Music
Final preparations for Eurovision 2007 semifinal
By Toni Sant in Helsinki
May 9, 2007 - 7:55:44 PM

Final preparations for Thursday evening's Eurovision Song Contest 2007 semifinal are in full swing at the Hartwell Arena in Helsinki. The last day or so before the semifinal are undoubtedly the most nerve wrecking for the participants and their teams.

On Tuesday evening, Olivia attended two promotional parties where she performed an unplugged version of Vertigo accompanied by Eurovision composer Philip Vella on acoustic guitar. The first of these parties was organised by the so-called Eurovision Big Four (France, Germany, Spain and the UK, founding funders of the Eurovision) at the EuroClub, the Old Student House in downtown Helsinki. The other appearance was at top gay bar Con Hombres, just a few hundred meters away. Both occasions served as an excellent barometer for the singer to gauge the enthusiasm of hardcore Eurovision fans for her song.

Olivia Lewis' fan base includes her extended family, many of whom visited the  Hartwell Arena on Wednesday morning in time to confirm the location of this evening's second semifinal dress rehearsal, which is open to a paying public. They arrived in Finland from Malta via Frankfurt while Olivia was busy doing the promotional gigs on Tuesday evening. Sadly, the MaltaSong Press Officer was nowhere to be seen at the Press Centre when this group of Maltese fans came looking for information about the goings-on. Understandably, other members of the MaltaSong board were busy with Olivia and her performance team throughout the day.

The first of three dress rehearsals started on Wednesday at 1300 CEST. Rehearsals  include a full front of house drill, which involves airport-style security checks at the venue entrance. More than half the 12,000 arena seats at the afternoon rehearsal were filled by an audience made mostly of the 42 official delegation members, die-hard Eurovision fans and Finnish volunteers.  The audience also included several school-age children, accompanied by what appeared to be their teachers.

The rehearsal proceeded smoothly, with minor technical adjustments for sound and lighting noted for the next dress rehearsal, which starts at 2000 CEST.

Meanwhile, during a press confernece between rehearsals, the European Broadcasting Union announced that next year's edition of the Eurovision Song Contest will be held on 22 and 24 May 2008.

For more detailed information about Malta's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest see EurovisionMalta.com.

See also:
Which 10 Eurovision semifinalists will make it to the 2007 final?
from Toni Sant's Blog - 9 May 2007


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