Ewan and Sharleen have made it back to the media centre once again (via the cheap coffee cart of the Pink Snail) in the Ukraina Palace of Arts for the third official day of rehearsals. We are currently being wowed by the amazing classical voice of Rafael from Moldova; but don’t worry, we haven’t forgotten about you dear readers. We will continue to bring you all the big news and headlines from the Kyiv venue and beyond – right up till the winner is announced on Saturday night for the 2013 Junior Eurovision.
Growing pains
The curse of Junior Eurovision strikes once again with another male singer having the misfortune of his voice breaking at the time of the contest. Ellias from Sweden kicked off proceedings for the second set of rehearsals, struggling with the key of the song. At the press conference, the issue was acknowledged by the delegation, and they are changing the key of the tune and working through the vocals for the final show.
Sweden struggles with vocal issues at the Junior contest
Junior Eurovision is here to stay
As per an announcement made at the official press conference of the NTU/EBU yesterday, delegations from both Hungary and Germany arrived yesterday into Kyiv to observe the Junior Eurovision operations. This certainly douses the burning rumours that this youth contest is on its last legs. If the arrangements and changes to this years contest run well, we may see both countries join in 2014, and a number of other Western countries could follow their lead in junior participation.
Its all about the candy (music)
On an sweet note, chocolate made its way to the press centre today courtesy of the Armenian delegation and their song ‘Choco Factory’. In terms of staging, the production is looking slick, with colourful props and costumes, and has been remarked by a number of press that it seems to mirror some of the more successful performances of the Georgians (namely, Candy Music from 2011) that have won in past years. One to watch come Saturday night.
In 2013, the sweetest treats come from Armenia
Further news from Kyiv
Outside of the Palace of Arts ‘Ukraina’, Ruslana continues to make her presence known on the streets of Kyiv, with another live performance at the protests. Thursday evening will most likely see her perform again, with announcements in the press that there will be another concert of popular Ukrainian musicians tonight to support the movement of Ukraine moving closer to Europe and against the Presidents refusal to sign the agreement in Vilnius this week and instead align with Russia.
How will this disharmony on the streets of Ukraine affect the Junior Eurovision on Saturday though? The contest officially remains neutral and apolitical, but the fear is that the local audience may not be entirely on this path. One can only hope that the contests’ aim to bring Europe closer together is embraced and a spirit of friendship is shown when Russia takes the stage last on Saturday.