Dustin the Turkey, representing seven-time Eurovision Song Contest winner Ireland, had his second rehearsal this evening at the Belgrade Arena. Dustin the Turkey was wearing a sparkling glitter outfit and a white tie. The two female dancers were wearing gold dresses and green gloves. The two male backing dancers were barely dressed with gold shorts and sporting feathers in the colours of the Irish flag: green, white and orange. Dustin the Turkey was sitting on a revolving record deck where there was a display underneath. The display usually says "Irelande Douze Pointe", but today it said: "Sven [Stojanović is the best director in the world", referring to the Swedish-Serbian stage director, who also has worked - among others - for the Swedish preselection show, Melodifestivalen, and the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest. Dustin the Turkey and the Irish team did several flawless rehearsals - Ireland is certainly ready for the dress rehearsals and the Semi-Final on the 20th of May. During the press conference, Dustin revealed he is looking forward to a private chat with Jean-Paul Gaultier, who will provide commentary for the French television viewers this year. The "12-year old" turkey from Ireland even made the press conference moderator cry from laughter, when Dustin revealed that he found his two backing singers "two weeks ago on a trip to Amsterdam".
After San Marino, Andorra, the second of the tiny countries participating in the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest, tried to find the key to success today. Gisela who had actually been in the contest before as a backing singer for the Spanish entry in 2002 Europe's Living A Celebration showed the present media and fans that a catchy uptempo song should never be underestimated! Performing the infectious Casanova several times, she had people tapping their feet to the rhythm. Unlike most of the other countries today, the Andorran team chose not to reveal their final clothes for the first semi-final of the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest, so fans will have to wait till the general rehearsals to find out what Gisela has in store for us! Vocally, everything went smoothly this evening, so the tiny country has high hopes to qualify now! During the press conference, Gisela said that she was more and more confident and satisfied with her rehearsal.
The last country to rehearse today at the Belgrade Arena was Bosnia & Herzegovina. The extravagant Laka once again appeard on stage, delivering a solid performance just like in the last rehearsal last Monday. Their song Pokušaj is indeed something different in this year's Eurovision Song Contest, and the untraditional way the two main singers in Laka move around on stage makes it certainly special. The backing singers wore wedding gowns at today's rehearsal, and Mirela wore a white dress with apples on. Laka wore a white and yellow striped t-shirt and a blue-green suit. It seems like Laka is ready for the semi-final after the successful rehearsal.
