U-Bahn negotiated, security queues survived – welcome to the press centre at the Esprit Arena in Düsseldorf, where I’ll be keeping a close eye on today’s rehearsals and what we learn from them.

First and foremost, the arena is looking impressive, as the first photo at the bottom of the article shows – not bad for a £59 camera from Argos, anyway…

So, let’s go with the rehearsals!

FINLAND
We end the day on a calm note with Paradise Oskar, who’s singing nicely, though he could do with a shave and some work on his eyebrows. There’s a huge rotating image of the planet in the background that is simply gorgeous and they’re clearly going for the “Petit Prince” vibe that France 2004 aimed at (less the stilts but plus an ill-advised stripey tank-top). There’s a risk the extravagant visuals might overshadow Axel’s non-performance, but maybe having an audience in the arena will help, and it’s still a pleasant oasis of normality in the middle of the otherwise hectic first semi-final – or, in this case, at the end of a hectic first day.

GEORGIA
OK, we have the car crash we wanted – but it’s not a vocal one, they’re basically fine here. It’s the costumes. My word, they’re genuinely horrendous. Some kind of biker gear hybrid with neon green flashes on the lead singer and the rapper alike. Not optimal. It’s a shame, because the song works reasonably well on stage – there’s a lovely gothic-style backdrop with cathedral-/haunted house-style high windows and tons of flashing lights, and the band do their business well enough. So is a wardrobe malfunction – albeit an entirely intentional one – enough to make Georgia miss out on the final for the first time?

SWITZERLAND
I’ve always said the camerawork and lighting will be vital in making this a nice, warm song instead of a little bit cool and distant. And I’m not sure they’re quite making it work. Anna looks very elegant in a sparkly maroon dress, but the look is possibly a bit too serious and “old” for her, and she doesn’t really interact with the camera or her bandmates much. The backdrop with various celestial entities is nice and effective, though, and this may well stand out perfectly from the previous entries when we see it in close proximity to the competition rather than with a 20-minute gap. I wouldn’t be shocked to see it fall through the gaps, though.

RUSSIA
Brutally efficient and proficient. With the possible exception of Armenia, this really is the Opening Day of No Surprises so far. I suppose we didn’t know Alexej’s staging yet (yes, Alexej – that’s how they’re spelling it on the caption so far, at least), but even that’s fairly predictable, albeit effective. Interplay between dark backgrounds and lots of light on the screens and even his back, and plenty of tight-knit dance steps. Vocally assured, although his English accent is strangely “proper”. But otherwise very little to complain about. Could somebody be crap so we can have a proper bitch please?!

SERBIA
Mixed news, I’d say. The stage is looking lovely, full of retro designs in pink and other shades bubbling away in the background. The “we are having funny, yes?” saxophonists from the Serbian final are gone, as promised, and it’s just Nina and the girls having a good time on-stage. I assume they’re going with the 60s-style outfits, too, although their casual rehearsal clothes are worryingly coordinated. The bad news? Well, one of the dance moves reminds me of Turkey 1987 something terrible, although that doesn’t have to be a bad omen in itself… And, more to the point, Nina’s vocals are somewhat shaky throughout – cracking in a few places, sounding shrill and off-key in others. If she can get that together in time, though – and based on past form, there’s no reason to believe she won’t – it’s a colourful and fun performance.

TURKEY
What do we expect from Yüksek Sadakat? A professional performance – check. Solid vocals – check. A typical rock presentation – check. A woman writhing around inside a big metal ball in the middle of the stage… hang on as minute, a what now? Fresh from the welding lady with the unreliable helmet last year, we’re staying in “slightly impenetrable performance art” territory with the Turkish entry, and I’m not entirely convinced it’s consistent with the message of “Live It Up”. Then again, when did lyrics matter at ESC? Either way, for all I’ve always thought the song itself to be terribly dull, this is sailing through to the final as you’d expect and the rest will depend on whether this falls on the right side of the charismatic/competent faultline.

ARMENIA
This is an interesting example of a rehearsal that really does involve trying out different things. Emmy doesn’t go for all the vocals, but is clearly an extremely capable singer after all the speculation about her live ability. She rocks this one, and the dance routine involving the “Opa” boys is every bit as choreographed and slick as you’d expect, involving boxing moves and ripped shirts and even a boxing ring made out of ribbons (for all of 10 seconds during the middle eight!). This comes across as the first serious contender in this semi-final – there’s always a place for well-produced, visually arresting “cheap” pop in ESC, and Armenia have the niche covered perfectly this year before you even get to the matter of their guaranteed votes (for want of a better phrase). Probably not a winner, but stranger things have happened…

ALBANIA
Cripes, you wouldn’t want to mess with Aurela, she’s a formidable lady. She can sing, too – it’s a bit screamy in places, but a lot of people like that kind of thing. A fairly static performance with the focus firmly on song and singer alike, and the staging is generally “elegant” more than anything else. Insofar as you can call an eagle spreading its wings across the giant LED screen “elegant”. Solid rehearsal and actually quite effective after two up-tempos, though we’ll have to wait until the first dress rehearsal to see them properly back-to-back.

NORWAY
Despite being an early favourite in the betting, a lot of people seem to think Norway could be  a shock (or not-so-shock) qualifier. So what have we learned from their first rehearsal here? The new a cappella intro is a bit messy, Stella’s vocals are still weak on the verses, but the whole thing holds together well enough on the choruses. The stage background is as colourful as you’d expect (as is Stella’s gold outfit), and you suspect – unlike with Poland – we’ve already seen pretty much exactly what we’re going to get on the night. Two up-tempos to start the show, and I suspect only one will make the cut. Still no nearer to knowing which one though.

POLAND
We always knew this was going to be a solid opener, and so it’s proven. Decent vocals from Magdalena, a restrained dance routine (perhaps they need to do a bit more?), two female dancers and three backing vocalists. Stage is imposing in blue during the verses and red during the chorus. Not a great deal to report here really, Magdalena is as professional as we expected and the vocals started to sit just fine by the final run-through. Whether it qualifies or not should depend entirely on the song itself, in other words!