It has to be said; VRT, RTBF and the European Broadcasting Union managed to organise a modern, vibrant and professional television event. Although there is nothing to blame the previous host broadcasters for, the less 'childish' format of the show might attract a wider audience. Photos are now added!
During the Greek rehearsal, minor sound problems in the hall made it difficult to hear the vocals. However, Alexandros and Kalli did a good job on their overall performance. Denmark appeared to be one of the favourites of the audience, which mainly existed of school classes. Nicolai's performance was excellent, something his coach apparantly agreed with! Lorena from Croatia did an excellent show as well. After the first block of participants, it's time for a short break. In some countries this time will be used for commercials, in other countries we'll see a video about the visit to Brussels the participants made earlier this week.
Alina from Romania, one of the favourites as well, did a superb performance in traditional outfits. From this strong and absolutely energetic performance, the United Kingdom has the honour to bring the first ballad of the 2005 Junior Eurovision Song Contest. Although Joni had some minor vocal issues to deal with, it seems she's confident and skilled enough to show what she can during tonight's dress rehearsal with audience.
After a visit to the kids room, it's time for Sweden. There seemed to be a camera problem, but the performance of M+ was good. Grown up Eurovision Song Contest participants can learn something from this contest! The Russian singer Vlad seemed to be convinced on stage, although he didn't catch the right camera a few times. Vlad, just follow the red lights on top of them and everything will be allright! FYR Macedonia had a spectacular opening and a great performance as well. Time for a video about all the hard work behind this contest!
Dutch Tess might have been a bit nervous, but there was no reason for that! There is no sign from the soar throath she suffered from over the past days. Tess, have some tea and relax, everything will be just fine! The first real problems came up at the beginning of Philip from Serbia & Montenegro. Apparantly there was a sound problem, for which Philip, carrying a football, had to start over. Host Marcel solved the issue with a joke: “We have to blow a bit more air into the ball and then we will start again”, he said. After that, everything went fine with Philip! Latvian group Kids4Rock did a good job; the song might even surprise on television! Lindsay from Belgium appeared to be enormously popular in her home country. The kids in the audience went crazy when she entered the stage! After a solid performance of Thea and her friends from Malta, it was time for another video about the stars of this show; the juniors!
The Norwegian performance of Malin was sweet. Who doesn't need a holiday at this time of the year. However, summer… it's almost freezing in Hasselt! Spain is again one of the favourites of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. The first seconds of the song are impressive and the strong vocals can do the rest! A happy yell at the end of the Belarussian performance marks the end of this rehearsal.
The next rehearsal, with audience, takes place tonight.
Whoever may win, all countries selected great singers and entertainers. Whoever are among the favourites or not, things can turn out different during the actual show. All 16 participants are winners already, as they managed to qualify themselves for this international event. Good luck, and may the best song win!
