The stories of the stage clothes in the First Semi-Final

10 May 2011 at 17:50 CEST

Poland: Magdalena Tul
"I've been choosing between two dresses, one heavy and one lighter. The lighter one is far easier to dance in. We don't have time to change, I think we have to concentrate, so it's a bit hard."

Norway: Stella Mwangi
Choreographer Mattias Carlsson: "The entire set of stage dresses is designed by the Norwegian designer Ida Østby. All of our team backstage is wearing gold in support of Stella."

Albania: Aurelia Gaçe
"I wear glittery nails and a special hairstyle. In the lyrics, I'm singing that I'm like an eagle in the open sky, and the clothes connects with that. I'm like a sculpture."

Armenia: Emmy
"I'm sorry I'm so small backstage, I'm removing my high-heels to make it more comfortable! I'm singing in honour of the Armenian boxer Arthur Abraham, and that what made us decide on the stage clothes. The boxing glove has a real autograph from him. After the performance, it might be somebody's! We have two of them, so we will manage for the Final as well, in that case."

Turkey: Yüksek Sadakat
"The clothes are a little bit too shiny for us, but they work on the stage. Our group the Phoenix as a symbol. It has wings, so in all the costumes, we have something of it. And the black, green and yellow colours are the traditional colours of Turkey."

Serbia: Nina
"It's all about the creative team of our national TV delegation. It's totally retro, as the song is also retro. My true hair colour is more brownie, and I wear the hair a little bit longer. But I think this suits me, so maybe I'll wear it like this after the Contest too!"

Russia: Alexej Vorobjov
"I don't know, the clothes doesn't matter for me. The main thing for me on a stage is the audience, and that's why I don't like rehearsals. They are cool for trying the sound and all, but I've had so many of them already."

Switzerland: Anna Rossinelli
"I thought this dress would be good, as it's a little bit glittering on the stage. For the Eurovision Song Contest, I think it can be a bit shiny and glittering. For the colour, I thought about black, but then I felt that red is better for me."

Georgia: Eldrine
Lead singer Sophio: "Our costumes are made by a Georgian designer, and I think that she did a great job. The song and the costumes are very close to each other and very original. The colours are electric and transmitting energy, it looks great on stage. It's not national, just modern. We wanted an element of fashion in our costumes, and I think we've reached our goal."

Finland: Paradise Oskar
"The shirt is made of entirely recyclable materials. There are some strange things in it, like a parachute, old clothes and so on. It's a great idea that works with the song. I'm not concerned about styling, so I might as well wear something comfortable."

Malta: Glen Vella
"A Maltese designer made this outfit for me. It's my life, it's colourful! Everything in the entry is about enjoying your life to the fullest, and I consider myself a very colourful person, so I wanted colours. On the T-shirt, it says 'Saint', 'cause I'm a saint!"

San Marino: Senit
"My dress is made by Elizabeth Emanuel, who is from the UK, where she is really famous. She designed Lady Diana's wedding dress. Our team is from England, and they knew her since a long time. The dress is beautiful, it's really elegant and sophisticated, and also comfortable."

Croatia: Daria
"I have three dresses during the song. They are quite comfortable, but the performance is a little bit tricky, with walking and singing at the same time, and the change of dresses. But I have to say that it's my magician, he's doing everything! I wanted to have a black dress and also a silver dress, and then I saw a pink one in a magazine, and so I felt that I had to have that one too!"

Iceland: Sjonni's Friends
"Our costumes connect to our late song writer, Sjonni Brink. He was a retro type. In the selections in Iceland, we wore black vests, which was a connection to the state of sorrow we were in. Now, we wanted to connect more to the retro style that he had. He always wore a vest with a T-shirt."

Hungary: Kati Wolf
"I think the blue colour is beautiful and goes good with me. The dress has a shiny fabric that looks very good on stage. My Hungarian designer came up with the idea to use LED lights in the costumes. I have a little light in the dress, and also in my ring."

Portugal: Homens Da Luta
"Our clothes connect very well to the song. This is a tribute to working class people, and we pay tribute to the 1974 revolution. We've been called The Socialist Village People, and we're proud of that. This is a tribute to normal working class people, the people who watch the Eurovision Song Contest all over Europe, and also to the 1970's, the golden era of the Eurovision Song Contest and also for Portugal."

Lithuania: Evelina Sašenko
"Just for singing and standing on stage, these clothes are comfortable. But for getting on stage and walking in the stairs backstage, they are harder. We made some adjustments so that I can walk. The dress is connected with me, and the song is as well, so we're all one."

Azerbaijan: Ell/Nikki
"Our designer, Lars Wallin from Sweden, made these clothes, the beautiful dress and the great suit."

Greece: Loucas Yiorkas feat. Stereo Mike
Stereo Mike: "This is like my usual clothes, with a little tweak from our stylist. I'm sort of half academic, half hip hop. There are a lot of details in my clothes, and that's not without reason. The national dance we present is quite heavy, and I think Loucas costume suits the music."

All participants above are presented in the First Semi-Final running order.