The first dress rehearsal for the final of the Eurovision Song Contest kicked-off. In total three dress rehearsals will take place before the big night show will be aired tomorrow. Twenty-five acts are competing in the final after twenty of them qualified from two semi-finals held this week.

Excitement in the press centre and inside the arena hits the highest point so far as there a lot of predictions of who will lift the trophy tomorrow night. The dress rehearsals will give us a better indication.

The show begins with the entrance of the three hosts who praises Oslo for last year’s show. Stefan Raab and his band soon take the centre of the stage and perform last year’s wining entry Satellite in a swing mood. In the end Lena appears on stage for the final notes of her song. The hosts open the tele-voting and the run through of the songs starts.

1. Finland – Paradise Oskar – Da Da Dam

Finland has the honour to open this year’s contest. The whole image of the planet projects a good stage presence for Paradise Oskar who appears relax on stage. The vocals are good but he will work more to make it even more flawless.

2. Bosnia & Herzegovina – Dino Merlin – Love in Rewind

Dino is fresh from his qualification last night and sings the song with great ease. He appears with a purple shirt which is unlikely to be used under his checked jacket. The song has a typical Balkan tune which also appeals to western music.

3. Denmark – A Friend in London – New Tomorrow

The Danish group goes on stage and sings a rocky anthem with a special message to the world. The lead singer is doing well with the cameras to project the theme of the song. Visually this song is strong to do well but there are doubts it will because of the position.

4. Lithuania – Evelina Sasenko – C'est Ma Vie

One of the surprises to be in the final goes on stage and gives an impressing interpretation as she did last Tuesday. The singer puts a lot of passion in her performance and it might attract the jury attention. It reminds us in Darja Svajger for Slovenia in 1995.

5. Hungary – Kati Wolf – What About My Dreams?

Kati is next and she puts us in the summer fever as her song is a very summer tune for pratying. Though there were a lot of doubts about her live vocal performance Kati is doing well though not impressing. She needs to do some fine tuning in the long notes which are challenging to sing due to the high pitch.

6. Ireland – Jedward – Lipstick

Great energy presented by the duo who are enjoying every minute on stage presenting their cosmetic material song. Jedward hits it high on stage and if not for their position they would be contenders for victory though everything can happen.

7. Sweden – Popular – Eric Saade

Eric Saade gives a strong performance. He was even more impressive than last night as he is trying so hard to give Sweden a respectable place in tomorrow’s final. The camera work is good and if he sings like this the crowd in the arena will go crazy tomorrow night.

8. Estonia – Getter Jaani – Rockefeller Street

Getter sings her Rockefeller Street song as she dances with her magical wand which is well caught on camera as a gimmick in her performance. There is energy on stage as she is clad in a colourful outfit which can signify how diverse this contest is.

9. Greece – Loucas Yiorkas feat. Stereo Mike – Watch My Dance

Greece is next after two up tempo songs. The whole act is fascinating to watch as it projects well the nature of the song (traditional music mixed with modern tunes). The Greek traditional instrumental part is the climax of the song as it gives a mark for this song.

10. Russia – Alexej Vorobjov – Get You

Alexej goes on stage with no flashing jacket and he appears confident performing this disco song. He gets everybody to watch this as he connects well with the cameras to make him a contender to finish in the top five positions.

11. France – Amaury Vassili – Sognu

The hot favourite of this year’s contest goes on stage alone. There are no doubts of his vocal performance as he is highly impressing and has a strong presence on stage. The visuals give an oomph factor in this pop-opera song. It receives a warm applause and tomorrow it expects to get a great standing ovation.

12. Italy – Raphael Gualazzi – Madness of Love

Italy is back with Raphael who is an all rounder artist. He sings his blue-jazzy song about love, the theme so linked with the Italians. The red lights used in the performance refer to the madness of love as Gualazzi ends in style with a perfect pitch in his last long note.

The hosts go to meet some artists who are in the green room before continuing with the run through of songs.

13. Switzerland – Anna Rossinelli – In Love for a While

The Swiss are next on stage with Anna Rossinelli fully focusing on performing her sing along song. Her vocals are excellent as she is clad in her red shiny dress while she is accompanied by her two so-called “bodyguards” (string musicians). It is a pleasant performance to watch and hear in a relaxed environment.

14. United Kingdom – Blue – I Can

Blue is on stage who though they are not at their best they sound more of a harmony than in previous rehearsals. Four separate LEDS are being used to project the four members of the group that recently hit the British charts with their I Can but its still unclear if they will hit Europe tomorrow.

15. Moldova – Zdob si Zdub – So Lucky

The group that six years ago hit the drum is back to try to make a hit in this year’s contest. The song looks good on screen as there is a lot of great camera work going on. The song does not need a flawless vocal performance though the group performs well but will they be lucky again tomorrow?

16. Germany – Lena – Taken by a Stranger

The host nation is next and last year’s winner goes on stage again as a competitor in Europe’s favourite show. The whole environment created on stage is so strange which adds to the theme of the song. Lena sings a full modern sound song and it might end up in a respectable place to keep Lena strong in her career. It is expected that the live audience will go wild tomorrow night as Lena performs.

17. Romania – Hotel FM – Change

One of the early selected representatives performs another sing a long song on stage. A lot of aerial shots are being used as Hotel FM sings about changing the world. They are trying hard to impress to have a possibility to get somewhere in the final.

18. Austria – Nadine Beiler – The Secret is Love

The secret is Nadine’s voice in this song. Nadine has a flawless performance as she is clad in a black shiny tight dress. The Disney factor in this song is so evident. Austria returned in the Eurovision Song Contest after an absence of four years and this is the perfect return.

19. Azerbaijan – Ell & Nikki – Running Scared

Another favourite even due to the good draw it has is Azerbaijan. The duo is moving around on stage and they perform well though they need some fine tuning on certain notes. The song is a strong radio track and the light work is simply amazing.

20. Slovenia – Maja Keuc – No One

One of the best artists in this year’s contest is on stage. The young star from Slovenia is vocally perfect and there is a drama factor in the music. The backing vocals are also doing a great job to create the whole package.

The hosts are back in the green room to talk with more Eurovision hopefuls.

21. Iceland – Sjonni’s Friends – Coming Home

Iceland are back in the final after being announced the last qualifier for the third year in a row. The group are enjoying every minute on stage like the theme of the song states to live for the day with your loved ones. The song has a simple performance and the melody is catchy which can put Iceland as the dark horse. Can Iceland heads home for Sjonni’s Friends?

22. Spain – Lucia Perez – Que Me Quiten Lo Bailao

Some heart beating as the song did not start immediately right after the postcard but they can’t take the fun away from Lucia who looks gorgeous on stage. She is clad in a summer pink outfit and her backing vocals / dancers are all dressed in white. The song is typical Spanish and has a catchy tune which will make the crowd dance.

23. Ukraine – Mika Newton – Angel

The Ukrainian beauty is on stage as the sand artistic factor is working well on stage. The visuals look amazing and this is the one to watch on the television screens. Mika is putting a lot in her performance to try to impress Europe.

24. Serbia – Nina – Caroban

Nina is on stage singing her retro song. The Serbian hopeful performs well as she moves around the stage accompanied by her three female backing vocals. The presentation is simply magical and it might remain in the viewers’ minds.

25. Georgia – Eldrine – One More Day

A rocky entry ends the run through of this year’s final. The lead singer is vocally strong and is the group’s outfits compliment with light work. The whole group connects with the cameras as they rock the stage. A lot of fast steady cam shots are used to catch the energy the song is projecting.

This is the end for the run through of songs. Another dress rehearsal will take place tonight but here in the press centre there is a lot of talk of who will win the 56th edition of the biggest extravaganza show aired on the globe.