Stage clothes of the Second Semi-Final: From retro to space heroes

Click on the names for full image galleries.

Bosnia & Herzegovina: Dino Merlin
"I like what I have, so I won't change anything. I bought my stage clothes in San Francisco."

Austria: Nadine Beiler
"I wear a black dress with the back free, and everywhere, there are Swarovski elements. They sponsored us, so it wasn't expensive for us. On stage, we have more than three million crystals. I feel very comfortable in the dress, so I really enjoy it."

The Netherlands: 3JS
Lead singer Jan Dulles: "The suits are from Italy, and I initially called them mafia suits, but I had an email from an Italian guy who didn't like that, so I guess I should stop saying that. I'm still very happy with them. We wanted to be styleful on the stage. We don't have dancers and fireworks, since we're a rock band. The only way we could make it look good is by wearing nice suits."

Belgium: Witloof Bay
"The idea of our clothes came from the director of our video. When he heard the song, he felt that the arrangement of the voices sounds slightly retro and old school, with the tight harmony. So with the stylist, they decided to use a 60's approach. It's quite special, and some people don't like it at all, but it stands out, and maybe many will like it on the night."

Slovakia: TWiiNS
"We like when the clothes are bright and shiny, so we didn't want a dark colour."

Ukraine: Mika Newton
Sand artist Kseniya Simonova: "Me and Mika are wearing very different dresses, designed by different people. We play two different parts but are in harmony. Mika is very open, and I'm very calm and introvert. Mika's dress is very light and intelligent and looks pure. I think it's a good image, and I feel her emotions and how white she looks. It's very theatrical."

Moldova: Zdob și Zdub
"Our designer made these clothes from his vision. Only the hats are specifically Moldovan, even though they are usually lower. These high hats are exaggerated. We also wear some crazy details, like a fishing tool as a necklace."

Sweden: Eric Saade
"I don't think that the clothes should connect to the song specifically, but rather to the expression in the entire performance. The song is determined and raw, with a sense of struggling to become the best. This is mirrored in the clothes. They aren't happy and warm, but rather hard. That's why we use harnesses from climbing sports equipment."

Cyprus: Christos Mylordos
"I like them, they are pretty hard. The only tricky thing is to find a good place to put the sender for the microphone."

Bulgaria: Poli Genova
"We've been choosing between a bright dress and my black lucky jacket. We've decided the night before, you will see for the broadcast."

F.Y.R. Macedonia: Vlatko Ilievski
Costume designer Maja Dimovska (clothing designer together with Elena Vangelovska): "The song is about a Russian girl, so we started out with the Russian and the Macedonian cultures. We wanted to connect them with a clean line. The colour is white, to avoid mixture of too many colours. What is mutual to both cultures is the red belt, so we decided to use it in the main costume and put some red threads though the others."

Israel: Dana International
"It's a dress by made Jean Paul Gaultier; haute couture, of course. I like it, it's comfortable."

Slovenia: Maja Keuc
"I wear a massive dress which I really have had to get used to. It's very heavy with real metal in it."

Romania: Hotel FM
Lead singer David Bryan: "My costume is a bit of Scotland and a bit of Newcastle. The football team has got black and white, like in my pants. I'm from the north-east of Great Britain."

Estonia: Getter Jaani
"I chose this colour because I like pink. We look like dolls!"

Belarus: Anastasiya Vinnikova
"This dress was created specifically for me by a Belarusian designer. It's really comfortable."

Latvia: Musiqq
"The clothes are quite easy going, a bit fancy. We are about black and white, and we think it's good for us and our song."

Denmark: A Friend In London
"We told our designer what we like, and I said that I would like something in style but still kind of shocking and new, and I suggested I might show some skin. Then he suggested that I just show all of my back."

Ireland: Jedward
"We're wearing costumes which we designed ourselves and which were made by a girl in the UK. They look really out there, like space heroes! We wanted something iconic for the Contest, and we pimped our shoes out a lot."