And we’re back for part 2 of today’s rehearsals!

Moldova
Seriously, Moldova? Seriously?

This has been the weirdest rehearsal so far, as it is plagued with technical problems, with the changes in camera shots not working, screen goes occasionally black and whatnot.

However, it makes no difference because what we could see of it was enough.

There’s a sand artist, and there’s a backdrop that is a giant project of what the sand artist is doing. The camera cuts sometimes to the sand artist, sometimes to Anna, who is wearing a very tacky wedding dress – and it looks EXACTLY EXACTLY EXACTLY like a certain Ukrainian entry. Well, it’s very touching of you to pay tribute to Ukraine after its unfortunate withdrawal but REALLY? REALLY?

Sure, normal fans wouldn’t really remember or be bothered by that, but there’s that little bit about the song not being particularly good to begin with and they didn’t even bother to connect the sand visuals to what the song is about. So, really. Don’t stay, Moldova.

Romania
It was a relief to have Romania after Moldova, considering everything. I won’t go as far as calling Romania a break of sanity, but at least it was very much their own concept. They took their video and did a good job translating it to stage, so the entire act has a really unique dark atmosphere. It’s a bit out there, but it’s very her and you can see that she is invested in the concept, which is always a plus.

The problem with weird and moody stagings and a serious song is that it’s a harder sell, but I don’t want delegations to go safe and mainstream just because of that. They went with their concept and with what works for the song and the artist and it’s all you can ask, which is what I always say. It’s not for everyone, especially with the song also not being an immediate catchy track, but it works as a complete product and I don’t have a reason to believe it will (or needs to) do particularly badly in either vote, even in a difficult semi.

Denmark
Denmark brought the chair and some minor adjustments, including more people on the chair and a different climb to the chair, but it is essentially so similar that you can just use the national final performance to decide how well you think it will do.

All photos from eurovision.tv