Live Blog: Sunday 1 May

Thanks so much for joining us for Day 2 – it’s been a really fun day in the Pala Olimpico in Turin, and we’re not even half way through first rehearsals yet.

Tomorrow the acts performing in the first half of the first Semi-Final will rehearse – here’s the official schedule:

🇫🇮 Finland

🇮🇱 Israel

🇷🇸 Serbia

🇦🇿 Azerbaijan

🇬🇪 Georgia

🇲🇹 Malta

🇸🇲 San Marino

🇦🇺 Australia

🇨🇾 Cyprus

Some big tunes in there, so don’t miss it. We’re starting at 10:00 CEST as usual, so we’ll see you then!

Our final rehearsal TikTok for today – here’s Armenia!

Here’s a clip of Norway’s first rehearsal – enjoy!

We’ve heard great things about Michael Ben David’s backing dancers, but he’s already auditioning some new ones in the Delegation Bubble.

Here’s a gallery of our favourite backstage photos from Day 2.

Here’s a first look at Greece’s first rehearsal, exclusively on TikTok

Thanks to the lovely people at TikTok, here’s a peek at Iceland’s first rehearsal.

…getting some super-professional shots done by our amazing photographer Corinne. But which is their best side?

Here’s some pictures of Armenia’s first rehearsal today – we’ll post a backstage highlights gallery later, but this is the last of the rehearsal pictures. Hope you’ve enjoyed them – our photographers have done some great work today.

We’ve left the arena and we’re back in the Delegation Bubble, where Iceland’s Systur are hanging out, having fun and making new friends. More delegations are arriving – by Monday it’s going to be SO busy in here. We can’t WAIT.

Here’s a look at Austria’s first rehearsal – please remember to throw your hands up.

…a drinking straw.

Here’s a sneak peek at Denmark’s first rehearsal, exclusively on TikTok.

There’s a full constructed set for this performance, our first of the day. It’s a white bedroom with walls and furniture that look like they’re made from sticky notes – we’ve just had a chat with the Armenian delegation (sat in the Green Room pod next to us) and they’ve confirmed it’s a reinforced paper structure.

The set also rotates (through manpower, rather than an actual rotating stage), which provides a very cool ending.

Someone give those Eurofans a gallery.

Last up on the rehearsal stage today is Armenia’s Rosa Linn, singing her pop/country song Snap. This is going to be a really nice finish to the first Semi-Final a week on Tuesday, and the staging already looks really interesting.

Time for a short break – just enough time to grab a coffee and a Norwegian snack before our final rehearsal of the day from Armenia. Back shortly!

There’s a big firework finish, choreographed to align with the final set of yum yum yums. Very well played, Norway.

Want a gallery of pictures of Greece’s first rehearsal? We aim to please.

A. ALL of them. Probably not legal on Italian roads, though.

…to find out if Norway have any pyro or special effects. Keith and Jim are from the moon, right? You’d want some steam jets, at least. Or some kind of banana cannon. It’s Eurovision, go wild.

This staging for Give That Wolf A Banana is very similar to the performances we’ve seen from Subwoolfer at MGP and the Eurovision parties – Keith and Jim are supported by three backing dancers in yellow suits and DJ astronaut is overseeing proceedings from their elevated pulpit.

We know some people think Subwoolfer are a novelty act, but we beg to differ – it’s a really polished routine and both Keith and Jim deliver great vocal performances. The dance routine is PRECISION.

Norway’s Subwoolfer are up next – they’re two yellow wolves called Keith and Jim who come from the moon, accompanied DJ Astronaut. Their song Give That Wolf A Banana has been stuck in our heads since it first appeared in the Norwegian National Finals in January. Yum yum yum, etc.

For your viewing pleasure, here are some rather fabulous photos of Iceland’s first rehearsal.

It’s a beautiful day in Turin, and the Eurovision Village is coming together in the city’s Parco Del Valentino. We LOVE a big stage and can’t wait to visit soon…

The staging for Greece’s entry is really interesting – just Amanda on the stage in a long, silvery-white dress, surrounded by fallen-over, empty chairs against a blue backdrop. There’s an echo on the vocal that feels quite haunting – it’s impossible not to watch. VERY dramatic.

Amanda Georgiadi Tenfjord is up next, singing her ballad Die Together. Amanda has Greek and Norwegian heritage, and the lyrics of this heartfelt song feel like very much of our times. You can see the full lyrics on the link below.

Here’s a look at Croatia’s first rehearsal, exclusively on TikTok.

The signs are definitely there.

If you feel this gallery of photos from Austria’s first rehearsal, please put your hands up.

Systur’s song Með Hækkandi Sól means ‘with the rising sun’, so it’s literally the morning after a night of Austrian techno. Some more super-stylish retro outfits – the sixties and seventies are VERY big in the costume department this year.

This performance has some beautiful harmonies, and the glittery graphics make it feel quite magical. 100% would attend this Icelandic family gathering.

We’re back from lunch, and it’s time for some beautiful Icelandic folk from Systur, who are three sisters called Sigga, Beta and Elin. Their brother Eythor is on drums, so this is very much a family affair.

Need a little peek at Portugal’s first rehearsal? Of course you do.

It’s time for a lunch break here in the Pala Olimpico, but here’s a gallery of lovely pictures from Denmark’s first rehearsal. Back at 1340 CEST!

LUM!X and Pia Maria have been through hell and back in only one night…and they’ve brought the flames and smoke jets with them.

There’s a very small party happening in the Green Room – there are only about twenty people watching this first rehearsal, but we’re all having a bop. Can’t wait to see the reaction from a packed arena on Tuesday.

MARO from Portugal are making some lovely, lovely content. Make sure you’re following the official Eurovision account on Insta, TikTok and YouTube so you don’t miss anything!

Well this is a LOT of fun. LUM!X and Pia Maria are surrounded by a huge circular neon lighting rig, flashing the red and white of the Austrian flag. They’re giving it big dance energy from inside their own personal halo – PUT YOUR HANDS UP, TURIN.

OK, it’s time to crank things up another notch. Grab your glowsticks, because LUM!X featuring Pia Maria are up next to rehearse. Their mega-banger Halo is one of the biggest floorfillers of Eurovision 2022, and we’re ready to throw our hands in the air in the Green Room.

It’s not just this song that’s going off in the Pala Olimpico – Reddi also have on-stage fireworks. It’s our first pyro of the day!

Want to see some photos of Croatia’s first performance? Happy to oblige.

According to the band, this song is all about daring to do what you want regardless of your gender – apparently there aren’t many female bands in Denmark, so they’re representing right here at Eurovision.

Great to see another live band on stage, and they’re brought some serious retro styling too – is this the most fashion-forward Eurovision ever? Maybe it’s the Italian influence, but we’re loving all this year’s looks.

They’ve also gone for block neon colours on the graphic backdrop, which give it big stage impact. Throw in a bonus key change, and we’ve definitely shaken off the cobwebs.

It’s time for Denmark’s first rehearsal – Reddi are Siggy on vocals, Ida on bass, Agnes on guitar and Ihan on drums.

Their song The Show might SEEM like a gentle ballad at first, but brace yourself because it’s about to go OFF.

Here’s some pictures from Portugal’s first rehearsal. Enjoy!

Mia has talked about the influence of Norah Jones, Kacey Musgraves and Taylor Swift in her music, and you can definitely hear that in this stylish pop song. And talking of stylish, we’re loving Mia’s look too – a hot pink gown with flamenco ruffles, paired with black military-style boots.

Mia’s accompanied by three contemporary dancers who provide some lyrical storytelling with lots of movement. It’s different from anything we’ve seen so far in rehearsals, and makes great use of the huge stage.

Time for Croatia to take to the stage, with Mia Dimšić performing her song Guilty Pleasure. This is another song with Sunday chillout vibes; thank you Eurovision for being gentle with us this morning.

First sighting of the Eurovision smoke machine, providing ankle fog for Portugal’s final run-through.

Also FUN FACT we’ve just spotted on Twitter – because Keith and Jim from Subwoolfer identify as non-binary, there are NO male vocals in the second half of the first Semi-Final. It’s female/NB wolf vocals all day today.

Here’s a great shot of this year’s Green Room in full lighting. We’ve discovered that there IS an official Eurovision gardener who will be watering and pruning all 1700 plants between now and the Grand Final. We’ll also try to find out what will happen to them after that – can we take a box hedge home as hand luggage?

Portugal are performing on the B stage right in front of the Green Room, singing in a circle formation that really fits the intimate, dreamlike style of the song. The graphic backdrop adds some swirly colour, and It’s a simple, beautiful performance that’s given us our first goosebumps of the day. And…relaaaax.

Portugal is up first on the rehearsal stage, with MARO performing her gentle ballad Saudade, Saudade. It has a lovely chillout vibe, so it’s the perfect song to ease us into a busy Sunday of rehearsals.

According to our sources*, ‘Saudade’ is “a feeling of longing, melancholy, or nostalgia that is supposedly characteristic of the Portuguese or Brazilian temperament”. There’s no directly equivalent English word, so we shall just be experiencing massive saudade the minute Eurovision 2022 is over.

*Google

Good morning, Europe, selected non-European participating nations, and the entire global fandom. It’s Sunday, and we’re back in the green room of Turin’s Pala Olimpico to watch the second day of first rehearsals on the big stage.

It’s Heidi and and Victor in the hottest seats in town today, with eight more countries getting ready to rehearse for the first time. Once again we’ll be watching from the Green Room and sharing a few details of each country’s staging and performance, before gifting you a link to an exclusive 30-second TikTok clip. We are here for you all day, because we’re good people who love Eurovision.

A note on today’s schedule – with a couple of notable exceptions, this semi-final is quite heavy on female-led, folky ballads, so we’d argue it’s the perfect Sunday playlist. Put your feet up, pop some cucumber slices over your eyes, and enjoy.

Today’s schedule:

🇵🇹 Portugal

🇭🇷 Croatia

🇩🇰 Denmark

🇦🇹 Austria

🇮🇸 Iceland

🇬🇷 Greece

🇳🇴 Norway

🇦🇲 Armenia

Kick off is at 10:00 CEST, so please join us then!