The first thing that strikes when I think about the first day of rehearsals in the 2023 Eurovision host city, Liverpool, is the lack of the presence of the (fan) media. I do understand that the artists of every country need time to get used to the grand stage of the contest and that some press does have the tendency to be very negative based on performances that are not complete or balanced out yet, but then there is also the fact that the press cannot be present during the second rehearsals, and can only watch the first dress rehearsals live. Let’s be honest here: “What would Eurovision be without the fans?”
The best thing about national final performances and the actual Eurovision performances is that they seem bigger and bolder, which also means that one can never tell, based on a national performance, how a performance is going to be on the Eurovision stage, and this year is no exception when it comes down to this matter. For me, the biggest surprise in this regard is how the entry of Switzerland’s Remo Forrer is staged; the song is somewhat of a power ballad, but now has actual choreography, which I am very curious to know how this turns out on screen.
The first day of rehearsals brought nothing really new, except for Sweden’s Loreen having a smaller top LED screen than in the national final, but that is nothing that cannot be compensated with some good widescreen camera angles; she will do well.
I am looking forward to tomorrow’s rehearsals, because these also entail the first rehearsal of my home country, the Netherlands. Mia and Dion got very bad criticism nationally, and because of that I hope they can turn the public opinion around.
Eurovision 2023
The Eurovision Song Contest 2023 will take place on May 9th, 11th, and 13th 2023 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. 37 countries will compete for the crown. This year’s Eurovision Song Contest will be a joint venture, since last year’s winner Ukraine cannot organize the contest on home soil because of the ongoing war with Russia.