Seven acts took the stage for the first time in Basel on Saturday 3 May. The first seven acts of the first semi-final finally had their chance to test the stage. This year rehearsals are behind closed doors to reduce additional stress for the contestants. But we now have a teeny peak of what went down after the EBU revealed three still photographs.
But which of the eight rehearsals photo packages impressed you the most?
Take a look at the rehearsal photos taken by the EBU photographers for yourself, then scroll down to vote in our poll and share your opinions.
Bear in mind that the first rehearsals are exactly that: rehearsals. Costumes change and graphics are amended. A few pictures cannot tell the story of a three-minute act. But they do give a hint at the vibe — vaeb? — each act has.
Poll: Who had the best photos from Day 1 of rehearsals at Eurovision 2025?
Iceland
Iceland’s VAEB, according to the information that has been shared by Heidi — now Eurovision reddit’s most loved blogger — has an act is similar to the one in the national final. Matthías and Hálfdán are wearing their trademark sun glasses and silver suits. But to the addition, we can see a little boat appear.
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Poland
Justyna Steczkowska has seen a little clothing overhaul. In her first rehearsal, the Polish diva wore a tight cat suit with cut outs across her body. We know that the “Gaja” singer can put on a show, so we cannot predict anything based on the pictures, but we are hungry for more.
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Slovenia
Slovenia’s Klemen is bringing a heartfelt ballad about the time his wife was diagnosed with a rare disease and his world was literally turned upside town. Slick as always, we see that Klemen wore a more conservative attire on stage.
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Estonia
Tommy Cash is a fashionista as we have seen him on the runway of various European fashion shows in the past. But for his first rehearsal, Tommy recreated the same look and seems have copy-pasted the same performance that he landslided Eesti Laul with back in February.
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Ukraine
Ukraine’s Ziferblat are channeling some custom-made Frolov suits for their first rehearsal. The designer that currently styles world stars as Sabrina Carpenter, Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland, upgraded the suits the band wore at Vidbir. However, he also shared on Instagram, that these suits are not the final product yet. As you can see, everything is still subject to change!
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Sweden
After some panic, Sweden managed to find enough wood and trees for their first rehearsal. The first pictures give an idea that KAJ and SVT recreated the same performance from Melodifestivalen in March. But who knows, there might be surprises…
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Portugal
Portugal’s NAPA have received a little make-over. With new fresh clothes and a new staging, these five musicians from the island of Madeira are slowly growing into their Eurovision era. As with many of the first pictures published, it’s hard to tell how this performance will look on stage. So we gotta have some patience.
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I like all the photo”s
After watching all these pics from 1st rehearsal, it’s clear that Poland’s rehearsal stands out as the most impressive of the first six competitors. Of course, we need to see the full performance, but I’m truly happy that Poland is delivering this year, and all the positive feedback is well-deserved. Let’s continue voting for our Gaia Queen and send 12 points to Poland! <3
This is actually quite funny and extreme base on photo. 🙂 Remember 2017 we had reheasal clips even press polls about Finland and Belgium supposed to be bad reheasal and Finland lead the poll. It looked and sounded extreme opposite from TV as predicted, so it end up completely different. Gives some perspective, how silly this ranking is. xD
I actually don’t mind this closed doors. It creates excitement over what it will look like on stage. Which is rare.. But above all it reduces stress and tension from the performes. Did people forget last year? Fans think they are so privileged and should be entitled to every single detail. For them the artists are nothing more than trained monkeys it seems.. But do you see the person behind? Maybe not all want to be scrutinised by greedy fans and media who can’t wait to criticize somebody over a minute long sour note.? Taking part in ESC us already… Read more »
I agree with all that Denis, but we could have closed rehearsals and still have an open press centre. It was always fun in week one connecting with those on site besides the artists. wiwibloggs did that brilliantly with their live streams. So yes, let’s not criticise and scrutinise, but give us back some of the build-up buzz.
We can’t judge much at this point. From the descriptions most of these entries seem to have pretty similar stagings to their NFs.
I have to say that as much as I like the Ukrainian song, the outfits are terrible imo.
I actually like the Ukrainian outfits now tbh. Especially the singer’s after getting out of that terrible blue number he had in the NF. Fits their fashion sense a lot more to me.
You know, not everyone in the world has an instagram account . .. .
You spoiler little brats, I started watching Eurovision back in the day when we only heard the songs for the first time on the day of the event! Some of my best memories. Just for some context, was way before dance breaks and gimmicky songs. Still, a lot of camp value and geo political voting, that didn’t change.
When was that? There were preview shows in most countries in the weeks before final going back to the 1970s if not before.
Talking for myself when I started watching Eurovision in 2000 (I was 10), I only heard the songs when the final was. It wasn‘t until 2007 when I started to dig deeper in National Finals etc.
And so far I like the concept of not showing any videos of the first rehearsals.
In here (Portugal), we started to have some previews in the early 90s, a week before the event.
I did that too even back in 2013! It has a charm but I think I prefer to dive into the bubble before the concert.
What next..,? A poll for best nail varnish, footwear or fancy top??
I’m holding out for the best post-washing up towel flip . . .
I’m happy that we don’t have to know everything about rehearsals anymore. Like most eurovision fans, I couldn’t resist the urge to see videos of artists rehearsals in previous years but I wasn’t always living it well. Some artists received so much hate or shaming when their rehearsals weren’t going very well and it was so ridiculous. Now they have less pressure and even if they may fail in the end, at least they can appreciate more their Eurovision experience. Also, us fans will have more surprises when the live comes. That being said, I don’t think we should vote… Read more »
On the other hand, some artists got a great boost when their rehearsals went above expectations. This week is not nearly as exciting as it was. But I agree, let’s not bother with photographs. I’m sure we won’t even get those next year.
I agree with you. This kind of poll for me is just toxic. I am happy for the contestants who will enjoy their experience more without the poisonous tongues…
Poland!!! Sweden, Ukraine dissapointed. Ukraine’s oufits are horrible.
Justyna
It’s unbelievable how far the competition has come, we vote for who has the best picture from the first day of rehearsals instead of voting for who has the best song or performance…
Well done EBU, you’ve ruined the fun of rehearsal week…
Or perhaps reduced the pressure on the artists… which is a good thing.
Rehearsals are only rehearsals if they are free from judgement.
I totally for 100% agree!
I 50% agree, because this concealment hurts the acts who arrive rehearsal perfect. It was always fun to discover who these were at this time. I miss that.
Artists are not trained monkeys for your amusement? Did you ever once stop to think maybe they don’t want this extra pressure? Even the perfect ones?
Yes I did Denis, and I am sure that is correct in many cases. But if I was one of those ‘perfect’ ones you describe, I’d want people to know in week one that I was perfect, or near to it. Look how that helped Fuego.
I mean, this is a silly fan poll with no impact on the actual contest. This isn’t an EBU directive, it’s wiwibloggs building hype for the acts. Winning or losing the poll is just for funsies. No one thinks a single still can tall you how the actual performance will go.
let’s be real, ukraine is only qualifying because it’s ukraine. any other country would nq with that entry
I for one happen to really, really like the song….
Ukraine is so bad this year for me
It’s my favourite entry this year
I didn’t like the song in the beginning, however, the other day I saw this Semifinal 1 analysis by Overthinking Eurovision, and it completely changed my perspective. Now, I enjoy the song and performance. You should check it out.
https://youtu.be/3A7nKRAP4Uw
Eurovision Photo Festival :O