On Monday afternoon the official work of the Maltese Eurovision Song Contest delegation was brought to the Olympic Arena in Athens.
Malta's Eurovision entry for 2006, Fabrizio Faniello singing I Do, took over the main stage for a first rehearsal including full lights and camera work. Rehearsals are following the same order as that established for the final night, with Malta sandwiched between Spain's pop sensation Las Ketchup and Germany's Texas Lightning.
Monday's rehearsals were followed by individual viewing sessions in which the respective delegations looked at ways to improve picture composition and camera angles, suggesting amendments to the shooting script for their song.
Faniello seemed very confident during the rehearsal flanked by four female dancers choreographed by Valarie Lendore. Two of the dancers are also doing backing vocals on I Do along with a male singer Antonis Dominos. These non-Maltese additions to the team are giving the act a spectacular air, which should go down well with pop music fans on Saturday during the final show.
During a press conference soon after Monday's reheasal, Faniello smiled profusely as he answered questions from various members of the press. In reponse to a question about his second appearance at the Eurovision, he said, "I think I’m a lot better than I was five years ago. I've done a lot of travelling in that time and released lots of singles, videos and albums so I think I’m more experienced."
When asked about neighbouring countries voting for each other he commented that "we've had lots of votes from Greece and Cyprus and we’ve always achieved good results since 1991 but I think people just appreciate our hard work and good songs."
The Maltese media have descended on Athens in impressive numbers to provide extensive coverage of the final week of preparations in Greece. A relatively large number of Maltese journalists are following this year's contest every step of the way, with Where's Everybody? gearing up for a special edition of Xarabank to air on TVM on Friday evening. Bla Agenda is also recording a full programme this Sunday afternoon, which will be broadcast on Super One TV the following Saturday.
Another round of rehearsals, viewings and press conferences is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.
Meanwhile, the National Greek broadcasting corporation ERT and Athens' Mayor Theodore Bechrakis will host a welcoming party for all the singers and their delegations at Zapeion in downtown Athens on Monday evening.
MaltaMedia News will provide direct news coverage from Athens throughout this week.
For more detailed information about Malta's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest see EurovisionMalta.com.
See also:
400 Maltese fans expected at Eurovision
by Giselle Borg Olivier - May 14, 2006
A prediction for Eurovision Song Contest 2006
from Toni Sant's Blog - May 9, 2006
Toni Sant is in Athens through the generous
support of Hamilton Travel and Vodafone Malta. |
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