Rehearsals have started in Copenhagen

At 10:15 this Monday morning Aram mp3 took to the stage to present the Armenian entry Not alone. Contrary to the song title he stands very alone in the centre of the performing area and in the middle of a circle of spotlight beams. During the vocal performance which, as expected, is flawless, more beams of light sweep around the stage. This setting is exactly what the song needs. Simplicity.

This is a good start to the day.

The Latvian group Aarzemnieki come to the stage next and supply the same ingredients for their virtual cake. As expected they ‘jam’ like they have always done. The background is of trees and some lights. Jöran will be the first artist to use the walkway and ‘island’ during the song. It’s only for a brief moment as he then returns to the main stage to finish the song. There isn’t really a lot that you can do to change things from the national selection.

Third in the running order is Estonia. The performance from Tanja is as energetic as ever. It’s still breathtaking to watch this girl sing and dance at the same time. Her breath control is astounding and vocals are perfect. Of course she is a trained dancer. During the rehearsal both she and her male ‘partner’ are dressed in white. For the first half of the performance the background and floor look like part of a warehouse. The second half sees a major change as the bricks shatter to show hundreds of white birds flying away, like they are escaping. Then the stage transforms a disco set with flashing white balls on the wall and floor.

After the lunch break Sanna takes to the stage for Sweden.

The 30 year old has eventually achieved a dream to get to perform on the Eurovision stage. Wearing a simple black outfit the staging is very similar to that in the melodifestivalen. Sanna performs within a cage of spotlights. The difference is that you can see the all female backing singers on the stage. Everybody in the Press Centre watched the performance intently. After all Sweden is a favourite to win this year.

Iceland come to the stage next. With their colourful outfits Pollapönk are the epitome of enthusiastic performers, but no less than expected. The background consists of lots of coloured moving shapes, perhaps to mimic the guys. This is another occasion where you wouldn’t expect anything to change from the National final, and it doesn’t!

The rehearsals day one continues.

Stay tuned to esctoday.com for further updates on the Eurovision Song Contest 2014.