After two days of rehearsals and press conferences featuring the countries in the first semi-final, today those drawn first in the second semi-final rehearsed for the first time.
Iceland kicked things off. At their press conference, they expressed their satisfaction with their rehearsal. When asked why they were singing in English instead of Icelandic, they replied that English is more appropriate for the song. They then entertained the press with the Icelandic version, ‘Fullkomið líf.’
Seasoned veteran and winner of the 1999 contest, Charlotte Perrelli, was next. She told those present that since her victory nine years ago, including marriage and children. She loves her song and naturally hopes the rest of Europe will as well.
The Turkish band Mor ve Ötesi explained the meaning if their name. It means ‘Purple and Beyond’, purple being the last colour visible to the human eye. They are singing in Turkish because they find it easier to express themselves in their own language.
After a successful and confident rehearsal, Ukraine’s Ani Lorak answered questions about her controversial failure to win the Ukrainian selection for the 2005 contest held in Kiev. "It was not an easy decision, in 2005 we had a revolution here and it was a political decision to send Greenjolly. I was then asked every year afterwards, but I refused I’d turned a new page. The president of the TV channel asked me again last year, I didn’t say yes or no straight away, I thought about it for a week, and eventually I threw a coin, and it said yes the first three times I tossed it, so it was my destiny to agree!." She went on to compliment the whole team behind the project.
In his conference, Jerominas Milius from Lithuania said that he has been a fan of rock music since childhood and was looking forward to seeing more of Belgrade.
One of the youngest performers this year is Olta Boka from Albania. She said it was the first time she had performed in front of an international audience and was nervous. The writers explained that sadness and love were not only part of the Albania psyche, but also part of Mediterranean culture.
From one of the youngest performers to one of the most experienced, Paolo Meneguzzi. The Swiss singer said that he is used to big competitions such as Sanremo. He has often played in charity football matches, football being his other passion.
Tereza Kerndlová has the difficult task of improving on last year’s debut for the Czech Republic when Kabat finished last in the semi-final. The delegation are happy with everything about the performance. At the end of the conference, the media were treated to Tereza and her backing singers performing part of ‘Have Some Fun’.
At the Belarusian press conference, Ruslan Alehno revealed that he has recorded a Russian version of ‘Hasta la Vista’ and it’s receiving good airplay in Russia. The gathered press were told about the filming of the video. As part of the video had to be filmed on a rainy night, Ruslan had to be on set at 6 o’clock on a February morning.
The remaining acts competing in the second semi-final will rehearse tomorrow. Eurovisionary will continue our coverage of the rehearsals and press conferences.
