Day two is here and the second set of rehearsals have reached the half-way mark.

Christina takes to the stage for Moldova with a performance which is very different to that of the preview video. This isn’t unexpected due to the video’s nature. In the rehearsal she is dressed in black with four male dancers surrounding her. They have an angry look which suits the track. They are dressed with three-quarter length loose tops and tighter pants. The change of setting makes the track seems a lot punchier and the movements of all on stage are in a similar vein. The dancers are lifting each other and tumbling around the stage. Very dramatic.

Is this Valentina’s time to qualify? The Sammarinese representative wears a similar style of dress to that which she wore on the beach in her video. She is all in white but with a lower cut neckline. The semi-circular podium on which she performs raises her slightly on the stage and behind her is a seven-piece fan of golden material. The material hangs like drapes. The song starts by focusing on the piano, which is being played on the area at the end of the walkway. It’s a very simple performance and it’s definitely the song, and Valentina’s performance, which will sell themselves to the audience rather than the visuals.

It’s Suzy’s time next. What we saw was very much like the Portuguese National Final but with the video wall and floor awash with colours and designs. It seemed to me that the colours of the Portuguese flag were quite a feature within those displayed. Suzy’s voice was strong and this is a confident performance from her. For this rehearsal nobody was in costume so we will have to wait to see what everybody will be performing. You will remember this song, especially as the video wall is used to the extreme!

After the lunch break The Dutch performers took to the stage. The Common Linnets, along with a guitarist and a drummer. The camera work is the simplest of any act so far. The aerial camera starts by showing us a dotted white line, as in the centre of a road. This is part of the floor video. We move in to Ilse and Waylon and then fade to black with one single camera then moving around the stage for most of the song. Finally we fade to black towards the end, and then the aerial camera takes over again.

Our fifth song of the day comes from Montenegro and Sergej Ćetković. Visually there are shades of Dima Bilan when, in 2008 a skater took to the stage. This time it’s a female roller blader who starts off the performance by skating around the enormous video floor and her movements are tracked like ice cracking, following her path. Then Sergej comes to the stage, his steps having the same effect. It’s hard to work out whether this performance is enhanced by the choreography or not. The song is very well performed but sometimes simplicity is good.

The rehearsals day two continues.

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