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Party on stage for Russia

14 May 2012 at 15:26 CEST

Before the rehearsal, Eurovision.tv had a talk to the director of RTR, Sergej Shirokov. He told us that the artists are very excited about their first rehearsal as everything is new for them. On stage, Buranovskiye Babushki are planning to show a cooking act of their national kitchen, with a traditional oven. Sergej Shirokov told us that Udmurt people and citizens of Buranovo are very proud of the Russian representatives in the Eurovision Song Contest this year. They are very patriotic. Buronovskiye Babushki have a dream to finish the church they started to build in their village.

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First, the artists had soundcheck. They performed on stage in their traditional colourful clothes, sitting and dancing with each other. There was a traditional oven on stage with smoke coming out of it. One Granny held a baking tray in her hands imitating that she was offering cakes for her guests and waiting for the party.

Buranovskiye Babushki were surrounded by colourful spotlights. A world map was seen on the LEDs, showing the party on the whole planet.

Two "Grannies" who didn't participated in the show where watching the Russian rehearsal in the arena.

Everybody in the arena gave Buranovskiye Babushki a big applause.

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In the beginning of the press conference, the head of the Russian delegation, Ekaterina Orlova, introduced every "Granny". Two members of the group Buranovskiye Babushki who don’t participate in the Eurovision Song Contest were also introduced.

During the press conference Buranovskiye Babushki received two gifts from the journalists. One of them was a CD with cover song Party For Everybody in Afrikaans.

The first question was about the temple that Buranovskiye Babushki want to build in their village of Buranovo and what the temple means for their souls. The leader of the group, Olga Tuktareva, said that with the building of the temple they want to change people’s souls in the better way. 

Buranovskiye Babushki were asked how difficult it was for them to learn the English lyrics of their song. Olga Tuktareva explained that the text had been translated from English into Russian and then from Russian into Udmurt and then written down on paper. So they learned it very quickly.

One journalist asked if the participating in the Eurovision Song Contest was the peak of their career. Olga Tuktareva confirmed this question with "yes".  All "Grannies" said that they are very happy to be here in Baku and they like singing on stage very much. 

Babushki were asked if the victory in the Eurovision Song Contest is very important for them. One of the artists said that the participation in such a big contest is much more important that a victory. The singers are very happy to have the honour to represent such a big country as Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Another question was about why Buranovskiye Babushki chose the hotel in the rural area and not in Baku. They explained that they like the sea and calmness and don’t like cars.

In the press conference, Babushki performed two songs: Yesterday by Beatles in the Udmurt language and an old traditional Udmurt song.

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