Live in Basel: Eurovision 2025 rehearsals — Day 2 (Sunday 4 May)

Eurovision 2025 is right around the corner, and Saturday marks the start of first rehearsals inside Basel’s St. Jakobshalle arena.

Eight artists take to the stage for their first rehearsals. They’re the countries competing in the second half of semi-final one — Norway through to Cyprus. They’ll have 30 minutes on the the stage to see how their graphics and camera angles are coming together. It also gives them time to start working out their jitters as they fill the arena with their voices for the very first time. 

The EBU are sharing thoughts from inside the arena on Reddit. We’ll try to update this post as things drop. Regardless, please share your thoughts in the comments section throughout the day!

Eurovision 2025 rehearsal schedule | Day 2 (Sunday 4 May)

Here’s the full Eurovision rehearsal schedule for Sunday 4 May. Times are in CEST.

• 10:30 — 11:00 Norway
• 11:10 — 11:40 Belgium
• 11:50 — 12:20 Azerbaijan
• 12:30 — 13:00 San Marino
• 14:10 — 14:40 Albania
• 14:50 — 15:20 Netherlands
• 15:30 — 16:00 Croatia
• 16:10 — 16:40 Cyprus

8. 🇳🇴 Norway – Kyle Alessandro – “Lighter”

Comments from Eurovision Reddit:

First up today it’s 19-year-old Kyle Alessandro from Norway, who is rehearsing his song Lighter. He’s a singer, songwriter and producer from Steinkjer in Trøndelag, although his father is Spanish, so he also spends a lot of time visiting family in Malaga.

Lots of elements of this staging have travelled directly from MGP, including the prop with the two stone pillars and the steps. But Kyle has a much bigger LED backdrop for a series of post-apocalyptic mountain graphics (mountains definitely a theme this year), and also a much bigger stage to work with. He takes full advantage of this, with a very polished dance routine that uses both the walkway and the wide front section (which the crew call the ‘frame stage’, by the way, so we will too).

What elevates this performance to ‘off the scale’ is the lighting – there’s a moving lighting rig on the roof that lowers in the second half, creating a stunning moment in the quiet middle eight after the dance break, when Kyle is caught in hundreds of spotlights in the middle of the stage.

As for Kyle’s costume, there’s been lots of discussion about whether he might change the armour because of similarity to Armenia’s Parg, then he confirmed he was keeping the armour, but it would be a new version. If he has changed it, we really can’t tell – to our (admittedly untrained) eyes, it looks exactly the same. Also one other small point – Kyle has three dancers rather than the four we saw at MGP, and one of them delivers some impressive breakdancing at the end.

🔥 PYRO UPDATE! Again similar to MGP, there’s a channel of flames along the front of the frame stage, and jets of flame through the second half. Anyone in the standing area should bring marshmallows.

 

 

 

 

 

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9. 🇧🇪 Belgium: Red Sebastian – “Strobe Lights”

Comments from Eurovision Reddit:

Time to crank up the tempo and break out the glo-sticks, because Red Sebastian from Belgium is rehearsing his rave anthem Strobe Lights.

Red Sebastian is the alter ego of 25-year-old Seppe Herreman, who was a finalist on Belgium’s Got Talent way back in 2014. He went on to study music at the Conservatory of Ghent, where he had singing lessons from none other than 2023’s Gustaph. We LOVE how small the Eurovision world is.

Red Sebastian won Eurosong for Belgium in a haze of pulsing red and black lighting – that’s definitely made the journey to Basel, but now it takes in the full LED wall and the frame at the front of the stage. The precision choreography of the lighting and graphics is spectacular – in the final section the Lego lights descend to add some intensity for the final section when the whole thing goes off and the arena dances like the whole world is watching.

The moving platform hasn’t made the journey from Eurosong – Red Sebastian stays grounded for this performance, and now has three dancers rather than the previous four. His costume is very similar to the red PVC suit with triangular shoulders he wore in the official video, and his dancers are in matching outfits, but with black accents. Being floor based also allows Red Sebastian to include some precision choreography, including a section where he interacts with his own reflection on the LED floor.

The big notes are something else. There is no roof left on this arena. We need a lie down.

 

 

 

 

 

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10. 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan: Mamagama – “Run with U”

Comments from Eurovision Reddit:

In the first Semi-Final Italy will perform at this point, but as they’re part of the Big 5 they don’t rehearse until Thursday. So instead we skip straight to Azerbaijan’s Mamagama, with Asef, Hasan and Arif singing Run With You.

This is our first performance of the season where we have no national final as a frame of reference for this staging – Mamagama were chosen through an internal selection. So we have no idea what to expect – how terrifying for the liveblogger exciting is that?

There’s so much joy in this performance – it’s giving Daft Punk/Nile Rodgers funk-pop vibes, but with a nod to Azerbaijan tradition in the sections after the chorus when lead singer Asef plays the saz, which is a traditional long-necked lute. The performance plays out in the middle of the stage, inside a lit halo on the floor that’s mirrored by a smaller one suspended from the roof. The LED wall adds scores of animated shadow dancers mirroring the moves of Mamagama’s three backing dancers, creating a very cool crowd effect that’s got us all chair dancing – this is such a summery bop.

As for costumers, the band are in very stylish black leather suits with red accents, but Asef and Hasan are wearing different styles of jacket, and Arif’s top is sleeveless, which presumably makes it easier to play the drums. They also have three dancers in sparkly black and red catsuits – we’re told that the male dancer isn’t wearing the final outfit today, so we’ll see that in the second rehearsal. The style levels have been outstanding so far this year, and Azerbaijan are no exception.

🔥 PYRO UPDATE! Big flame jets at the end!

 

 

 

 

 

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11. 🇸🇲 San Marino: Gabry Ponte – “Tutta l’Italia”

Comments from Eurovision Reddit:

Onward to San Marino, and legendary DJ Gabry Ponte with Tutta L’Italia. It’s our second song of the season that’s about Italy but not BY Italy – to confuse next week’s commentators even further, this track took us in and out of the ad breaks at Italy’s Sanremo Festival back in February, but then joined the lineup for Una Voce Per San Marino by popular demand.

Those of you old enough to remember 1999 (*waves*) may remember the global dance megahit Blue (Da Ba Dee) by Eiffel 65. That was also Gabry Ponte, but he’s got Eurovision credentials too – in 2022 he was a credited songwriter on the Austrian entry Halo by LUM!X feat. Pia Maria.

So Gabry is no stranger to an audience of millions and a big stage, and he’s 100% owning this one. The focus, as we saw at Una Voce Per San Marino, is mainly on Gabry himself in a silver jacket, against a backdrop of pulsing lights and graffiti on the LED wall. Gabry’s decks are huge and look like they’re made from mirrored panels that reflect even more pulsing lights, but the dancers we saw at Una Voce Per San Marino are gone, replaced by two instrumentalists who play the accordion and the tambourine.

This is such an interesting and unusual staging concept for Eurovision – a performance where the masked vocalists are not the main focus. The only other example we can think of is Norway’s Nocturne in 1995, where the fiddler was the main focus rather than the singer – add any other suggestions in the comments!

Either way, this feels like a rousing football chant of a song, and it’s easy to imagine the crowd being caught up in the infectious energy of it next week. Part of the lyrics translate as “Let us dance with a glass in our hands/Then tomorrow we’ll regret saying I love you.” Very much feels like a night at Euroclub.

🔥 PYRO update! flame jets and fireworks, with added smoke jets in the final chorus and a firework finish. The pyro store is now EMPTY.

 

 

 

 

 

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12. 🇦🇱 Albania: Shkodra Elektronike – “Zjerm”

Comments from Eurovision Reddit:

Time for Albania’s Shkodra Elektronike to rehearse – they’re made up of songwriter and producer Kolë Laca and singer and songwriter Beatriçe Gjergji – they won Festivali i Këngës just before Christmas with Zjerm, and there’s been a lot of chat in this sub about what they will be bringing to the Basel stage. We’re about to find out!

So – the lego lights have been lowered, with the ones at the back of the stage lowest and getting progressively higher towards the front of the stage. It creates a more intimate space for Shkroda Elektronike to perform, like they’re underneath a lit staircase. Hard to explain, but it’s really effective.

Very little of the Festivali i Këngës staging has made the trip from Albania, it’s had a complete revamp. There’s still the red and black colour scheme that plays out with geometric shapes on the LED backdrop, the lego lights, the LED floor and the frame. The animation really drives the performance, and provides a striking contrast to their main performance area, which is a structure of black and white light boxes in the centre of the stage, where Kolë stands in this middle with his drum. Beatriçe uses much more of the space for her unique dance routine and armography, which has stayed much the same, and in the final chorus dances down the walkway for the big finale.

Costume-wise, Beatriçe is still in red, but it’s different dress from the one we saw at Festivali i Këngës – she’s wearing a dress of red crepe satin with sparkle on the bodice and lots of draping – we’re just been introduced to her mum, who made it. One red glove on her right hand, but not on the left – the whole look is VERY glamorous, and that includes Kolë – he’s wearing a double breasted military jacket, like a pea coat. Sorry if pea coats aren’t a universal thing – if you google it you’ll see exactly what it looks like.

There are several songs at Eurovision this year that feature orchestral strings – this one also has a huge drum bassline that reverberates through the floor. It’s a full body experience from start to finish.

🔥 PYRO UPDATE: Flame jets during each chorus on the frame stage. It’s getting VERY hot in here.

 

 

 

 

 

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13. 🇳🇱 Netherlands: Claude – “C’est La Vie”

Comments from Eurovision Reddit

Are you ready for the Netherlands? Singer-songwriter Claude has over a hundred million streams to his name, and countless sold-out shows in the Netherlands and Belgium. He’s got a busy summer too – he’s also performing at the Pinkpop festival in June.

This is another performance where we don’t have a national final to help us predict the staging – instead, we have to find clues from the official video, which is pure contemporary artistry. It’s also another song sung in French – in 2022 we didn’t have any songs featuring French, but this year we have (by our count) six.

The start of this starts with a handful of piano notes that made us hold our breath, then it builds and builds, through the first English verse into the chorus, where the bassline drops and the party starts. Aside from his vocal talents, Claude has a natural connection with the camera that makes this feel like a powerful bit of visual storytelling, and he infuses the whole performance with pure joy from start to finish, with two contemporary dancers who dance around him and in and out of shot like they’re just passing through his party.

Many of you will have seen Claude’s outfit on Insta earlier – a purple suit with pearl detail. So far this year has been an excellent advertisement for effortlessly cool male tailoring, which we’re very here for.

This is one of the first performances we’ve seen so far that features less of the LED wall, and now we know why – in the final chorus there’s an explosion of pink and blue flowers that take up every square inch of the wall, the floor and the frame – you almost expect them to flow into the arena. WHAT a finale.

 

 

 

 

 

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14. 🇭🇷 Croatia: Marko Bošnjak – “Poison Cake”

Comments from Eurovision Reddit:

Time for rehearsal 7 of the day, and it’s Croatia’s Marko Bošnjak, rehearsing his genre-defying song Poison Cake. He promised us a staging overhaul after Dora, so will be interesting to see how he brings this to the big stage in Basel.

Marko is only 20, and is quickly establishing himself as part of a new , trend-setting generation of Croatian musicians. His debut album is out soon, so it’s a great time for him to be taking part in Eurovision and growing his fanbase across the world.

OK – forget everything you saw at Dora, this is now full Shakespearean drama. The lego lights are in full effect here, criss-crossing each other to create a more intimate stage space that has the added bonus of providing dramatic lighting, backed by red and green storm clouds and flames.

Costume-wise, Marko’s black outfit with the pointy shoulders has been replaced with something completely unexpected – a full-length cape with fur around the shoulders that’s giving evil Tudor prince. In the middle of the stage is a grey cauldron, which Marko and his four dancers cast their spells into for the first verse and chorus. The dancers all wear matching blue and white outfits with frills and ribbons, and for the second half they head to the frame stage – at the end Marko sheds his cape to reveal a matching blue and white shirt.

It may also be the size of the arena, but it feels like there’s deeper bass on this live arrangement – the whole performance feels darker and more deliciously atmospheric, and a VERY long way from the Dora kitchen. Welcome to Basel, Croatia!

Also 🔥 PYRO UPDATE: lots of low fog that adds to the witchy opening, and flame and jets on the front stage through the final two choruses. For the final, the smoke jets mirror more smoke on the LED wall and the lego lights go full techno. We forgot to breathe again.

 

 

 

 

 

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15. 🇨🇾 Cyprus: Theo Evan – “Shh”

Comments from Eurovision Reddit:

In next week’s first Semi-Final, it will be Switzerland performing now, but as host nation they rehearse on Thursday with the Big 5. So instead our final rehearsal of the day will be Theo Evan from Cyprus, who will be closing out the show with his up-tempo dance track Shh.

Theo was born in Nicosia, and he’s been a singer and dancer since he was 7. He studied music and performance in the US, and released his first single in 2021. He’s promised us something special in Basel, but since there was no national final for Cyprus, all we have to go on for staging clues is the official video, which had a post-apocalyptic Hunger Games vibe with men in black morph suits and geometric chess.

BUT, for the first time this year, we have staging notes! We LOVE staging notes, and welcome them from any of the delegations who are yet to perform *hopeful face*.

So the Cyprus delegation describes Theo’s performance as follows: “Two scaffolding towers are placed on stage, and the performance opens with Theo Evan and the two dancers forming the shape of a mysterious figure referenced in the lyrics – a silhouette that will be immediately recognisable.

As the performance unfolds, the towers shift positions to create different formations. Theo and his four dancers incorporate them seamlessly into the choreography. Stunning visuals and dynamic lighting enhance each movement, adding depth and intensity to the staging.”

Sounds exciting, no? We’d back that up, watching it live – it’s a super-slick, high energy three minute workout which does things with scaffold towers and very gymnastic men that we didn’t know were even possible. The lighting shifts from black and white at the start, to black and red in the middle, then back to black and white, and there’s a moment at the end before the final drop when everything stops and Theo just…breathes, with a clever camera effect that make it looks like he’s dissolving into the ether.

Costume wise, it’s black trousers and black vests all round, and as for the recognisable figure mentioned in the notes above, we regret to inform you that we’re not to tell you what it is, because that would be a big spoiler of some very clever staging and some things are worth waiting for. The Cyprus delegation agree, so please don’t shout at us in the comments. They promise to reveal all tomorrow when the photos are published. Σας ευχαριστώ!

 

 

 

 

 

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