Today marks the beginning of the final countdown to the Eurovision Song Contest 2007, as the first contingent of semifinalists gather at the Hartwall Arena to take the stage for the first time.

The first day sees rehearsals and press conferences for the first half of the semifinalists, with the exception of Estonia, which has replaced Iceland in the running order for rehearsals due to Gerli Padar's previous commitments. The run-up for the day is as follows:

• Bulgaria rehearsal: 9:30 – 10:10
• Bulgaria press conference: 10:55 – 11:25
• Israel rehearsal: 10:10 – 10:50
• Israel press conference: 11:35 – 12:05
• Cyprus rehearsal: 10:50 – 11:30
• Cyprus press conference: 12:15 – 12:45
• Belarus rehearsal: 11:30 – 12:10
• Belarus press conference: 12:55 – 13:25
• Estonia rehearsal: 13:10 – 13:50
• Estonia press conference: 14:35 – 15:05
• Georgia rehearsal: 13:50 – 14:30
• Georgia press conference: 15:15 – 15:45
• Montenegro rehearsal: 14:30 – 15:10
• Montenegro press conference: 15:55 – 16:25
• Switzerland rehearsal: 15:30 – 16:10
• Switzerland press conference: 16:55 – 17:25
• Moldova rehearsal: 16:10 – 16:50
• Moldova press conference: 17:35 – 18:05
• The Netherlands rehearsal: 16:50 -17:30
• The Netherlands press conference: 18:15 – 18:45
• Albania rehearsal: 17:30 – 18:10
• Albania press conference: 18:55 – 19:25
• Denmark rehearsal: 19:10 – 19:50
• Denmark press conference: 20:35 – 21:05
• Croatia rehearsal: 19:50 – 20:30
• Croatia press conference: 21:15 – 21:45
• Poland rehearsal: 20:30 – 21:10
• Poland press conference: 21:55 – 22:25

As ever, the whole team from esctoday.com will be on location, covering the rehearsals, press conferences and all other developments to bring to you as they happen. Stay tuned to find out how your favourites are getting along on stage!