[Day 8] First Dress Rehearsal at the B&W Hallerne #JoinUs

@17:18 Finally, the hosts Pilou and Nikolaj announce the fake qualifiers for the Final and with a recap of them it's time to end the first Dress Rehearsal of the first Semi-Final.

@17:02 And the final two Eurovision Book of Records videos will be about the "Most silver" and the "Longest note" in the history of Eurovision, shown before the recap of the songs already qualified for the Final.

@16:52 It was then time for another video, this time called Copenhagen Tours, starring Pilou as a guide, showing what just another ordinary day looks like here in the beautiful Danish capital.

@16:45 The interval act in the first Semi-Final is inspired by Denmark's most popular writer Hans Christian Andersen and his famous fairytales, in this occasion The Ugly Duckling.

@16:40 If you just can't get enough of the Eurovision Song Contest, you can download our app or logon to Eurovision.tv and find all kinds of great things - for instance you can download songs you like the most. The only thing you can't get online is this Eurovision Trophy!

@16:35 The 16th and last performer in the first Semi-Final represents Hungary. He is Andras Kallay-Saunders who, in his black casual, clothing gives a strong rendition of Running while two dancers help him convey the message of his song.

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@16:31 Another Eurovision record that we can give this year goes to Sergej Ćetković a the tallest participant in 2014. Representing Montenegro he sings the song Moj Svijet with even a rolling skater on stage!

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@16:28 Setting the tempo down come The Common Linnets on behalf of The Netherlands. Ilse DeLange wearing a Danish white creation by Claes Iversen and Waylon with his trademark black hat while performing the beautiful Calm After The Storm

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@16:24 Portugal brings the songs back and also the rhythm as Quero Ser Tua is one of the most up-tempo numbers this year. Dressed in a sexy red mini dress is the singer Suzy dancing her song away along with her backing group

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@16:18 Time for another Eurovision Book of Records video, this time the record for the biggest shoulder pads!

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@16:14 The hands of the legendary Ralph Siegel introduce song 11 as he plays the piano in the song Maybe marking the 40th anniversary since his first participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. Back then for Luxembourg and this time for San Marino and the singer Valentina Monetta

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@16:10 For song number 11 the performers of Moldova appear on the stage with warrior-like outfits. It is Cristina Scarlat and her Flying dancers with the song Wild Soul.

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@16:06 Next is Belgium with the singer Axel Hirsoux accompanied by the choreographer Isabelle Beernaert who helps Axel to express the feeligs of the song Mother

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@16:02 Ukraine's Maria Yaremchuk starts at number 9 with her song Tick Tock. The dress for Mariya Yaremchuk was designed by famous Ukrainian fashion designer, stylist and fashion editor for Cosmopolitan magazine Anna Osmekhina. It is dark blue with black ropes rolling down from the waistline. And let's not forget her dancer-in-a-wheel!

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@15:57 Azerbaijan is up next on the B&W Hallerne stage with Dilara Kazimova as the singer accompanied by a female trapeze artist for the performance of the soulful ballad Start A Fire

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@15:53 Seven is the lucky number for the winners of the 2006 Junior Eurovision Song Contest, the Tolmachevy Sisters, Masha and Nastya, who represent Russia this year with the song Shine and their balancing prop.

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@15:49 Standing in a platform with an elegant beige dress designed by Bierina Rugova we find the Albanian performer Hersi delivering a strong performance of song number 6, One Night's Anger.

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@15:45 A short break comes right here to introduce the Eurovision Book of Records videos. The first one is about the highest hair in the history of the contest.

@15:42 But bringing the colours back, and not only on the stage but also on their costumes, are the Icelandic guys of Pollapönk and their lively message of equality spread through the song No Prejudices, starting at number 5 in the first Semi-Final.

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@15:38 It is a starry sky that welcomes us into song number 4, the big ballad Undo with the heartfelt performance of Sanna Nielsen from Sweden, beautifully dressed in black

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@15:33 The stage is transformed into a brick walled dancing studio for song number 3, Amazing, and an indeed amazing routine for Tanja and her dancing partner representing Estonia.

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@15:27 For the Latvian postcard we see the group Aarzemnieki creating their country's flag, very adequately, baking a cake before they start singing song number 2, Cake To Bake adding a lot of colours to the stage.

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@15:22 Armenia is the first country performing in the first Semi-Final. Aram MP3 sings you're Not Alone but he is all alone on stage wearing dark clothes and surrounded by some great lighting effects. More details about this year's contestant from Armenia you can find here.

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@15:18 Before the first performance, TV viewers are gong to see a video postcard - as always. This year the host broadcaster asked all the artists to create their country's flag out of something that they "love or feel describes them as people."

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@15:13 Knowing the voting rules is quite important. So there will be an explanation about how you can vote and impact the outcome of 2014 Eurovision Song Contest.

@15:08 Nikolaj Koppel, Pilou Asbæk and Lise Rønne are this year’s hosts of the Eurovision Song Contest in Copenhagen. They are all going to welcome the audience in B&W Hallerne and millions of viewers across Europe (and beyond). They have promised that there will be no jokes about Sweden!

@15:03 The First Semi-final is going to be opened with the special performance of so called Choir of Europe, where a lot of fans are singing together while being online. However, that's just an introduction for the live perfromance of Emmelie de Forest (the winner of 2013 Eurovision Song Contest).

@15:00 The first Dress Rehearsal is about to start. Are you ready?

@14:33 While we are waiting for the first Dress Rehearsal to start, you can check out the Eurovision Headlines we made at the Copenhagen City Hall during the Opening Reception last night!

https://twitter.com/Eurovision/status/463257707961909248

@14:29 A hive of activity backstage! Not long until the first of today's Dress Rehearsals! 

@14:25 In the First Semi-final 16 nations will compete for a ticket to the Grand Final. But only 10 of them will manage to qualify! The first Dress rehearsal is about to start at 15:00 CET. We expect 16 amazing stage performances from: Armenia, Latvia, Estonia, Sweden, Iceland, Albania, Russia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Belgium, Moldova, San Marino, Portugal, The Netherlands, Montenegro and Hungary.

@14:20 Are you excited? We certainly are. #JoinUs in the Eurovision.tv LIVE coverage from the B&W Hallerne.