Eurovision 2022 - Live in Turin: Rehearsals Day One

Eurovision 2022 - Live in Turin: Rehearsals Day One
Saturday, 30 April 2022

  • Here we go!! Eurovision 2022 rehearsals kick off today at Pala Olimpico marking the start of the Eurovision 2022 weeks .

    The first nine acts of the 2022 Eurovision First Semi-final will take the stage today. The rehearsal week is divided into two primary phases: From today and up to Tuesday 4/5 the first rehearsals of all competing countries into the two semi finals take place while from Wednesday 5/5 till Saturday 7/5 the second reeharsals of all competing countries in the semi finals are held along with the first rehearsals of the Big-5 countries and the host nation. 

    The first phase is held without the presence of any audience and the the rehearsals material released only on TikTok and  eurovision.tv with photos and backstage content. 

    This is how today's rehearsals will unwind in Pala Olimpico: 

    • 10:00 – 10:30 Albania: Ronela Hajati - “Sekret”
    • 10:40 – 11:10 Latvia: Citi Zeni - “Eat Your Salad”
    • 11:20 – 11:50 Lithuania: Monika Liu - “Sentimentai”
    • 12:00 – 12:30 Switzerland: Marius Bear - “Boys Do Cry”

    Lunch break

    • 13:40 – 14:10 Slovenia: LPS - “Disko”
    • 14:20 – 14:50 Ukraine: Kalush Orchestra - “Stefania”
    • 15:00 – 15:30 Bulgaria: Intelligent Music Project - “Intention”

    Break

    • 16:00 – 16:30 Netherlands: S10 - “De diepte”
    • 16:40 – 17:10 Moldova: Zdob si Zdub and Advahov Brothers - “Trenuletul”

     

    1. Albania: Ronela Hajati - “Sekret”

    First Delegation Rehearsal - Albania

    Ronela secured her spot in the Eurovision 2022 class after winning the Albanian national final with Festival i Kenges.  Ronela kicked off today's rehearsals with her first rehearsal of 'Sekret'. 

    Ronela takes the stage dressed in  sparkly bikini with black boots combined with pink hair. She is accompanied on stage by four bare-chested (male) backing dancers and one very gymed female making providing to the whole performance an impressive energetic motion. Ronela's performances feature the element of drama coveying the same time strong vibes to the audience.

    Have a first taste from Ronela's first rehearsal on the official Eurovision TikTok account

     

    2. Latvia: Citi Zeni - “Eat Your Salad”

    First Delegation Rehearsal - Latvia

     Photo Credit: EBU / Nathan Reinds

    Citi Zeni have reached the Eurovision stage in Turin after winning this year's national selection of 'Supernova 2022' with the song 'Eat your Salad' . The song talks about the attractiveness of being vegan and eco-friendly living.

    Jānis Pētersons, Dagnis Roziņš, Reinis Višķeris, Krišjānis Ozols, Roberts Memmēns and Toms Kagainis take the stage wearing their bright colored suits, a their own salad of colors. They graphic backdrop features a fruity visual with the performances conveying the message of veganism and how the characteristic is sexually desirable.

    Take a look at Citi Zeni's first rehearsal run on the official Eurovision TikTok account 

     

    3. Lithuania: Monika Liu - “Sentimentai”

    First Delegation Rehearsal - Lithuania

     Photo Credit: EBU / Nathan Reinds

    Monika earned the right to represent Lithuania after winning the Lithunian national selection of Pabandom iš naujo 2022 with the song 'Sentimentai'. 

    Monika takes the stage alone without any other bakcking dancers and wears a silver sequinned dress. The backdrop features swirly graphics with purple lights dominating most of the time her staging. A rather retro classy appearance that ambitions to reach out to the audience through simplicity and atmpospheric visuals. 

    Take a look at Monika's first rehearsal of 'Sentimentai' on the official Eurovision TikTok account.

     

     4. Switzerland: Marius Bear - “Boys Do Cry”

    Marius Bear, Switzerland, First Rehearsal, PalaOlimpico

    Photo Credit:  EBU / Nathan Reinds

    Marius Bear was selected for Eurovision 2022 via SRF's internal selection format. The Swiss entry was determined by a combination of a 100 member jury panel made up by Swiss viewers and  an international jury of experts. Both of them contributed by 50% to the final choice. 

    Marius takes the stage for the first rehearsal of 'Boys Do Cry',  dressed all in black. He too stands alone on stage with only a spotlight and some atmospheric lighting featuring his performance. With his outstanding vocal skills he knows how to deliver his song gving a dramatic captivating tone to his performance.

    You can have a beter taste of how Marius did on his first rehearal by taking a look at the footage on the Eurovision TikTok account. 

     

     

    5. Slovenia: LPS - “Disko”

    LPS from Slovenia rehearsed their song Disko for the first time at the PalaOlimpico

      Photo credit: EBU/Andres Putting

    LPS (Last Pizza Slice) won the Slovenian national selection EMA 2022 with their song 'Disko'. The group is formed by Filip Vidusin (vocals), Gapser Hlupic (drums), Mark Semeja (electric guitar), Zala Valensek (bass guitar, tenor and alto saxophone) Ziga Zvizej (electronic keyboards). 

    All members are dressed in classy sixties style suits while are huge shiny disco ball is placed on stage taking back to the disco years of the 70's and 80's. No problem to deliver their song as they travel us back in time with their groovy sound. 

    Take a look at Slovenia's first rehearsal scene on the official Eurovision TikTok account. 

     

    6. Ukraine: Kalush Orchestra - “Stefania”

    Kalush Orchestra from Ukraine rehearsed their song Stefania for the first time at the PalaOlimpico

    Photo Credit: EBU/Andres Putting

    The heroic Ukrainian delegates of Kalush Orchestra are here to unite their sound with the rest of Europe despite the devestating war in their homeland. The band took part in the national selection , Vidbir 2022, in which they were the public's favorite and made their way to the Eurovision stage.  The group consists of founder and rapper Oleh Psiuk, multi-instrumentalist Ihor Didenchuk, and DJ MC Kilimmen

    The Ukrainian band won the country's national final with the song 'Stefania' a song dedicated to band member Oleh’s mother. The band gives a really outstanding performance with alternative constumes that you don't see every day on stage. A sparkly waistcoat combined with a pink bucket hat, fringlings in German flag colors certainly draw one's attention. The backdrop features black & white videos turning into a screnery flooded by a mixture of lights in colors of Ukraine. 

    Take a look at Ukraine's first rehearsal footage on the Eurovision TikTok account.

     

    7. Bulgaria: Intelligent Music Project - “Intention”

    Intelligent Music Project from Bulgaria rehearsed their song Intention for the first time at the PalaOlimpico

    Photo Credit: Andres Putting

    Intelligent Music Project were internally selected to represent Bulgaria in Turin with their rock song 'Intention and are ready to rock the roof off. The group consists of Slavin Slavchev , who hs won the  X-Factor Bulgaria, Ivo Stefanov, Bisser Ivanov, Dimitar Sirakov and Stoyan Yankoulov. Alongside the group is Ronnie Romero as the lead members. Romero is widely known as the leading vocalist of a number of bands among which Lords of Black and Rainbows, while Stoyan is no stranger to the Eurovision world as he represented Bulgaria along witg Elitsa Todorova in two past editions of the Eurovision Song Contest.

    Their performance of the 80's style rock song features impressive neon lights combined with geometric shapes on the backdrop while the stage is illuminated with the use of fire durng the song. A really energetic performance by the Bulgarian delegates. 

    Take a look at Bulgaria's first rehearsal HERE

     

    8. Netherlands: S10 - “De diepte”

    S10, Netherlands, First Rehearsal, PalaOlimpico, 30 April 2022

    Next to make her first rehearsal is S10 representing the Netherlands with her alternative pop/folk ballad 'De Diepte'. Singer Stien den Hollander, better known by her stage name S10, has been internally selected to represent the Netherlands by AVROTROS. 

    S10 takes the stage wearing a black jacket on top which is shortened in the front while the back side sees long tails. A Smoky scenary and dramatic lightning add up to a captivating performance that will put its mark in this year's contest. 

    More material of S10's first rehearsal can be found HERE

     

    9. Moldova: Zdob si Zdub and Advahov Brothers - “Trenuletul”

    Photo Credit: Andres Putting

    Touttt touuuuut hurry up and get on board of the train of excitement and ongoing energy. Zdob şi Zdub and the Advahov brothers are closing first day's rehearsal in Pala Olimpico with their song Trenuletul which means 'Train' in Romanian. 

    After internal auditions held by TRM, the Zdob şi Zdub & Advahov brothers were selected to fly to Turin. The Moldavian punk rock and folk rock group Zdob și Zdub ( Roman Yagupov, Mihai Gâncu, Sviatoslav Starus, Andrei Cebotari, Victor Dandeș și Valeriu Mazilu ) has already participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with " Bunica bate doba " (Grandmamma is beating from drum-a). finishing in sixth place. In 2011, he again represented Moldova, finishing in twelfth place with 'So Lucky'.

    This is such a fun energetic song that urges you to put on your dancing shoes. A mixture of folklore and rock ‘n’ rol with ethnic instrumental elements just take you along with the beat and the energy of this song. Some of the band members are dressed in black-white outfits while in red dominated clothes. Neon used in the lighting and the graphics. 

    No stops for this train of entertaiment which are are sure will make the audience standing the night of the live show. 

    Take a look at Moldova's first rehearsal footage on the official Eurovision TikTok account

     

     

     

     

    News Source: Eurovision.tv/ TikTok

    Image: EBU / Nathan Reinds/ Andres Putting

     

     

     

     

AUTHORS

  • Angelos D.

    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.