ESC2019

Montenegro 2nd rehearsal didn't have many changes. The guys sounded well and the staging remained the same. They got rid of the loud shout in the middle of the song, which is good, but they still need to find a better way to end the performance; they just dance with each other and it looked very weird, almost like a school play. At the last note, they're holding one of the girls, as if she's about to fall. Rizo was moved to the front at the last shot.

Yom HaZikaron is the Memorial Day for the Fallen Soldiers of Israel and Victims of Terrorism. It's an official memorial day that was enacted into law in 1963. It's the day when Israelis stops and honor the fallen soldiers of the country. Since Jewish tradition sees the day starting from sunset to sunset, the events of this day will started on Tuesday evening.
A few things that you should know (and probably already noticed) as tourists:
* There are two sirens heard; the first at the preceding evening at 20:00, that will last for 1 minute. The 2nd on Yom HaZikaron day at 11:00, and this one is 2 minutes long.
* In the preceding evening all stores and restaurant are closed. Grocery stores and supermarkets will be open on Yom HaZikaron itself. Restaurants will still be closed.
* There will be no rehearsals for Eurovision on Yom HaZikaron. That is why rehearsals started a day earlier this year.
* In addition, radio will play only sad songs from Tuesday evening to Wednesday evening. TV will air special programming at the same time.

And then things take a drastic turn. On Wednesday evening Yom HaZikaron ends and the Independence Day begins. It "is the national day of Israel, commemorating the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948" (from Wikipedia). It's a day of ceremonies, celebrations and parties, and you'll notice Israelis tend to party hard. This will take place from Wednesday evening to Thursday evening.
A few things that you should know as tourists:
* Grocery stores and supermarkets will be closed early on Wednesday. Restaurants are supposed to remain open and will probably be packed.
* There will be road blocks on Wednesday evening. It's not only for security reasons; Throughout the evening and the night there will be shows going on, known in Israel as "Bamot Bidur" (Entertainment stages). There will probably hundreds of them throughout the country. These shows are free and open to all. If you'll go to one of them you'll see insane amount of people attending, including families. The performers are usually Israeli biggest music stars. Check out who's performing in your area.
* Rehearsals for Eurovision will go on regularly on Thursday.
* most grocery stores and supermarkets will be closed on Thursday, but you might find a handful of AMPM stores open.

Have a safe day

Picture by Ishai Parasol

Chingiz is alone on stage, he's wearing a short sleeve grey shirt. He's standing in front of a triangle prop with blue neon light. Two robotic arms are scanning him. In the chorus, he walks to the center of the stage. The camera work is very good, there are a lot of effects, including a beating heart video that is screened on his chest and his image ascending at some point. Toward the end of the song, Chingiz gives a Mugham part, which is really beautiful and add some warmth to a rather cold staging.

Tamara Todevska takes the stage to perform her emotional ballad, "Proud". She's wearing a pageant like dress, in turquoise. Behind her are a few mirrors that show her from the back. Yes, just like in the Russian performance. The video art shows mothers and daughters in black and white. Tamara sounds perfect vocally.

It's now the turn of the favorite to win according to the bookmakers, Duncan Laurence. He's sitting beside a small keyboard and plays, wearing a purple suit. The stage is dark, with lights of blue and purple. The video art is showing us a storm, also in blue and purple. At the c part, two projectors lighting on him from two sides. The camera focuses on the audience at the last chorus. In the last few notes of the song, the camera comes back to focus on him and zoom out slowly, which once again makes the stage look huge and makes Duncan look like a small town boy in a big arcade.

The KEiiNO three are on stage all dressed in black. Tom and Fred are standing on different sides of the catwalks. Alexandra is on the main stage. The video art takes us on a journey through what seems to be a Scandinavian scenery of mountains at night, with northern light glowing. The color of the video art and stage changes from white, black and blue to different shades of gold towards the end of the song. It's also the point when the two men meet Alexandra at the central stage. They sound good and the whole atmosphere is very heartwarming and exciting. Many people were afraid of what the stage is gonna be like, I think they can set their mind at ease now.