DAY OF EUROVISION DRESS REHEARSALS
By Toni Sant in Athens
Maltamedia Daily News, Malta
May 19 2006
Three dress rehearsals are scheduled for the Eurovision Song Contest
before the final show on Saturday evening. The first dress rehearsal
took place on Friday afternoon. A second dress rehearsal for Friday
starts at 2000 CET.
Following Friday’s first dress rehearsal, Fabrizio Faniello’s costume
for the final, a wedding suit without jacket and tie, was greeted with
comments of disapproval and disbelief. Eurovision fan club OGAE-Malta
president Deo Grech told MaltaMedia.com, “it’s simply not Fabrizio’s
style!” Non-Maltese websites, like esctoday.com and doteurovision.com,
have also published lukewarm comments about Fabrizio Faniello’s look
following the dress rehearsals.
Several members of the Maltese delegation and members of the press
told MaltaMedia.com what they think about the potential top 10 songs
to emerge from Saturday’s final, in no particular order.
Greece “I believe this will be one of the top two songs. Anna Vissi
has an aura of respect around her and this balad with a beat appeals to
Eurovision song lovers.” – John Demanuele, Assistant Head of Delegation
“A soppy song. I don’t like it! I personally prefer singers like
Pink, Shania Twain or Alanis Morissette.” – Nadette Bugeja, Maltese
Delegation: Head of Press.
Sweden “Carola can do no wrong. As expected this is a great song with
a fantastic show!” – Deo Grech, OGAE-Malta, Eurovision fan club.
“Typically Swedish. Not my number 1 favourite but it’s exactly what
Eurovision fans want.” – Claudette Pace, former Eurovision contestant.
Romania “It’s a great song! Mihai Traistariu has a great voice…but
no stage presence. My gay friends tell me they love it. I’m sure
many Italians will like it too…even though they don’t follow the
Eurovision.” – J.P. Attard, Producer, Where’s Everybody?
Ukraine “As impressive as Ruslana. Tina Karol has a nice real
smile. She’s not fake. A great song and a great voice. This year
Ukraine has everything Armenia doesn’t have” – Eileen Montesin,
official PBS Eurovision commentator.
Russia “This song has the ideal show. Quite unexpected. And it helps
that the singer is good looking, even if this poses some competition
for Malta’s entry.” – Frederick Zammit, Head of Programmes: Net TV.
Bosnia & Herzogovina “What an excellent song, to the taste of
Eurovision fans. It contrasts really well with most other entries,
which is why I’m convinced they did so well in the semi-final
voting.” – Cyrus Engerer, ESCMalta News Manager.
Spain “Spanish is such a sexy language! I expect it to be a hit all
over Europe this summer, whatever happens on Saturday night. It’s
a typical Las Ketchup song.” – Pablo Micallef, Producer, Where’s
Everybody?
“I don’t like the group but it’s not a bad song and the show is
excellent. Still, I don’t think it’s a winner, by any means.” –
Krista Caruana, Super One News journalist.
Turkey “It’s not the winning song…but then again I may be wrong. I
never expected Lithuania to get to the final, nor for Belgium to
be left behind. So maybe we’ll be in Turkey this time next year.” –
Pierre Cachia, Super One TV producer.
Finland Comments about Lordi’s Hard Rock Hallelujah are on everyone’s
lips.
Reactions are spread across the spectrum. From “good for a laugh” to
“if I wasn’t supporting Malta I’d support them instead, even though
I’m not a rock fan.”
Finland’s Eurovision entry is getting under more people’s skin with
every rehearsal. If it wins it will indeed change the face of the
Eurovision Song Contest. The EBU may even be forced to reconsider
leaving the voting completely up to the general public.
Speaking to MaltaMedia.com on Thursday afternoon, Bogdan Kopec,
managing director of Drakkar Entertainment, Lordi’s German record
label, said that many rock clubs in Germany are organizing special
parties for rockers to vote for Lordi during the 10-minute voting
period on Thursday and Saturday evening. If more rock clubs adopt
similar strategies for the final night, Lordi may very well be the
winners of the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest.
Saturday’s final dress rehearsal is at 1300 CET. The final show will
be broadcast live at 2100 CET on TVM and most other EBU affiliated
stations.
For more detailed information about Malta’s participation in the
Eurovision Song Contest see EurovisionMalta.com.