comprobamos que no se ha añadido ninguna cantidad de tela adicional al conjunto de Chanel y sigue siendo bastante "booty hypnotic”.
No cabe duda de qué país está sobre el escenario, con ese traje de torera brillante diseñado por Palomo Spain que hoy brilla aún con más intensidad y han añadido otro elemento que es también muy “Made in eSpain”: el abanico.
Por mucho que sigamos intentando aprendernos la coreografía, sabemos que va a ser imposible hacerlo mejor que estos reyes del baile ¡Nos ahogamos! Y no es por el FUEGO al final de la actuación.
The UK’s Sam Ryder is back in his giant light-up spaceship, searching the universe for notes he can’t hit and finding nothing but space (man). The staging has stayed much the same as his first rehearsal on Thursday, although Sam’s changed his jumpsuit to a different one with cosmic embroidery.
And then just when you think this is going to lift the roof off the Pala Olimpico, Sam wraps up Spaceman with an epic guitar solo, just because he can.
…and wrote a message for his fans.
“Hey everybody, this is Malik. I just wanted to say thank you for all your support and all the love you’ve shown to me and my music. It means the world to me to be able to share my thoughts and feeling with you guys and hopefully reach some of you through my songs. Also, I feel like this year’s Eurovision Song Contest is a very special one – it is more important than ever to show our unity to the whole world so I’m incredibly happy to be a part of this event this year. Love you all x”
Italy’s Mahmood is back for a second rehearsal, and this time BLANCO is with him – during first rehearsals there was a not-BLANCO stand-in.
Mahmood has has changed his outfit for a different black jacket and he’s taken off the sunglasses too, whilst BLANCO is in white (natch). The two voices harmonise and build in intensity and pace through the song – as a vocal performance, it’s very cleverly put together and makes great use of the stage and the lighting.
France’s Alvan & Ahez are back on stage for their second rehearsal. When we watched this in the arena on Thursday we were struck by how the bass and reverb in this track made the whole arena vibrate. Today we’re watching on TV in the Delegation Bubble and even though we can’t feel it, this performance still has intense energy and power.
Miss yesterday’s 2nd rehearsals? Not a problem – here’s a handy six minute recap of all the action from Turin.
Bonjour, buongiorno, good morning, buenos días and guten morgen to the Eurovision fandom! It’s Eurovision Day 8 in beautiful Turin, and it’s Heidi and Victor here to take you through the final day of 2nd rehearsals. Today the Big 5 are back on stage – here’s the schedule, starting at 10:00 CEST:
🇫🇷 France
🇮🇹 Italy
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
🇪🇸 Spain
🇩🇪 Germany
We’ll be here to keep you updated on all the on- and off-stage goings-on, as well as sharing some pictures and exclusive video clips of today’s rehearsals. So please don’t go away!
