Eurovision 2025 rehearsals Day 6: First rehearsal for the Big-5 countries and the host nation

• During Rehearsals Day 6 apart from the Semi-final 2 rehearsals, it was time for the Big-5 also to rehearse for the first time along with Switzerland. 

  While the second rehearsals for the semifinal countries are already completed for the first semifinal and underway for the second, it was time for the Big-5 and Switzerland to kick off their rehearsal here in Basel. 

  Like the past few years, no media representative is permitted to view or access any individual artist rehearsals: Media representatives will not be able to view or access any individual artist rehearsals taking place between Saturday 3 May and Saturday 10 May either at the arena or in the Online Media Centre. This is to allow all artists to rehearse in private and the production to perfect each performance before it is seen in full when dress rehearsals begin on Monday 12 May.

  Unlike previous years, there will be no video footage uploaded from the first rehearsals but only first look photos on the next day by EBU and the broadcasters. This was the case for the Big-5 countries and Swtizerland too. 

   

  Abor & Tynna - "Baller"

  

  Germany’s Abor & Tynna are bringing a bop song on stage this year, with the entry 'Baller'. The two siblings  come from Vienna and it the first time since 2007 the German entry is in national language.

  Their staging features a huge high prop – an 80s-style boombox stereo with a central platform where Tynna performs on. They have four backing dancers on stage.

  Tynna is wears a black military-style hotpants and knee-high military boots, a black crop top and elbow-length  leather gloves. As the song progresses to the second part  Tynna dances on the walkway while Abor plays his cello on top of the boombox as we can see in the posted picture above. 

   

   

   

   

  Louane - "Maman"

  

   Up next from the Big-5 countries is France's Louane with her power ballad song 'Maman'. Louane rose to fame after her amazing vocal skills showcased in The Voice about a decade before. 

  The song talks about the stages in life where a child becomes a daughter and a woman becomes a mother, all looked into from Louane's prespective. There’s a circle in the middle of the stage that’s covered with sand. Louane delivers her performance spotlit inside this circle.

  As Reddit is reporting from the Frech delegation: 

  On stage, the sand falls—grain by grain, like time slipping through an hourglass. It’s more than a performance. It’s a reminder: time moves fast, and every moment counts.

  Maman is about love, loss, and the strength to move forward. The hourglass becomes a symbol of life itself—the cycle, the urgency, the beauty of now. Through the pain, Louane delivers one clear message: no matter what we face, we can always rise. And while the sand keeps falling, we must live—fully.”

   

  Remember Monday - "What the Hell Just Happened?"

  

  United Kingdom's delegates took next to the stage for their first rehearsal. This year the UK has brought to Basel the trio Remember Monday formed by Lauren, Holly-Anne and Charlotte. The vocal trio is delivering on stage the song What The Hell Just Happened? 

  As Reddit is reporting from the UK's delegation the staging is described as following:

  “It's the morning after the night before. We reveal Remember Monday in a Regency style boudoir reflecting on the events of the previous evening.

  As the first chorus hits we pull out and with a burst of movement the girls progress down the catwalk taking us back to the chaos of the previous evening.

  On the main stage is a giant chandelier that has crashed down to earth. The chandelier is a striking reminder of the chaotic antics of the night before. The energy then builds before the stage plunges into darkness – leaving the chaos in its wake, the lights return and the girls re-emerge in the safety of the boudoir for a final sweet moment.

  The trio appear on stage pretty much with the style look we saw in the offcial music video, with  corseted dress style and Lauren in pale blue, Holly-Anne in pink and Charlotte in yellow, with lots of sparkles.

   

   

  Zoë Më - "Voyage"

  

   It was time for the host nation to take the stage for their own first rehearsal, which brings the Swiss delegate Zoë Më on stage to deliver her melodic entry 'Voyage'.

  Zoe will be performing on home ground literally as she was born in Basel. Her song is in Franch one of the two languages - the other is German- she performs her songs in. 

  Reddit is reproting from Switzerland’s Creative Director Theo Adams the following enlightening description of the song's staging: 

  "Switzerland’s Zoë Më presents “Voyage” as a three-minute, unbroken moment of cinematic intimacy. The performance unfolds in a single continuous handheld shot, with no cuts, no dancers, no choreography, no set pieces, no props, no LED screen content, and no fireworks. It focuses entirely on Zoë’s presence, unfolding in a quiet, concentrated world built on emotional detail.

  The image is soft and expressive, filmed on a full-frame cinema camera using the exact same Zeiss Super Speed lenses from the 1970s that were used to shoot films like Taxi Driver and Raging Bull. These lenses create blooming highlights, delicate flares, and a shallow depth of field that gently isolates Zoë in the frame. She begins seated, surrounded by infinite black and sculptural lighting that gives the performance the feeling of a Caravaggio painting.

  She wears an off-the-shoulder black silk dress by Rowanne Studio, printed with abstract florals in deep reds, purples, and blues. The camera moves closely around her, capturing shifts between connection and introspection without interruption. Operated entirely by hand, it carries a natural, breathing quality that responds in real time to Zoë’s energy and presence. The result is a continuous flow of quiet, detailed observation. Intimate, immediate, and unfiltered.

  At the bridge, the atmosphere ruptures. Smoke, wind, and stark, overexposed flashes interrupt the stillness. But the camera never cuts. It tilts, circles, and responds to the rupture with a visceral sense of motion, remaining closely attuned to Zoë throughout. As the intensity subsides, the audience slowly comes into view, their phone lights glowing like stars around Zoë, before everything dissolves back into the infinite black where it began.

  Voyage is a performance built on restraint and cinematic precision. It uses the scale of the Eurovision stage in a different way, drawing all attention to Zoë and the emotion she carries in every frame. Nothing distracts. Nothing interrupts. Just one voice, one presence, and a moment that feels deeply personal."

  There's not much more to say than Switzerland is bringing again on stage one more sensational poetic ballad song!

   

   

  Lucio Corsi - "Volevo essere un duro"

  

   The Sanremo 2025 winner from Italy is the next contestant on stage with Lucio Corsi rehearsing for the first time his rock ballad song Volevo Essere Un Duro. Lucio is a 31-year-old singer-songwriter, originally from Tuscany but now based in Milan.

  Lucio's song talks about those who feel different or struggle with their identity while it's title translates in English as 'I wanted to be tough'. 

  The staging is pretty much close to the one we saw in Sanremo with Lucio at a very long piano, wearing a giant-shouldered bolero jacket that looks like the yellow one he wore in the official video. The whole set up along with the colors make the whole performance vintage taking us back the 70's. According to Reddit a sepia filter applied for the TV screen version will make the 70's nostalgic feeling more intense.  

   

   

  Melody - "Esa Diva"

  

   Closing the first rehearsals of the Big-5 countries is Spain's Melody with 'Esa Diva'. Melody won Benidorm fest back in January and is now brigning the part in Basel with her super dance entry. 

  Melody has five in total, three male, two female backing dancers, while she appears on stage wearing black corseted bodice with pointy bits on the shoulders and the hips.

  From the firsr look we understand Melody is going to deliver on St Jakobshalle stage a powerful energetic performance. 

   

   The rehearsals will continue in Day 7 with the rest semi-final 2 nations making their second rehearsals. 

   

  News Source: Reddit/eurovision

  Images: EBU/ @eurovision Instagram account

   

   

   

   

AUTHORS

Angelos D.
Loyal follower of the Eurovision Song Contest since 1987, I've made the competition one of the stories of my life. After attending as accredited press the event for 13 consecutive years along with the 2017-2024 JESC editions, I also enjoy the last three years sharing more Eurovision music through the Eurofans radio's project.