| Eurovision Blog - Day 5 |
| Thursday, 14 May 2009 07:45 | |||
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Here's Helen's reaction to the first semi final show: And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, was the first Semi-Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2009. Did you enjoy it? Did your favourite get through? Did you see Sarah Cawood's amazing ruby red lipstick? Sarah, bless her, was in a makeshift studio/tent outside the main arena, battling against the wind and rain. She should have read the small print of her contract... Paddy O'Connell, meanwhile, was upstairs in the warmth of the palatial commentary booth. When I say "warmth", it was hotter that the sun in there, and it's only about four feet square. So, neither had the best of times! Unfortunately for you, I just don't think you get a sense of the scale of the show on your trusty old screen. Luckily for me, I am here and can gloat. Where do I begin? From the vantage point of our commentary box it really is a spectacle. The screens behind the stage alone look bigger than a football pitch. The stage is gargantuan. Dotted around the arena are six video projection spheres, "PufferSpheres", (or 'glowing balls' as they are fondly known in my head). I am reliably informed they were made by a small British company based in Edinburgh. We know how to make a good glowing ball do us Brits! They are the cherries on a very impressive cake. But alas, I had only a little time to gawp at the show and the balls and besides, an Albanian man in front of me had a VERY large flag and no amount of tutting would make him take it down. As it was, they didn't get through, so he needn't have bothered waving with such vigour... So off I went in my search of Sexy Sakis from Greece and Little Alexander from Norway to be interviewed by Sarah in her wind and rain swept tent. Oh the glamour of this business we call "Show". Boy, can that Sakis swagger! His hips certainly don't lie. And "Little Alexander" wasn't little at all - in fact, he's about 6'2", and as it was his birthday I insisted on a kiss. I am a lot older than Alexander. I own albums by the Human League older than Alexander. It's official: I am a cougar. So that was Tuesday. It feels like we've been here weeks. I'm feeling very much at home, though. I gaily skipped my way across Moscow using the Metro this morning, all on my own. I can converse using the following words and phrases: "Yes", "No", "Thank You" and "Four Beers Please". That, I feel, is more than enough to get by. Jade has yet more press interviews today. The BBC Three team are back at the stadium for the first and second dress rehearsals of the 2nd Semi-Final, which is just beginning on the screen behind me. Natalya Vodyanova and Andrey Malakhovb are bringing yet more of their own special chemistry to the world of presenting... Hold on..! Oh dear...there's a terrible pause at the top... What's happened to Croatia? Oh well, you know the old show business adage: bad first dress rehearsal of the 2nd Semi-Final of the Eurovision Song Contest, good show. Moio sudno na vozdusnoy poduske polno ugrey (My hovercraft is full of eels). Source
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