All is in readiness for the first Semi Final for Eurovision 2010.

Two dress rehearsals were held yesterday, one at 3pm and another at 9pm. It was a chance for the 17 acts to perform their number in order of sequence and in the allotted time they have for technical requirements.

Added to this were the hosting by Nadia Hasnaoui, Erik Solbakken and Haddy Jatou N'Jie.

From all accounts they are very accomplished at their duties, with excellent English and French. Damn. Half the fun of the night is watching excited hosts manoeuvre their way around the spectacle, with slightly (cheesy) cracks in the porcelain. Giving us a polished show is not completely the reason we love Eurovision so much!

Erik and Haddy will be our tour guides through three nights of pop-dom while Nadia, who has already presented the 2004 Junior Eurovision Contest, will conduct the voting.

BELGIUM

Belgium is an EV original, having been in the Contest since 1956. It has only ever won once, in 1986 when Sandra Kim sang J'aime la vie. It hasn't appeared in the Final since 2004 when it only qualified then as a result of finishing 2nd the year before.

This year it has a sound chance with Tom Dice, a runner up in the local X Factor series. Me and My Guitar was composed by Dice, Jeroen Swinnen & Ashley Hicklin. It is a melodic, carefree, acoustic number that will be a great change of pace from some of the overwhelming numbers.

A guy singing about his guitar also has some honesty about it that should resonate. No surprises for hearing this was also a #1 in Belgium.

Dice will perform the ballad on Telenor Arena's catwalk before a microphone stand. Hope this one proceeds to the Final.

People always say
Tom, this has gone too far
But I'm not afraid to chase my dreams,
Just me and my guitar
And no-one may ever know
The feelings inside my mind
'Cause all of the lines I ever write
Are running out of time
So maybe I should get a nine to five
But I don't want to let it go, there's so much more to life

ALBANIA

Since joining EV in 2004, Albania's best finish was its debut year, ending in seventh place. It qualified for the Final in both 2008 and 2009 but the results were disappointing.

So it will be up to Juliana Pasha and the driving It's All About You by Ardit Gjebrea and Pirro Çako. This dance number almost has futuristic elements of Doctor Who in its production, but darn if the chorus isn't downright catchy.

Juliana turns it on for this infectious song, joined on stage by a violinist and three backing vocalists. The string player is no doubt miming the audio on the click track, but his solo is surely energetic.

It will be a purple show for Albania with silver balls and smoke effects with Juliana (or Pasha as she is sometimes known) wearing black and silver.

You are the one
You give me that something I need
It is me, and I'm calling
You are the one
Making it easy to be
In love with you I'm falling
We been down
Don't you know we been down here, and I feel it
Even now,
Time that we make a deal, and seal it
It's all about you
The things that I do
The rest of the world don’t understand me
You are all I dream
Everything that I need
Because when you are gone, I feel so empty
It's all in the way you look at me
You're driving me crazy
It's all about you
All the things that I do
You are my life
Because you make it amazing

PORTUGAL

Purple will also be the order of the day for Portugal's Filipa Azevedo classic performance of Há Dias Assim (It's One of Those Days) by Augusto Madureira.

This is a captivating song performed in Portugese by the dazzling Azevedo, whose vocals are indeed impressive. This is one of the bigger ballads of the Contest with soaring notes, a key change and a performer wearing her heart on her sleeve. She is charismatic and theatrical in her delivery.


Fitting with the power of this number, she is joined on stage by backing vocalists, a grand piano and candles.

The 18-year-old singer has come a long way just to qualify for Eurovision. The Portugal quest for a song for 2010 involved two semi finals and a final against 28 other songs!

Há dias assim
Que nos deixam sós
A alma vazia
A mágoa na voz
Gastámos as mãos
Tanto as apertámos
Já não há palavras
Foi de tanto as calarmos
Há uma canção
Que não te cantei
Versos por rimar
Poemas que nunca inventei
Quem nos pôs assim
A vida rasgada?
Quem te me levou
Roubou-me a alma
Mas de ti não sabe nada

Meanwhile the welcome party hosted by Oslo's Mayor has also taken place with participants and media walking the Pink Carpet at Oslo City Hall, where the Pink Champagne flowed.

It was followed by a party at EuroClub where a DJ played nonstop Eurovision music for guests and fans. EuroClub sounds like the place to be when not at Telenor Arena.

Next up: Semi Final 1!