The Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 is just one week away now, so it’s no surprise that rehearsals are underway. We’ve already seen all the semi-finalists first rehearsal videos, now it’s time to watch the host city and the big five do their first rehearsals.
But before we get into that, why not do some exploring. Check out our facts and stats article on all 42 competing countries and the acts representing them. Then vote on our ranked poll who your favourites are, you can even vote for your own country – we won’t tell. We also revealed who our favourites are this year too.
This year, Ukraine is hosting the contest, after Jamala won with her song “1944”. It will be held at the International Exhibition Centre in Kyiv. The semi-finals are on 9 May 2017 and 11 May 2017; with the Grand Final taking place on 13 May 2017.
Here Are The Eurovision Song Contest 2017 First Rehearsal Clips:
Host Country & Big Five:
Ukraine: O.Torvald – Time
Ditching their incredible national selection performance that saw them on mountainous rocks with ripped clothes and chest clocks that were counting down; O.Torvald has gone with a more modern theme to represent Ukraine on their home turf with the song “Time“. There is also an interesting giant skull behind the lead singer.
Italy: Francesco Gabbani – Occidentali’s Karma
The favourite’s first rehearsal was a lot more colourful than expected. The backing LED screen shows a gorilla in an art form with many great colours, which can be distracting from Francesco Gabbani‘s performance, although when the gorilla comes on stage and the chorus kicks in, the choreographed dance starts bringing all attention back to this representative of Italy, singing “Occidentali’s Karma“.
Spain: Manel Navarro – Do It For Your Lover
Let’s all go to the beach with Manel Navarro with our surfboards and our floral shirts. He promised to bring Spain‘s summer sunshine to Eurovision with a relaxed vibe and that is exactly what we’re getting from the staging and the LED screens. We can’t wait to see him perform “Do It For Your Lover” in full.
Germany: Levina – Perfect Life
For Germany, Levina is singing about a “Perfect Life“. The staging doesn’t quite reflect that giving a lot of silver on the LED screens and flashing lights, whilst she is standing in the middle of the stage. We sure hope she has a much bigger stage presence next week.
United Kingdom: Lucie Jones – Never Give Up On You
The UK seem to have a good shot this year, with a mirrored wall behind Lucie Jones, which transitions well with the back LED screen as we watch golden balls of light shoot from where she is standing. She’s going to nail “Never Give Up On You” on the night, next week. The United Kingdom could do well this year.
France: Alma – Requiem
France is sure to bring it this year, she was one of the favourites and she still is, Alma is set to sing her song “Requiem” well on the stage, whilst 3D-like images display behind her on the big screen, which will also move in time with the camera, apparently, to create a great TV viewing. We can’t wait to see this next week.
That’s it, until the second rehearsal videos. Which is your favourite from the big five plus the host country? Have you voted for any of them in our ranked poll? Has seeing the stage productions made you like any of them more than what you did?