So we trail up at the arena at 9:30, just at the appointed time for the first rehearsal session, dive into the arena to get out of the rain by waving our importance at the friendly security, and the backing tape fires up exactly as we land in the corner D of the Stabaek pitch. That’s service!
It’s the first run-through of the first rehearsal of the first song of the first semifinal of the first this year’s ESC thing. And everything works (except Franko’s laptop). The onscreen graphics are ready NOW, for heaven’s sakes! And very nice and clear they look too – it appears that we’ll be having about 10 seconds towards the end of each song for the local broadcasters to complete the required telephone numbers – you can phone now! (Not literally “now”, obviously, as that would be silly)
Some of my team are already calling Moldova for a certain qualifier, which is a sure sign that we’ve been here in Eurovisionia too long. It does look good on screen, the stage is predominantly green for this song and does all sorts of interesting lighting thingies, and everything just seems ready from the very first note. Still like the song, still think it’s a bit in one ear and out of the other though.
Oh, and the catwalk is definitely usable – neon violinny bloke starts the song on it on a little turntable. It’s a good start and bodes well for the rest of the fortnight.