Here’s the audience last night during semi-finals.

So, we all know this is a European competition, right (that’s aside from some Eurasian countries represented, of course)? No North Americans in the contest here, but that didn’t stop the two resident Americans (production assistant Joan Lyman and yours truly) from acquiring an American flag and waving it proudly during the semi-finals last night. Everyone has a flag here, more

Stepping back a few paces…Have I mentioned that Live Design is the official US publication of the Eurovision Song Contest 2007, so we’ll have exclusive coverage in our July issue? I found out last night that we’ll be named in the show credits, broadcast live to 42 countries, with in excess of 200 million viewers and many others across the globe receiving a delayed broadcast. Now, that’s not something we more

Semi-finals last night at Eurovision Song Contest put ten bands through to the finals (Belarus, Macedonia, Slovenia, Hungary, Georgia, Latvia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Moldava). It’s quite an interesting process. Unlike the hours of voting that goes on a la American Idol, the participating countries have 15 minutes to vote via phone or SMS, so the audience stays in the arena, and the finalists are announced on site. The ten more

After a long night, we’re back in the arena for tonight’s semi-finals. Last night, dress rehearsals ended around 11pm, and some of the lighting, rigging, and video crew (and at least one editor) trekked out to see the Eurovision finalists from Sweden, The Arc, perform at a local club in town. There was dancing and general merriment, and everyone seemed to get home unscathed. Thankfully, there are no photos to more

I arrived today in Helsinki for the Eurovision Song Contest. It’s a spectacle of a production, to be sure. The sheer scope of the thing is astounding. I arrived at the arena and was treated to a tour by Spectra’s production manager Ola Melzig and production assistant Joan Lyman and ran into PR maven from the UK, Louise Stickland, who is also covering the production for several of her clients more