REPLAY: Day 2 Rehearsals

You can read the full Day 2 Live Blog, as it happened, here, and we're back tomorrow at 10:00 CEST for Day 3.

Today’s rehearsal schedule featured all the acts performing in the second half of the first Semi-Final on Tuesday 18 May, with each delegation given the usual 30 minutes to rehearse. All of today’s acts managed to use that time to perform at least three times, with plenty of high-energy dance routines and pyrotechnics on today’s menu.

Up first was Cyprus, who opened the Sunday rehearsal schedule with El Diablo. Silver fringing, backing dancers in red catsuits and flames gave us a morning energy boost, once a few microphone issues had been resolved. But that’s what rehearsals are for, right?

After Cyprus came Norway, with Tix bringing some boyband-style balladry, complete with his trademark sunglasses, bandana, angel wings and chained demons. It mirrored his performance in the official Eurovision video, adding clouds to the graphic backdrop to create a little extra atmosphere, along with some bonus fog and flames.

They kept the pyro box open for Croatia’s Albina, who felt the heat in the most revealing outfit of the day. Her performance of Tick-Tock featured four male mesh-clad backing dancers and a complex routine on the B-stage that’s guaranteed to get everyone dancing during the first Semi-Final.

The morning session concluded with a change of pace from Belgium’s Hooverphonic, who brought their usual brand of understated class to Rotterdam Ahoy. They were also the first live instruments of the day, which felt like a real treat after over a year without seeing live bands perform on such a big stage.

After a break for lunch, Israel’s Eden opened the afternoon session with a very polished rehearsal of Set Me Free – so good, in fact, that she was able to perform four times in the allotted 30 minutes. Her staging featured a complex dance routine with five male backing dancers and a dress reveal, and made effective use of both the main stage and the B-stage.

After Israel came Romania, with Roxen rehearsing her atmospheric and haunting song, Amnesia. The staging featured a contemporary dance routine that helped Roxen to create a compelling three minutes of musical storytelling that built on the official video.

Azerbaijan rehearsed next, with another upbeat number in the form of Efendi’s song, Mata Hari. Efendi and her backing singers brought a matching set of black outfits that weren’t quite as revealing as Croatia, but definitely from the same minimalist shopping emporium.

Next, Ukraine’s Go­_A took the stage to perform their electro-folklore song Shum in a ghostly forest. It represents Chornobyl, which inspired the song. Lead singer Kateryna's green feathery jacket brought a touch of colour to the monochrome staging and we all wished we could get up and dance as the she turned up the tempo.

And finally for today’s schedule, Destiny from Malta rehearsed her song Je Me Casse. It was an uplifting final performance full of sass, fun and girl power, and showed us all that you can NEVER have too much pink.

Tomorrow is another big day of rehearsals, with the nine countries who will perform in the first half of the second Semi-Final taking to the main stage for the first time.

Day 3 Schedule

🇸🇲 San Marino
🇪🇪 Estonia
🇨🇿 Czech Republic
🇬🇷 Greece
🇦🇹 Austria
🇵🇱 Poland
🇲🇩 Moldova
🇮🇸 Iceland
🇷🇸 Serbia

Please #JoinUs for the Day 3 Live Blog from 10:00 CEST.