Yesterday saw the second set of countries from the First Semi-final take the Eurovision 2025 for the very first time. We bring you a wrap up from yesterday’s rehearsals.
The first and second rehearsals for Eurovision 2025 are being held behind closed doors without the presence of the media. The Eurovision Song Contest’s official Reddit account is running a live blog daily from the rehearsals with the latest developments.
In this article we bring you the ‘I’ve Arrived Videos’ and excerpts from Eurovision’s Official Reddit account’s live blog:
Norway
Kyle Alessandro- Lighter
Eurovision’s official Reddit account reports:
Lots of elements of this staging have travelled directly from MGP, including the prop with the two stone pillars and the steps. But Kyle has a much bigger LED backdrop for a series of post-apocalyptic mountain graphics (mountains definitely a theme this year), and also a much bigger stage to work with. He takes full advantage of this, with a very polished dance routine that uses both the walkway and the wide front section (which the crew call the ‘frame stage’, by the way, so we will too).
What elevates this performance to ‘off the scale’ is the lighting – there’s a moving lighting rig on the roof that lowers in the second half, creating a stunning moment in the quiet middle eight after the dance break, when Kyle is caught in hundreds of spotlights in the middle of the stage.
As for Kyle’s costume, there’s been lots of discussion about whether he might change the armour because of similarity to Armenia’s Parg, then he confirmed he was keeping the armour, but it would be a new version. If he has changed it, we really can’t tell – to our (admittedly untrained) eyes, it looks exactly the same. Also one other small point – Kyle has three dancers rather than the four we saw at MGP, and one of them delivers some impressive breakdancing at the end.
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Belgium
Red Sebastian- Strobe Lights
Eurovision’s official reddit account reports:
Red Sebastian won Eurosong for Belgium in a haze of pulsing red and black lighting – that’s definitely made the journey to Basel, but now it takes in the full LED wall and the frame at the front of the stage. The precision choreography of the lighting and graphics is spectacular – in the final section the Lego lights descend to add some intensity for the final section when the whole thing goes off and the arena dances like the whole world is watching.
The moving platform hasn’t made the journey from Eurosong – Red Sebastian stays grounded for this performance, and now has three dancers rather than the previous four. His costume is very similar to the red PVC suit with triangular shoulders he wore in the official video, and his dancers are in matching outfits, but with black accents. Being floor based also allows Red Sebastian to include some precision choreography, including a section where he interacts with his own reflection on the LED floor.
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Azerbaijan
Mamagama- Run With U
Eurovision’s official Reddit account reports:
There’s so much joy in this performance – it’s giving Daft Punk/Nile Rodgers funk-pop vibes, but with a nod to Azerbaijan tradition in the sections after the chorus when lead singer Asef plays the saz, which is a traditional long-necked lute. The performance plays out in the middle of the stage, inside a lit halo on the floor that’s mirrored by a smaller one suspended from the roof. The LED wall adds scores of animated shadow dancers mirroring the moves of Mamagama’s three backing dancers, creating a very cool crowd effect that’s got us all chair dancing – this is such a summery bop.
As for costumers, the band are in very stylish black leather suits with red accents, but Asef and Hasan are wearing different styles of jacket, and Arif’s top is sleeveless, which presumably makes it easier to play the drums. They also have three dancers in sparkly black and red catsuits – we’re told that the male dancer isn’t wearing the final outfit today, so we’ll see that in the second rehearsal.
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San Marino
Gabry Ponte- Tutta L’Italia
Eurovision’s official Reddit account reports:
So Gabry is no stranger to an audience of millions and a big stage, and he’s 100% owning this one. The focus, as we saw at Una Voce Per San Marino, is mainly on Gabry himself in a silver jacket, against a backdrop of pulsing lights and graffiti on the LED wall. Gabry’s decks are huge and look like they’re made from mirrored panels that reflect even more pulsing lights, but the dancers we saw at Una Voce Per San Marino are gone, replaced by two instrumentalists who play the accordion and the tambourine.
This is such an interesting and unusual staging concept for Eurovision – a performance where the masked vocalists are not the main focus. The only other example we can think of is Norway’s Nocturne in 1995, where the fiddler was the main focus rather than the singer
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