Eurovision rehearsals underway in Vienna

Eurovision is now at the point where the guessing starts to harden into something real. On Monday, May 11, the first semi-final got its full dress rehearsal inside Vienna’s Wiener Stadthalle, which meant press on site finally saw the whole show in broadcast order rather than chopped-up rehearsal clips. That matters because the first live semi-final is on Tuesday, May 12 at 21:00 CEST, and this year the semi-finals are not televote-only anymore — juries are back too. ### What actually happened in Vienna? The big shift was simple: this was the first complete run of Semi-Final 1, including the opening sequence, the hosts, the interval structure, and all 15 competing entries in order. The lineup starts with Moldova’s Satoshi and ends with Serbia’s Lavina, with automatic finalists Italy and Germany appearing in the show as non-competitive interval performers. ### Why do dress rehearsals matter so much? (eurovision.com) Because Eurovision songs are only half the product. The other half is camera direction, props, lighting, costumes, transitions, and whether a three-minute performance actually lands on television. Earlier rehearsal photos and 30-second clips gave hints, but a full dress run is where people see if an act feels expensive, messy, funny, overwhelming, or dead on arrival. Basically, it’s the first moment the competition starts to look like the show viewers at home will get. (escxtra.com) ### Who came out looking strongest? The clearest early winner from Monday’s reaction was Moldova. ESCXTRA’s audience poll from the evening rehearsal had Satoshi’s “Viva Moldova!” on 28.2% of the vote — well ahead of Finland on 15.7% and Greece on 11.9%. That is not the result itself, obviously, but it is the first hard-ish signal from people who actually watched the whole show in the arena. (eurovision.com) ### Why is Moldova suddenly such a talking point? Turns out the performance seems built to hit exactly the parts of Eurovision that audiences reward — big hooks, visual chaos, and a memorable payoff. ESCXTRA’s liveblog described huge cheers in the arena and flagged the return of former Moldovan Eurovision star Aliona Moon in a giant dress during the performance. That kind of callback is catnip for Eurovision crowds — half song, half shared lore. (escxtra.com) ### Are the polls telling the full story? No — and that’s the catch. Press polls and audience polls are useful, but they’re weird little sample windows, not the scoreboard. ESCXTRA’s own write-up noted big gaps between poll rankings and bookmaker expectations, including Lithuania landing just 14th in its audience poll despite being seen as a safe qualifier in the odds. San Marino also outperformed its market reputation with the crowd. (escxtra.com) ### What changed this year? The format changed in a way that could really matter. For the first time since 2022, professional juries are back in the semi-finals alongside viewers at home. That means a flashy televote magnet still matters, but a clean vocal and juror-friendly package can now rescue an act that might have struggled under the old all-public system. ### Why is Vienna itself part of the story? (escxtra.com) This is the 70th Eurovision Song Contest, and Vienna is hosting for the third time, after 1967 and 2015. The show is leaning hard into anniversary mode — opening and interval acts are built around Eurovision history, and the host broadcaster has framed this week as a full-scale celebration rather than just another contest. ### Bottom line? The important thing is not that rehearsals happened. (eurovision.com) It’s that the first full semi-final preview finally gave the contest shape — and Moldova, at least for one night, looked like the act everyone else now has to beat. (escxtra.com) (eurovision.com)