The 2011 Eurovision Song Contest kicks off today with the first 10 countries rehearsing for the first time on the stage in Esprit Arena. After the rehearsal they will meet the press. EuroVisionary will of course cover it all for you, but you can already take a look at the schedule just to see what is happening on this first day.
Most of the participants allocated to the first semi-final have already arrived and during today the last ones will do so. In the coming few days they will be joined by second semi-finalists as well as the five already qualified finalists.
The press centre opened yesterday and a large amount of the accreditated press as well as the dedicated fans have showed up not wanting to miss anything. Today they will be watching the rehearsals from the first ten participants in the first semi-final and afterwards meeting them in relation to the press conferences.
The schedule for Sunday the 1st of May:
| Country | Rehearsal | Press Conference |
| Poland | 10:00 – 10:40 | 11:25 – 12:05 |
| Norway | 10:40 – 11:20 | 12:05 – 12:45 |
| Albania | 11:20 – 12:00 | 12:45 – 13:25 |
| Armenia | 12:00 – 12:40 | 13:25 – 14:05 |
| Turkey | 13:40 – 14:20 | 15:05 – 15:45 |
| Serbia | 14:20 – 15:00 | 15:45 – 16:25 |
| Russia | 15:00 – 15:40 | 16:25 – 17:05 |
| Switzerland | 16:00 – 16:40 | 17:25 – 18:05 |
| Georgia | 16:40 – 17:20 | 18:05 – 18:45 |
| Finland | 17:20 – 18:00 | 18:45 – 19:25 |
All times are mentioned in CET.
Enjoy the start of the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest and don’t forget that EuroVisionary is your reliable top source for all the latest news in the next two weeks. No matter if you are here in Düsseldorf with us or at home we are ready to make sure that you won’t miss anything.
