It is the first day of rehearsals for the host country and the Big 5 taking place at the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest home, in Copenhagen. 

The next 3 countries to step on the Eurovision stage for the first time are, our host, Denmark followed by Italy and finally Spain.

Basim won the Melodi Grand Prix for Denmark a few months ago with his song Cliche love song and has opted for a similar if not identical performance for the grand Final. Some adjustements had too be made due to a different stage configuration and as a result, Basim with his 2 dancers  and 3 backing vocalists use both corners of the stage. The lights are very similar to the national selection performance, very bright, between silver and golden colours. They are all wearing suits but Basim is,this time, wearing a burgundy bow tie.

His vocals are very strong and unlike the Danish national final, he has not sung all the I love you in the chorus during the rehearsals. The fourth and final rehearsals included some fireworks on the last chorus and a massive banner unfolds, showing a picture of Basim with the word love on it.

Emma Marrone from Italy resumed the rehearsals after a short break in the activities for the day. The Italian singer brought her momentum on stage to sing La mia città. Drums, a guitar, a keyboard and loudspeakers where played by backing musicians dressed in white. The latter color was the protagonist of the backdrop. While most of the scene was covered in white, other elements like guitars, thunderbolts, X-shaped crosses, circles and other shapes where spread all over the floor and the back of the scene. A gigantic video of Emma Marrone’s face, singing along to the lyrics, can be seen short before the last chorus, behind the artists. A bit tense maybe at the beginning, Emma seemed to get much more comfortable on stage as the rehearsals went on. She walked with ease all around the stage and the walkways. Close to the ending she even crawled on the walkway. Maybe one of the most powerful moments of her performance… Emma was wearing yellow and blue jacket, dark pants and a light blue top. It did not look like the outfit she might be wearing during the final, though. In any case, she only used the jacket during the first performance. She got rid of it for the following ones. All in all, the stage was filled with the power of the Italian entry and its performer.

Spain was the last country to rehearse today. Ruth Lorenzo, dressed in a white dress, and her backing singers in black, stand on stage and began their performance listening to the rain falling. With the help of the lights on the backstage, it does look like it is raining on Ruth. For the rest, the dominant colors are blue, white and black. The scene gets more and more illuminated the further we go into the song. A final touch of “all-white” on stage gave the final shine of hope which is in the message of the Spanish entry, Dancing in the rain. The vocals of the backing singers and of Ruth made the most enthusiastic followers in the press room clap many times during the song. More clapping could be heard after each performance.

And the first rehearsal for the finalists concluded today. Stay tuned to esctoday.com for more news on the rehearsals and the Eurovision Song Contest.