Notes from the Press Centre… Day Seven Written by John Lucas on May 18, 2015 | 1 Comment

If there’s one thing I’ve found slightly disappointing about the build-up to this year’s Eurovision, it’s been the relative lack of surprises. The rehearsals are a late opportunity for a relatively unfancied song to pick up momentum, or for a hot favourite to crash and burn with an ill-judged or underwhelming performance. That hasn’t really happened so far this year; the artists that were expected to perform strongly have been, and while some of the also-ran entrants have delivered strong stage shows, nobody’s really leapt into contention to the extent that Conchita and the Common Linnets did after their first rehearsals last year.

The arrival of the seven auto-qualifiers is arguably the last opportunity for a real shake-up before the actual shows, and although it’s a shorter day there’s a definite buzz in the press room. Italy, Spain and Australia have all sent big stars with short odds this year, and the UK performance is a highly divisive wildcard that could either be the surprise delight or the train wreck of the contest.

Italy’s Il Volo are huge stars in their world, and are firmly among the frontrunners this year. Their rehearsal is solid but slightly underwhelming, with no real surprises or particularly striking images. The general mood in the press room is that the momentum is still with Sweden after their performance. Their press conference speaks to their celebrity with a packed out room including a large contingent of Italian press and fans from as far afield as China. The mad scramble towards the photo wall at the end of their interview is one of the more terrifying experiences of my trip to date.

The arrival of Italy’s Il Volo saw the press centre packed to capacity for the first time this season.
Photo: Derek Sillerud

There’s less excitement around Austria and Germany, neither of whom are considered major threats before or after they rehearse. The MakeMakes more or less replicate their national finals performance, complete with flaming piano which lead singer Dominic Muhrer later explains has no special significance and just “looks really cool”.

Ann Sophie from Germany has improved considerably since her national finals performance, but ‘Black Smoke’ still feels like a radio song that isn’t likely to inspire many viewers to pick up the phone. She’s spent a lot of time in America, so her English is fluent if slightly affected, and she treats the assembled journalists to an impromptu Beyonce sing-along and diplomatically bats away the inevitable questions about the now-notorious events that saw her emerge as the winner-by-default of this year’s German national final.

The Spanish fans are routinely among the most passionate (read: loudest) of any given Eurovision, and the glamorous Edurne has given them plenty to shout about this year. Their rehearsal goes a little too far in attempting to recreate the song’s cinematic video, but she’s in strong voice and radiates star quality throughout a sunny but less than illuminating press conference.

Edurne from Spain received a warm reception from the always-enthusiastic Spanish fans.
Photo: Derek Sillerud

After a woeful rehearsal featuring terrible dancing, jumpy, uncertain camerawork and an ill-advised LED show that adds nothing to the performance,  there’s a strange air in the UK press conference that I can only liken to watching a pair of movie stars promoting a film that they’re fully aware is terrible, but that they have to go through the motions with anyway. Alex and Bianca are polite, enthusiastic and engaged, but there’s a lack of spontaneity here and a definite sense that nobody involved is feeling particularly confident.

Electro Velvet from the UK are warm, gracious and engaged, but their performance is hampered by a typically half-baked BBC stage show.
Photo: Derek Sillerud

By contrast, the French have a very good rehearsal, with a beautifully conceived stage show that receives rapturous applause in the press centre. Despite this, their meet and greet is easily the most poorly-attended of the day, with a lot of journalists having packed up early to catch this evening’s official Eurovision opening ceremony. Angell speaks primarily in French with the aid of a translator about her hope that the visual elements of her performance will help her to communicate the story of the song to viewers who don’t understand the French language, and reveals her incredibly sweet ritual of touching a photograph of her daughter to her vocal chords before all of her live performances.

The final rehearsal of the day belongs to probably the most talked-about entrant of the year – Australia’s Guy Sebastian. Whatever your opinion on Australia’s allegedly one-off participation in the contest, it’s hard to fault the team’s obvious passion and enthusiasm. They’ve sent a great song by one of their most popular local singers, and have clearly put a great deal of thought into every aspect of their performance for Saturday.

Even while under the weather, Australia’s Guy Sebastian is emerging as a serious competitor this year…
Photo: Derek Sillerud

That being said, the stage show is looking a little messy for these initial run-throughs, but in the subsequent press conference Sebastian explains that they’re planning to simplify a lot of what we’ve seen before the final performance. He’s also suffering from a heavy cold, but still manages to deliver a seriously impressive a capella rendition of his song. I have a feeling that a lot of people who were sceptical about whether Australia had any business being part of the Eurovision Song Contest will have been at least partially won over by the efforts made by Guy and his team here in Vienna, and I leave today’s rehearsals wondering whether Sweden might have more of a fight on their hands than I initially thought…