Rehearsal Bosnia and Herzegovina

Rehearsal Finland

The New Rehearsals

Bosnia-Herzegovina

The Bosnians are the first off today, Maria Sestic is joined on stage by five backing musicians around the back of the stage. At the start of the song the Bosnian flag appears on the visualisation at the front of the stage, and Maria's vocals have been perfect in every run-through of the song so far. Some dry ice comes on the backing singers walk forward (a la ''Lejla'') and some strange arm movements are going on with the four backing singers/dancers. The instrumental part of the song is sounding very strong, there's a wind machine, and the obligatory Eurovision ukelele.

Spain

The boys are all in white t-shirts with ''Spain'' across their pecs, and some fetching white tracksuit bottoms- the kind Vikki Pollard would be proud of! At the back of the stage are two dancers who make it look like they're banging percussion drums, however they've yet to make contact with them. D'NASH's dance routine looks well-polished, and the stage is covered in yellow and gold. Any doubts about their vocal quality should be quashed immediately, but there were some technical problems with the sound in the hall.

Ireland

Dervish line up with Kathy at the front of the stage, and the five backing instrumentalists around the back playing their various instruments. They're sounding very good, and use a stage of black and orange for their entry ''They cannot stop the spring''. A couple of times the band got lost with the camera angles, but this shout be ironed out and they're looking very accomplished on stage.

Finland

The host country on stage, and getting a good reception from the fans gathered in the hall. The stage is white and blue, but changed to red toards the end of the song. The wind machine is in full swing, together with dry ice pouring out and making it a great atmosphere with a rock song. The vocals are good and, again, another very good-looking performance.

Lithuania

The Lithuanians are using the same background as the national final, with the lead singer of 4Fun at the front, and the backing musicians behind the background in shadow. The vocals seems pretty good so far. Minimalistic but good.

Greece

Sarbel is using the same dance routine as the national final, wearing a silver-grey outfit. His four backing dancers are wearing white ''Madonna Bra'' with skirt complete with blue belts. The stage is the yellow-red, and evidently quite slippery as one of the dancers fell over.

Yassou Helsinki!

Finally arrived in Helsinki! After a flight which seemed too long the Greek delegation arrived in Helsinki on Saturday night. Despite his tiredness, Sarbel is anxious for rehearsals which begin on Monday, May, 7. For countries contesting in the semifinals rehearsals began on May, 3. Countries going directly to the final contest are Bosnia-Erzegovina, Spain, Ireland, Finland, Lithouania, Greece, Sweden, France, Russia, Germany, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Rumania and Armenia. All is ready for Sarbel rehearsal and his first interview in Helsinki. We wish him "Good Luck".

First rehearsal Ireland

Folk fest: Ireland on stage

The stage background is split into an array of cells by a network of orange lines, like neon stonework, which eases into movement during the extended instrumental break, and waxes and wanes behind the band as they play. The Irish delegation have avoided the clichéd greens of last year's staging.

Easy-going
The band give a very easy-going, laid-back performance, and it works very well on stage - They Can't Stop the Spring has more than a little of the pub performance about it, which, at least today, was emphasised by the casual jacket and trouser look that the band members opted for. Cathy Jordan looks costumed up already, in a folksy black and mustard floor-length dress with hair tied up in a ponytail, playing the bodhrán as she goes. She has a charming performance style; extremely honest and gentle, and this comes across nicely in the hall and on the screen.

There is structure in the performance via a simple routine where the band members follow Cathy around the stage like the Pied Piper of Hamelin, and the easy attitude of the band on stage means that this is not too rigid to spoil the mood.

The finish is dealt with nicely, with the camera pulling out from Cathy to the whole band, as she beats a triumphant last note in the air.

Sopho's big welcome to Europe

The whole Georgian delegation has expressed its huge joy at becoming part of the Eurovision family this year. To show its thanks and introduce a little of Georgia to the other delegations in Helsinki, the doors were opened to artists and journalists alike for the official Georgian party last night.
A sumptuous buffet was laid on for the guests, prepared by "Georgia's most esteemed chef". This included a special section for Georgian national cuisine, which disappeared rather quickly as guests helped themselves. Latvia's Bonaparti.lv were just some of the artists who turned up to show solidarity with fellow Eurovision artists, and tuck into some of the food on offer - complete with top hats and tails!

The party girl
However, most people had come for the chance to see Georgian debutant artist Sopho perform to the guests, and she did not disappoint, with a whole set of songs she sang live to the appreciative international crown at Club Presidentti. She basked in the attention, clearly loving every minute on stage, and gave some strong performances in front of a myriad of flashing cameras. Some of her non-Eurovision tracks include some catchy samba numbers which got the crowd dancing along.

Other attractions at the party included traditional Georgian dancing and a very powerful male part-singing outfit, who raised the roof on stage. As such, the party was a celebration not only of Sopho and the first ever Eurovision entry for the country, but of Georgia, and reflects the pride that Georgians have at being able to showcase their land to the rest of Europe at this event.