Eurovision rehearsals boost Finland favorites

Eurovision rehearsal week is where songs stop being studio tracks and start becoming TV products. That’s the real game now. On Wednesday, May 6, the first 10 acts from Semi-final 1 had their second rehearsals in Vienna, and Finland’s Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen got one of the biggest spotlights of the day with “Liekinheitin.” The reason this matters is simple — Finland came in as the favorite, and rehearsal week is when favorites either look inevitable or suddenly fragile. (eurovisionworld.com) ### What actually happened in Vienna? The European Broadcasting Union’s rehearsal cycle moved into second runs for the first chunk of Semi-final 1 on May 6. That group included Moldova, Sweden, Croatia, Greece, Portugal, Georgia, Finland, Montenegro, Estonia, and Israel, and 30-second clips from those sessions were released the same day. Finland’s clip wa(eurovisionworld.com) than just the song itself. (eurovisionworld.com) ### Why is Finland getting so much attention? Because Finland was already leading before anyone saw the full stage package. Bookmakers tracked by Eurovisionworld had Finland at roughly a 32% implied chance to win as of May 7, comfortably ahead of Greece on 15% and Denmark on 11%. That means “Liekinheitin” wasn’t trying to break into the race — it was trying to hold pole position once the cameras turned on. (eurovisionworld.com) ### Who are Linda and Pete up against? In Semi-final 1, Finland performs seventh on Tuesday, May 12. That puts “Liekinheitin” in the middle of a field that includes other talked-about entries like Greece’s Akylas with “Ferto” and Sweden’s Felicia with “My System.” Cyprus isn’t in that semi at all — Antigoni performs eighth in Semi-final 2 on Thursday, May 14 — so the Finland-Cyprus com(eurovisionworld.com) week. (eurovision.com) ### Why do second rehearsals matter more? Because first rehearsals are mostly still-description and still-photos. Second rehearsals are when short video clips start circulating widely, and that changes everything. Eurovision is judged as television — camera cuts, lighting, movement, and whether the act reads cleanly in 30 seconds. A song can sound huge(eurovision.com)(eurovisionworld.com) ### So did Finland help itself? Basically, yes. Finland was already the favorite, and nothing in the available rehearsal rollout suggests a collapse. Fan outlets immediately framed the performance as explosive and high-impact, which is exactly what a frontrunner wants from this phase. The more important point is that Finland did not have a bad reveal — and for a favorite, avoiding disappointment is half the job. (en.euromix.co.il) ### Where does Cyprus fit into this? Cyprus matters because Antigoni’s “JALLA” is one of the next acts people were waiting to see as second rehearsals continued. But the betting gap is still huge. Eurovisionworld’s odds page had Cyprus around a 1% win chance on May 7, far behind the leaders, so Cyprus needs a rehearsal breakout more than Finland does. Finland is defending momentum. Cyprus is trying to create it. (eurovisionworld.com) ### What’s different this year? One quiet but important change is that professional juries are back in the semi-finals for the first time since 2022. That makes staging even more important for polished contenders, because now entries have to work for both televoters and juries before they even reach the final. A chaotic but memorable act can still pop — but a clean, camera-ready favorite like Finland may benefit more from that mix. (eurovision.com) ### Bottom line? Rehearsal clips didn’t create Finland’s status — they tested it. And after May 6, “Liekinheitin” still looks like the act everyone else in Vienna has to beat.