REPLAY: Day 4 Rehearsals

You can read the full Day 4 Live Blog, as it happened, here, and we're back tomorrow at 10:00 CEST for Day 5.

Today's rehearsal schedule felt like a definite change of pace from the first couple of days, with fewer up-tempo dance numbers. But it was no less interesting and fun to watch from the Green Room, and all today's performances brought something unique and special to the main stage.

The day opened with Georgia, and a haunting performance of Tornike Kipiani's You. His staging made great use of the arena lighting and graphic effects, and set a very high performance bar for the rest of the day.

Next came Anxhela Peristeri from Albania, who served us a sparkly silver dress and a powerful vocal performance against a stormy backdrop.

After Anxhela from Albania came The Black Mamba from Portugal, who delivered an effortlessly cool three minutes of soulful blues in the form of their song Love Is On My Side. It was a classy performance from Tatanka's hat to his two-tone shoes.

After Portugal came Bulgaria, with Victoria rehearsing her song Growing Up is Getting Old. Bulgaria's staging featured a giant rock, a starry sky and falling sand, giving the whole performance a dreamlike quality that really complemented the song.

After lunch we had the biggest change of pace of the schedule so far - from the gentle tones of Bulgaria to three minutes of pure Finnish rock (the musical kind, rather than one you stand on). Finland's Blind Channel brought noise, power, passion and the entire contents of the pyro store to their performance of Dark Side.

How do you follow Finnish rock? With Latvian pop art! Samanta Tīna brought a green dress, three green backing dancers in visors, and a powerful vocal performance that's been stuck in our heads all day.

After Latvia came Switzerland, and a compelling performance from Gjon's Tears of his song Tout l'Univers. It featured some white pillars, contemporary dance moves and some clever use of lighting and camerawork.

Today's schedule wrapped up on a retro note, with Denmark's Fyr Og Flamme taking us back to 1985 with their song Øve os på hinanden. It was a fun and joyful way to end another fabulous day in Rotterdam Ahoy.

Tomorrow second rehearsals begin for the countries taking part in the Semi-Finals, and we'll be looking forward to seeing the Big 5 and The Netherlands rehearse for the first time on Thursday.

Day 5: Second Rehearsals

🇱🇹 Lithuania
🇸🇮 Slovenia
🇷🇺 Russia
🇸🇪 Sweden
🇦🇺 Australia
🇲🇰 North Macedonia
🇮🇪 Ireland
🇨🇾 Cyprus
🇳🇴 Norway
🇭🇷 Croatia
🇧🇪 Belgium
🇮🇱 Israel
🇷🇴 Romania
🇦🇿 Azerbaijan
🇺🇦 Ukraine

What an incredibly busy day. Coffee flasks at the ready!