Eurovision 2023 rehearsals are underway in Liverpool. Today, artists from eleven more nations competing at this year’s song contest take to the M&S Bank Arena for their first rehearsals ahead of May’s live shows.
After arriving at the arena, each delegation has around 40 minutes to get settled. They then have an in-ear monitoring rehearsal (30 minutes) and a stage safety briefing (10 minutes).
Then it’s time to take the stage. Each act has 30 minutes to test out the stage. This allows artists to do a series of run-throughs to see how they sound in the space and to get used to moving in the space. Delegations monitor the performances closely, seeing if the show’s producers have managed to execute their agreed-upon vision (including graphics and camera angles). They then have 30 minutes to discuss what they want changed when they meet with producers in the viewing room.
Live in Liverpool: Eurovision 2023 rehearsals Day 3 (Tuesday 2 May)
Here’s the full schedule for today’s rehearsals. All times are listed in BST (CEST – 1).
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- 10:30 — 11:00 — Estonia
- 11:10 — 11:40 — Iceland
- 11:50 — 12:20 — Greece
- 12:30 — 13:00 — Poland
- 14:10 — 14:40 — Slovenia
- 14:50 — 15:20 — Georgia
- 15:30 — 16:00 — San Marino
- 16:10 — 16:40 — Austria
- 16:50 — 17:20 — Albania
- 17:30 — 18:00 — Lithuania
- 18:10 — 18:40 — Australia
We’ll be working inside our LUSH Liverpool Lounge all day and plan to react to TikTok snippets released by the EBU after each rehearsal. We’ll also be live-streaming for much of the day. See y’all soon!
Bejba trying to be Fuega is really fun to watch, it’s almost as if TVP understood that their only chance is to be bad enough to provide some comedy value.
It is not a secret.
(That was sent as a reply, originally.)
Winners and losers of SF2 after first rehearsal:
Winners: Cyprus, Poland, San Marino, Australia
Losers: Austria, Denmark, Slovenia
The rest didn’t make much of a dent one way or the other in terms of expectations.
San Marino a winner? Slovenia a loser? What??????
Slovenia loser? Think again big boi.
Hot take: I can see Poland qualifying, much to my dismay
Eventhough Solo is by far my least favorite song, I have to agree.
Same tbh
Albania was so good!! I have a feeling they’ll make it to the final! 😀
Day 3 of rehearsals was not a good one, to be honest. Australia was the best, with solid staging, vocals, and performance. Dark horse. Iceland was good, too. The song is mediocre, but Dilja elevates it. It’s going to be in he final. Austria I am kind of worried about the LED visuals and performance. Let’s see how they deliver. Greece the song has grown in me but I have to see more to say if it qualifies or not. Most probably note based on the LED visuals. Georgia Iru is good but based on the clip, the visuals and… Read more »
Australia’s rehearsal looked fantastic. The folks from Voyager have awesome personalities as well. 🙂
That entry is my No 2 spot, after Sweden. I am confident they will rock the stage and get loads of votes.
They has choosen the best top 5 of ESC as well))
Iru’s song would have become a masterpiece if they had had more time to work on it. I like it but it kind of sounds unfinished at parts. The loud entrance and the lack of a distinct intro make me nervous. I also find it very loud. She can sing though!
Slovenia had the best rehearsal. Simple, but groovy.
And boring.
Austria was disappointing. If it doesn’t look any better on tv, it’s out from top.
I am also worried about the staging and the LED visuals. Kind of awkward. Please don’t mess, Austria! We need you girls to be Top-5 in the final!
I am now very excited to see a clip of Australia, their staging looks so cool and retro! Feels like we’re in back to the future! I think they could win the semi and do well in the final too. Overlooked by the fan bubble.
Now that we have seen what all the semi finalists have brought on stage (obviously a very limited amount) who do we think is gonna impress most from the AQ? I think Blanca has prepared smth really special but i dont wanna get my hopes too high. I also think la Zarra is gonna do smth really phenomenal and i definitely think she is gonna be best dress this year As far as the rest i only really have high hopes for UK as i think one of their strong suits in Eurovision is staging and the song is already… Read more »
When do Julia, Rita, Alyosha, and Rebecca start their interval/opening rehearsals? I’m curious what that will look like.
Can the Stone of Destiny put in an appearance after the coronation? It can play a part in the results reveal.
Albania’s staging elevated the song. I think they have chances for qualification.
Austria’s photos left me waiting for the best possible outcome. Instead, I was rather dissapointed. :/ Hopefully my opinion changes again once we see the intended cammera angles in the second rehearsal.
My only problem are colours, mostly red, black, orange, purple today. Damn
Lithuania boring. Australia eats her for breakfast.
Only diaspora can save her now.
Only diaspora can save your poor country I guess. You are really rude.
I’m just sharing my opinion about the song, just like everyone else here. You should really calm down and don’t take everything so personally.
You would be surprised.
I think Monika’s dress has been sent to the shredders. This song needs to be class and not have her half-dressed.
This semi feels so unpredictable vs semi 1. I bet lots of non-qualifiers from Semi 1 would easily qualify in this semi.
That proud feeling when watching Lithuania’s TIkTok… Ahhh <3
Sorry but I’m not convinced at all by what we saw of Austria. Neither vocally nor visually.
Waiting for second rehearsals tbh.
The video was edited as if the girls are wandering around aimlessly
True! No top material with that, so boring. Will Q, but no top 5.
It seems they tried their best so that nothing could be understood from the video of Austria.
Monika looks stunning, I’m so glad she was sent to represent our country after all. What a relief she ditched the leggings! The new graphics of a Lithuanian woman on the LEDs are fabulous. <3
Apparently she caused an Ester Peony effect amongst the fandom? I think she is brilliant, just like Ester was the best in that NF, but maybe people just enjoy slagging the winner, whoever they are.
There’s s a lot of hate when your winner doesn’t win. I can understand it. What got me frustrated were fans of R?ta Loop complaining how unfair the national selection was. I mean, the rules have had it since forever: in case of a tie, the jury vote is decisive. Now, I’m not saying the rule is great, but arguably speaking, you shall not change the rules in the middle of the national selection either. Let alone, during the grand final when the voting is done. This is insane! You want changes; make an issue public before the contest begins,… Read more »
Old Romuva used crosses before Christianity was introduced in the Lithuanian lands. A cross would symbolize the connection between the sky and the earth – the connection between spiritual stance and earthly matter. Crosses would usually be used alternatively with circles, wheels, and swastika. Then Nazi Germany happened and…
A bold prediction – Denmark will qualify, but finish last in the finals, being the first non-AQ song to do so since Ireland 2013. As it opens the semi, I predict it will get just enough of a push to finish 9th or 10th. In the finals, it will probably get one of the places between big favorites, and get completely lost. As I’m not getting last place vibes from any of the AQs, I’m predicting it’s Denmark who finishes 26th in the finals. But might as well be Greece or Poland…
What’s AQ/non-AQ please?
Automatic Qualifier (Big 5 + Host)
Non AQ (Everyone who competes in the semis)
But are you talking about the “non-AQ songs” or “non-AQ countries” ? Cause technically the most recent non-AQ *song* to finish last was Ann Sophie. Neither she nor her song were even the official entry until handpicked manually to replace the actual representative 😀
Ann-Sophie represented Germany, thus had the automatic qualification rights given when she took over as the representative. Since 2014, last place in the finals has been occupied by the the representative of The Big Five or the host:
2014 – France (Big 5)
2015 – Germany (Big 5) and Austria (Host)
2016 – Germany (Big 5)
2017 – Spain (Big 5)
2018 – Portugal (Host)
2019 – UK (Big 5)
2021 – UK (Big 5)
2022 – Germany (Big 5)
Of course, the difference this year is that the qualifiers from the Semi Finals go through on public vote ONLY. So what entries do we know that will qualify on public vote alone but do badly with juries? Denmark is a possibility. But I reckon it might be Poland.
Looks like either Austria or Georgia are winning semi 2. Both look amazing!
I don’t think Georgia is coming anywhere near to winning semi tbh
Georgia? This will have major issues to qualify
Georgia is amazing though, ethnic bop
Looks like Australia is winning semi2
The man who works on stage is so warm and welcoming to all delegations, I still haven’t read a single complaint from delegations about anything, the UK is really doing great job. 🙂
Georgia and Austria seem like they have done a pretty good job, on the other hand Greece is basically just self-sabotage at this point, what were they even thinking…
Albania using a tone of fireworks, despite having a song that has no energy or beat that require a single firework? Quite weird decision. They just added them randomly, so bad
You guys will literally say anything against Albania. It’s literally fire what’s not to like just enjoy the show and stop being such a snobby critic
It’s always red, black, eagle or pyro with Albania, without any reasoning.
Seems like we have 3 black and red themed stagings in a row. Almost 4 with Slovenia also in that mix lol
So much about the excuse how EBU sets the running order so the acts in a row would be as diverse as possible… Just admit it, EBU, there’s always favoritism at play.
The running orders were decided a while ago, maybe before the staging colours were finalized…?
It’s something they should consider for the final, of course.
Austria has just dropped photos. I didn’t expect the staging to look so psychedelic.
I utterly love that the staging looks so psychedelic.
Austria might remain my #1 until the end if the show. POE POE POE POE POE POE EDGAR ALLAN POE.
OOOOOOOOOOHHHHHH, MIO PADREEEEE, they’ve pulled off a maaaaadness…
almost the time for the first rehearsal from the thunders from down under, Voyager and the aussie freddie mercury – Dan
it is a sign that my fave star trek series is Voyager and among my faves this year is Voyager
<3 iconique
I guess the question is, will they be defeated by the Borg this time?
Or defeated by Species 8472, the Hirogen, the Vidians, the Kazon, the Malon, the Vahdwar, the Krenim, a macrovirus or a space-dwelling telepathic pitcher plant?
Quite possibly, but I went with the Borg as a metaphor for Sweden. As Lily says in First Contact, “Borg? Sounds Swedish.”
How are you feeling, Purple? Are you on the mend? X
It’s the worst health I have ever been in for ESC, but I’m still alive for now. Taking it day by day.
Oh Purple, that sounds very serious indeed. Sending you lots of best wishes and hope you’re in good health for next week.
I would ask more, if we weren’t on a public forum, but whatever it is I hope you beat it!
because then it is ethnic
Wow, Iru from Georgia looks and sounds great! Not sure why the odds for it to qualify are dropping. So far, I think the odds for qualification from semi 2 are mostly accurate, though I’m thinking we may see Denmark and Poland in, and Greece and Estonia out. Greece and Estonia would’ve had better chances to qualify with the jury, but with all televote, I think the other two will make it, and then just do poorly in the final.
Unpopular opinion.. but i really think that Poland will qualify..
Slovenia is awesome..they have to qualify.
Poland is a sure fire qualifier imho
I really hope Slovenia do well in the televote. They deserve to qualify. Nice 70s style outfits, they look really confident on stage, and like they’re having fun.
I knew after Chanel we were gonna get performance after performance trying to do a crazy advanced choreo. What these delegations forget is that Chanel was a trained singer AND dancer and could do them both at the same time effortlessly. No shade to Blanka but she can barely sing the song without losing her breath and now they got her doing some foolish choreo that makes no sense
singing isn’t important though in the last ever eurovision contest
last ever?!
Dude, we literally have TWO dance breaks this year. You shoulda watched Benidorm Fest!
Eurovision Dance Contest
Yes, Chanel’s choreography was highly professional
Blanka’s going solo, so I think a solo dance would make sense.
wonder if his costume designer is his aunt, Marina Vernicos
ok bad move but self portraits of him well makes sense, he is super handsome, good thing to make use of that in light of all the possible teen girl voters he can win over (+ family maybe buying some extra simcards too who knows since they’re basically loaded)
I agree with Ari. Remember Isaiah (ESC Australia 2017)? There was another teenage boy who had himself duplicated on the LED, and it wasn’t the best outcome. (Besides, it’s Victor’s legs they will all be looking at, unless he puts some trousers on!)
Ahh, it looks like Ari has discontinued, hence why some of my replies no longer make sense.
Georgia photos dropped i definitely LOVE the colouring theme. I think this is okay because i never expected something messy and chaotic
They’ve said it too many times: their performance will be like a 3-minute Joker Out concert, and they won’t go beyond their performance style. Also it’s worth noting that we can’t really tell exactly what will happen on stage based on a few seconds long videos and a few pictures (and this applies to all performances).
They did say it. I still hoped though that they would do at least something a little creative. In my opinion, they can do a Joker Out concert performance at a Joker Out concert. This is Eurovision and not to do a single creative thing with this once-in-a-lifetime production is baffling to me.
I don’t know why only their performance had a visible side sign “prohibited to film the led screen”. Maybe there will be some suprises who knows.
That sign is there for all of them.
(it just hasn’t been visible in these video releases before, as far as I’m aware, and wouldn’t have been intended to be included)
Lol. Well, in case it’s not obvious, it’s meant for people in the arena, prohibiting non-official filming 😉
As long as they are confident in what they are doing and do not go outside their boundaries “out of the box” (which would make them feel uncomfortable and affect their performance/ energy), I have no problem with them not putting on a spectacle or “circus” on stage.
As a Slovenian, I must say I’m frequently really disappointed with the lack of creativity we put in our staging. Sure, Joker Out said they want to keep it simple and create a concert-like feel, but Eurovision offers so many possibilities it is almost a crime not to do something innovative. Either with the LED, movement through the space… If nothing else at least a moment of something unique and special to have some visual impact, apart from just the band’s sound and charisma. Yes, we didn’t see much in the Tiktok, but I’m not confident there’ll be a surprise… Read more »
I’d give Portugal’s The Black Mamba as a great example – a band with a decent song, incredibly elevated by the interesting staging. And I do think Joker Out have an even better song, so an addition of a memorable staging would be amazing. Sure, maybe they’ll prove me wrong and do amazingly regardless…
Maneskin didn’t have anything innovative in their staging, they did something to look like a concert, and it was amazing! The attitude of Damiano and the band sold it for me, I still remember as being one of the best stagings of that year, even though they hadn’t any props and didn’t use all the technology of the stage.
So fingers crossed for Joker Out!
Beyba is getting all the gay love on youtube. A plot twist of the year?
In all honesty Bejba might be a surprise qualifier.
Why a surprise one? It is a catchy song. Blanka is a charismatic girl (yep the barbie-doll type of a charisma). She can sing (the Polish National Final sound was awful and it affected all performances). It is a solid number to get the 18-22nd position at the final.
Everyone seems to love camp Bejba. You go girl!
Not all the gay hate her at first
Although I kinda understand what they’re going for, it still baffles me why you wouldn’t take ANY advantage of the options you have to make the performance more special. Sure, they have a ton of charisma, and so did Maneskin, but at least they had an interesting beginning of the performance, personalised the backdrop with their silhouettes etc. Joker Out may have something up their sleeve that we won’t see until we get a proper clip, but I’m not counting on it.
I’m afraid it’s just that – they want to go for a simple concert feel. And I’m worried the crowd at Eurovision is not close enough to create that genuine audience connection.
There better be some pyro at least!
Pyrotechnics don’t fit in every performance. Probably Australia and Germany will use pyro.
Semi final 2 seems to be really hard to predict. I think almost anything can happen here. The rehearsals prove that all acts here (perhaps apart from San Marino and Romania) have their chances to qualify
Why Greece?
WHY???
Just tuned in for the rehearsals. Can’t say I get the vision behind Victor’s staging.
What do you exactly don’t get?
First of all if there will be a story being narrated through the projected silhouettes. Or if they will fit the specific emotions portrayed in each part of the song. And I also saw at another point some more LED projections featuring Greek letters. We can’t tell as of now how it will all come together and I am waiting to see if the entire puzzle will actually convey anything
It wont. Same as it didn’t convey a message in 2018. Accept it and move onto next year already…
I love Joker’s outfits, there’s also a visible upgrade with sewn-in lace if I’m seeing correctly. And I am happy pink shiny trousers are back in the game!
Estonia Q
Iceland and Poland NQ
Totally right. Iceland song is so forgettable and Blanka is a sub JESC offering..
Greece, please, do change cargoshorts with something else!
Honestly, Icekand was solid. Not sure how to feel about the minimalistic lighting though.
*Iceland
Is Bejba actually qualifying? I’d say so. Rehearsals look solid, and there’s always audiences for the “slay, Queen” genre. Bejba is the only such song in semi 2. Of course, I expect Norway, Israel, and probably UK too to outmatch it in the finals. Still, qualification alone is a success for Bejba. 😉
Exactly. “Solo” is the same trash as “I wrote a song”, but Beyba will likely outperform her visually.
Someone is bored and downvoting all the comments. Get a life or get a job please.