When Sweden’s Robin Bengtsson sang the lyrics “I Can’t Go On”, it sounds like he might have meant it. After winning Melodifestivalen earlier this year with elaborate staging consisting of five treadmills and four turtlenecks, Robin Bengtsson confirmed that he’d be taking his gym equipment with him to the Ukrainian capital for a near-exact replica version of his national final-winning choreography. Robin’s all set to appear on stage at Kyiv’s International Exhibition Centre in two weeks’ time, but the treadmills might not be.
According to a report by National Television Ukraine earlier this week, many props and items sent by national broadcasters for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest appear to be held up in customs. Assured that the items would be fast tracked through and cleared in time for the first artist rehearsals on Sunday, items including Robin Bengtsson’s treadmills and props for Serbia and Azerbaijan’s performances sound to be held up. No official comments have been made as to which items are yet to arrive, nor is it known whether the items are still in the possession of customs officers.
All week long technical rehearsals have been taking place in Kyiv. Each year, prior to the arrival of the competing artists and delegations, technical rehearsals take place in the host country using stand-in performers. These technical rehearsals allow the crew and cameramen to test out camera angles, backdrops, placement of props and any other special effects. These rehearsals will provide the first glimpse of the final performances for the artists and delegations set to arrive in Kyiv in just over a week’s time, and give them a chance to make presentation changes before official rehearsals begin.
RÚV, the Icelandic national broadcaster, has expressed their disappointment at the leaks occurring from the technical rehearsals at Eurovision 2017. Felix Bergsson, from the Icelandic state broadcaster, mentioned that a section of the Icelandic performance was revealed on YouTube yesterday from within the arena. RÚV has informed the organisers of the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 and the organisers are dealing with the case.
Mr Bergsson stated that the clip did not show the full performance, but did showcase graphics for the performance which they had hoped would not be revealed before the rehearsals. Technical rehearsals are held in the two weeks before the delegations arrive at the contest and are used to provide each delegation an overview of how their performance will look before their first rehearsal.
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