The Grand Final of the 64th Eurovision Song Contest will take place on May 18th at the Expo Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel. Forty-one artists will take to the stage over three nights to perform their contributions for the contest, fighting to become the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2019.
Today sees the first dress rehearsal for the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2019. The dress rehearsal is the final opportunity before the jury show for delegations to make the final tweaks to their performance. The dress rehearsal is scheduled to last for 3 hours.
LIVE COVERAGE | Live blog ended
12:45 CET // 15 minutes to go until the first dress rehearsal for the Grand Final of Eurovision 2019 begins.
13:02 CET // Shalom and welcome to the dress rehearsal for the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2019!
13:14 CET // Technical problems are delaying the beginning of the rehearsal.
13:15 CET // The opening VT shows Netta flying the finalists to Tel Aviv with Jon Ola Sand as an air traffic controller.
13:17 CET // Netta appears on stage to start the Parade of Nations. Each nation is welcome by spinning LED’s in the the country’s flag.
13:20 CET // Dana International comes on stage to perform “Tel Aviv Ya Habibi” and “Diva” during the Parade of Nations.
13:21 CET // The theme of the Parade of Nations is an arrivals hall in an airport.
13:22 CET // Ilanit, Israel’s very first Eurovision representative, is on stage performing “Ey Sham”, her Eurovision entry from 1973.
13:24 CET // Nadav Guedj, Israel’s 2015 representative, ends the Parade of Nations with “Golden Boy”.
13:25 CET // The four presenters are now on stage.
13:27 CET // A montage of presenters from past contests is used to explain the voting procedure.
Malta: Michela – Chameleon
13:29 CET // Michela’s postcard was filmed in Timna Park.
13:31 CET // Michela seems to be having in-ear problems.
13:32 CET // Malta is restarting their rehearsal due to sound problems.
13:37 CET // Michela is now sounding much better.
13:38 CET // No changes in the staging for Michela.
Albania: Jonida Maliqi – Ktheju tokës
13:40 CET // Jonida’s postcard was filmed in the Banias Nature Reserve in northern Israel.
13:41 CET // Jonida is wearing her full costume on stage, unlike Michela.
13:43 CET // Another dramatic vocal performance from Jonida.
Czech Republic: Lake Malawi – Friend of a Friend
13:44 CET // Lake Malawi’s postcard was filmed in Casaerea in northern Israel.
13:45 CET // Lake Malawi keep their concert vibe in their performance.
Germany: S!sters – Sister
13:47 CET // S!sters’ postcard was filmed in the Sea of Galilee.
13:50 CET // The camera angles for the part at the front of the stage have been fixed.
Russia: Sergey Lazarev – Scream
13:51 CET // Sergey’s postcard was filmed at the Tower of David in Jerusalem.
13:53 CET // Sergey has given a polished performance every time and this rehearsal is no exception.
13:55 CET // Lucy and Bar are in the Green Room.
Denmark: Leonora – Love Is Forever
13:56 CET // Leonora’s postcard was filmed in Jerusalem with the Israeli National Ballet.
13:58 CET // No changes for Leonora’s staging.
San Marino: Serhat – Say Na Na Na
14:00 CET // Serhat’s postcard was filmed at the Ashalim Solar Power Station in the Negev Desert.
14:01 CET // Serhat is in tune for this performance.
North Macedonia: Tamara Todevska – Proud
14:04 CET // Tamara’s postcard was filmed in the Carmel Forest on the slopes of Mount Carmel.
14:07 CET // Another powerful performance from Tamara.
14:08 CET // Lucy is talking to Michela from Malta in the Green Room.
14:10 CET // Assi is talking to Miki from Spain.
Sweden: John Lundvik – Too Late For Love
14:11 CET // John’s postcard was filmed in Tel Aviv Port.
14:13 CET // John is bringing everything to his performance, despite that he only qualified last night.
Slovenia: Zala Kralj & Gašper Šantl – Sebi
14:14 CET // Zala and Gašper’s postcard was filmed in the Ruhama Badlands.
14:16 CET // The intimate feel is ever present in this performance.
Cyprus: Tamta – Replay
14:18 CET // Tamta’s postcard was filmed in Eilat on the Red Sea in southern Israel.
14:20 CET // Tamta’s vocals are confident and precise.
14:21 CET // Tamta gets one of the loudest cheers so far from the audience.
Netherlands: Duncan Laurence – Arcade
14:22 CET // Duncan’s postcard was filmed on Mount Arbel.
14:23 CET // Duncan gets a huge reaction from the crowd.
Greece: Katerine Duska – Better Love
14:26 CET // Katerine’s postcard was filmed in the Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem.
14:27 CET // Katerine’s backing vocalists are now heard more.
14:29 CET // No other changes in Katerine’s performance.
Israel: Kobi Marimi – Home
14:30 CET // Kobi’s postcard was filmed in the Old Town of Jerusalem.
14:32 CET // The home crowd obviously reacts very positively to Kobi.
Norway: KEiiNO – Spirit In the Sky
14:45 CET // KEiiNO’s postcard was filmed in the Judean Desert.
14:46 CET // KEiiNO showcase a perfect blend of new and old.
United Kingdom: Michael Rice – Bigger Than Us
14:49 CET // Michael’s postcard was filmed in the Baha’i Gardens in Haifa.
14:41 CET // Michael seems more confident in his performance now.
14:43 CET // We are now in the Green Room with this year’s returning artists; Tamara, Serhat and Sergey.
Iceland: Hatari – Hatrið mun sigra
14:46 CET // Hatari’s postcard was filmed in Beit She’an National Park, east of Haifa.
14:47 CET // Hatari are rehearsing in their signature tracksuits.
14:49 CET // Still lots of pyrotechnics for Hatari.
Estonia: Victor Crone – Storm
14:50 CET // Victor’s postcard was filmed on the beachfront of Tel Aviv.
14:51 CET // Victor started singing a little too early at first.
Belarus: Zena – Like It
14:53 CET // Zena’s postcard was filmed in the Rockfeller Museum in Jerusalem.
14:55 CET // Zena delivers another high-energy performance.
Azerbaijan: Chingiz – Truth
14:58 CET // Chingiz’ postcard was filmed in Gan HaShlosha.
14:59 CET // No changes in Chingiz’ performance.
France: Bilal Hassani – Roi
15:01 CET // Bilal’s postcard was filmed in the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, the venue for the Semi-Final Allocation Draw.
15:04 CET // Another strong Bilal that earns a round of applause from the Press Centre.
Italy: Mahmood – Soldi
15:06 CET // Mahmood’s postcard was filmed in Ashdod Port in central Israel.
15:07 CET // Mahmood is effortlessly cool as he performs.
Serbia: Nevena Božović – Kruna
15:10 CET // Nevena’s postcard was filmed in Ein Zivan in the Golan Heights in northern Israel.
15:12 CET // Nevena gives another solid vocal performance.
Switzerland: Luca Hänni – She Got Me
15:13 CET // Luca’s postcard was filmed in Habima Theatre in Tel Aviv, the venue for the Opening Ceremony.
15:15 CET // Luca gives another slick performance.
Australia: Kate Miller-Heidke – Zero Gravity
15:17 CET // Kate’s postcard was filmed in Jaffa, just south of Tel Aviv.
15:18 CET // Kate is performing without her signature crown.
15:20 CET // Kate is saving her voice for the jury show later tonight.
Spain: Miki – La Venda
15:22 CET // Miki’s postcard was filmed in the Sammy Ofer Stadium in Haifa.
15:23 CET // Miki performance was slightly delayed due to the set not being ready on time.
15:25 CET // Miki’s performance is the perfect end to the competition.
15:28 CET // The fake voting has now opened.
15:36 CET // Assi is presenting a Eurovision mix up involved Conchita Wurst, Måns Zelmerlöw, Eleni Foureira and Verka Serduchka singing songs of other Eurovision artists.
15:39 CET // Conchita sings “Heroes” by Måns Zelmerlöw.
15:40 CET // Måns sings “Fuego” by Eleni Foureira.
15:42 CET // Eleni sings “Dashing Lasha Tumbai” by Verka Serduchka.
15:43 CET // Verka sings “Toy” by Netta.
15:45 CET // All of the artist involved in the mix-up now join Gali Atari, Eurovision 1979 winner, to sing “Hallelujah”.
15:48 CET // A video showing Gal Gadot, was supposed to be shown but techincal problems have prevented it.
15:40 CET // We are now being shown a second recap of the competing entries.
15:59 CET // The Idan Raichel Project, one of the most famous music acts in Israel, is now peforming on stage.
16:03 CET // The song that the Idan Raichel Project is performing is called “Bo’ee” (Come With Me), which was a massive hit in Israel in 2002.
16:09 CET // Lior Suchard is back in the Green Room again.
16:11 CET // Netta is performing her new single “Nana Banana” and Assi and Bar take part in the beginning of the performance.
16:15 CET // We are now watching a third recap.
16:20 CET // Madonna was announced as performing but she will not be rehearsing now.
16:26 CET // The fake voting is now closed.
16:40 CET // The jury voting has begun.
16:47 CET // The presenters are skipping to the end of the jury voting, with Cyprus winning the jury vote.
16:51 CET // The public votes are now being announced. Each country’s votes will be announced in the order they finished in the jury vote, from last to first.
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