The Eurovision 2016 postcards that introduce each act offer a glimpse into the lives of each contestant and their country. But they also serve another purpose by filling a gap in airtime while SVT’s precision-honed stage crew move artists and props off the stage and set up the stage for the next act.

Ron, wiwibloggs’ official cameraman, spent much of Monday filming dress rehearsals for Semi-Final 1. The rehearsal isn’t just for the artist, but also for the crew who must move platforms, set up LED screens and mop up any mess in just 30 seconds. Their work is incredibly important — leave something behind from Act 1 and Act 2 may slip, forget to install Sergey Lazarev’s wall climb boxes correctly and he may fall flat on his peachy ass.

Here’s an example. Following Serhat’s disco show for “I Didn’t Know”, the crew have to move off his platforms and quickly install Sergey’s high-tech LED screen.

Following Freddie’s performance, the stage is flooded with crew who spend a great deal of time polishing the section of the LED floor where Croatia’s Nina performs. Interestingly, she emerges on stage in her “second dress” — the showgirl one — and her backing vocalists take great care applying her first one.

You can watch our entire Semi-Final 1 dress rehearsal playlist below. Most of them show some sort of changeover and set up.

Photo: Eurovision.tv / Andreas Putting (EBU)

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Armo King
Armo King
7 years ago

Cool..Good job

Siki
Siki
7 years ago

I loved the postcards. Will you maybe (please?) make a video about postcards? Again, pretty please. 🙂 🙂 🙂