The 2010 Eurovision Song Contest preparations today enter their final leg as the rehearsals begin in anticipation in Oslo. The first half of the acts participating in the Eurovision Song Contest first semi final on Tuesday 25th May will hold their first technical rehearsals today.

Representatives from Moldova, Russia, Estonia, Slovakia, Finalnd, Latvia, Serbia and Bosnia & Herzegovina will today hold their first technical rehearals. With 40 minutes stage time each, they will work to prepare and finalise their camera work and lighting effects.

After the rehearsal, each delegation will head to the viewing room to review their show and make changes with the NRK broadcaster. All changes should be in place before the countries take to the stage for their second and final technical rehearsals on Thursday.

Stay tuned to esctoday.com for full coverage from all the rehearsals and news and views from around the Telenor Arena in Norway.

Song One – Moldova

Sunstroke Project & Olia Tira will represent Moldovaand have the honour of opening the show and the fist live Eurovision Song Contest show of the year live from Oslo, Norway. They take to the centre of the stage, with two male dancers. They remain central on the set, with the dancers taking their places to the side of the main vocal group. The set uses green coloured displays around the stage.

Olia Tira has her blonde offset bob, and looks a little like last year's Spanish entrant, Soraya. The performance opens on the violin, being played behind the lead singers. With some simple swaying choreography, the performance seems tight. Olia will be wearing a silver fitted bodysuit with corset style look when she performs in the show.

• Read all about this year's Moldovan entry here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NSj2nh3czw

Moldova Press conference
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPTjvGjWkQ8

Song two – Russia

Peter Nalitch & Friends are doing the Russian entry this year. Peter is an architect by trade and shot to fame in Russia after he released a video on YouTube he had made with his maters. The Telenor Arena stage is dark blue for this number, with white spotlights in the curtains forming the back of the stage. The performance is quite similar to the one we have seen on the preview video, taken form the national final in Russia. A wind machine gets now used to blow away the picture Peter throws away in the middle of the song. There are also white flakes falling on stage giving the impression of the band standing in snowfall. The band members are dressed in casual clothes today, Peter Nalich has a dark purple scarf around his neck.

• Read all about this year's Russian entry here

Song three – Estonia

The band Malcolm Lincoln got their name from the Estonian edition of Who wants to be a millionaire, when someone gave that name as an answer to a question about the American president Abraham Lincoln. For the semi-final we have the lead singer Robin Juhkental in a blue blazer and a a colourful scarf at the front and the four band members in a row in similar jackets and scarves doing synchronised hand movements, one member sits behind a piano on the left. We get some interesting camera shots from above while Robin does a silly dance.

The stage backdrop is drak blue with white lights with spot lights on the band members. All in all we get a good impression now how far the camera shots and angles have been planned ahead and they seem to be working well already at this early stage of the rehearsals.

• Read all about this year's Estonian entry here