Blue, blue, blue Johnny Blue? I was a bit afraid that we’d get to see another blue stage orgy this year, but at least the first rehearsal day – after Azerbaijan, which comes across as a solid opener – was rather varied. However, the ESC 2018 stage seems quite characterless and – once again – very dark. Then again, it’s nice to see a bridge on a Eurovision stage, something I already thought of when designing fantasy Eurovision stages as a teenager. I wonder why it took so long, but it’s nice to see this concept finally in reality, and equally nice to see it’s getting creatively used by a few of the entrants.

Making good use of the bridge: Israel (Photo: Andres Putting, eurovision.tv)

Also, the motion graphics that we saw in the snippets – as well as the accompanying soundtrack – are really beautiful, and I’m looking forward to more.

What other insights did this first day reveal? Probably that Ari is the always smiling successor of Daníel Ágúst (same fashion disaster, same static performance, same amount of points), that everything seems to be a bit smaller in Lisbon compared to previous years, and that the weather in Lisbon apparently doesn’t meet the expectations that a “Eurovision in the south” might have triggered. I have yet to arrive (coming on Wednesday), so it’s good to know that I might need one additional hoodie.

Then, from Thursday on, I get to see the rehearsals in full, and I will blog about them from Lisbon. For now, I have to go by the official snippets too, and can only share my personal opinion. I found the Czech Republic very underwhelming and incoherent, but it’s only the first rehearsal and things can still grow together. Also, today it stroke me that Elina’s dress is – while admittedly stunning – making her literally unapproachable, and that’s usually not a feature you want to achieve at Eurovision. And Belarus… oh wow, I can’t wait to watch this in full. It must have been a good laugh in the press centre, and I just remembered Zlata Ognevich’s first attempts with her giant earlier today.

Last but not least, it’s nice to see that Albania’s rehearsal was rather well received among the bloggers, so there is a bit of hope that our ChatVote winner might qualify after all. We at escgo! would be happy. Mall aboard!

Don’t touch me: Estonia (Photo: Andres Putting, eurovision.tv)

Featured image photo: Andres Putting, eurovision.tv