So here we finally have what has to be THE most anticipated rehearsal of the day: Italy!

We saw Francesco Gabbani arrive at the airport yesterday and now he is here in the IEC. Does it look like a winner after one run? I think not. It sounds well and the graphics have some nice elements but overall it is kinda messy. Many eastern symbols (in that sense it reminds me a bit of the Armenian performance but of course the song is completely different).

The dancing gorilla is of course still there and we have also four backing singers who join in the choreography. Compared to the San Remo performance Francesco uses the stage more in between, less standing at one place.

Ukraine have have a big head sculpture in the middle of the stage that lights up differently.
I think it works pretty well as it gives the entry a visual anchor without losing credibility or appearing particularly gimmicky.
O. Torvald are very believable as a rock band, not just some eurovision schlagerrock. There should be an audience for this.
This is just a first rehearsal, but the instrumental bridge is shot with very nice camera work already. We haven't had many first rehearsals that looked so polished already.
I would suggest featuring the female backing singer in the camera feed, as she is hidden at the moment, but should add a nice touch.

The rehearsals continue with Ukraine. O.Torvald has shown very spectacular performances during the preselection earlier this year, so I kind of expected the same or even more for Eurovision itself. On a first look it seems more toned down though. This doesn't mean it's not impressive. On the contrary.

The staging is quite dark with lots of thunder and lightning (... no I won't). Behind Zhenya Galich (the lead singer of the band) there is a big face prop with eyes that light up during the rocky instrumental parts. At the end, on the stage the rest of a body is projected so we have a complete 'extra human being'.
The female backing singer is hidden behind this mask, so it's a variation of the hidden backings, this time one who is not completely hidden. I think it would be fine to have her more visible on stage. All other band members are also on stage but mostly kept in the dark, even when the camera films them. I'd like to have a bit more focus on them as well.

Leadsinger Zhenya Galich is wearing a glittery shirt, really the opposite of what I had expected him to wear as it's probably the least glitter song of the year.

As it's the only proper rock song of the year it could stand out and do better than we think.

Coming on right after Malta gives a huge boost to Romania. Not that they were in need of it to be honest.
A few fixes with Romania's staging were applied, the camera could still focus a bit more on Ilinca since she is only in the picture with Alex together and hardly gets any close up shots until her solo.

No pyros were allowed for Romania so we still don't know what the cannons will be shooting, but if I was a betting person I'd go with confetti.

Romania is next on stage. Even before we've seen Ilinca and Alex Florea perform we know that the canons are still there - despite the problems Alex had with it during the first rehearsal. The first run shows it's still hard for him to keep his balance on it while he brings it to the centre of the stage, affecting his vocals as well.

In the three runs different positions for the canons are tried out. In the first and last run, the canons are situated in the corners of the stage each of them facing a different corner. The second run has the canons further back on stage but in the direction of the audience. The last time Alex has no problem keeping his balance but seems to move the canon a bit less which means that in the last minute or so the duo is not right in the centre. Due to this, some camera shots are not what they should be.

Ilinca is wearing a simple, short red dress but has some in-ear problems (can't hear) during the first tun so it is cut off and restarted. Alex is dressed mostly in black, with a beige/grey t-shirt with short sleeves under his top. The full first run shows largely the same graphics as we saw before. The graphics are all very bright and colourful but still too childish for me, the flowers (shown as if they're drawings by children) don't make it any better.

Generally, vocally it's still ok but the canons are still an issue. Hopefully it will be sorted out in time.