The first Dress Rehearsal of the second semi-final for the 69th Eurovision Song Contest has just concluded in the St. Jakobshalle in Basel and for the first time, accredited press was able to watch the full performances live in the arena.

We chatted with over 30 different people accredited through international or national media after the show, asking them to name the three songs which impressed them the most after this Dress Rehearsal.

Surprisingly, a name that has never been leading the polls before has impressed most of the people we asked. Laura Thorn from Luxembourg was mentioned the most, as one of the Top 3 acts from Semi-Final 2.

These are the 10 qualifiers, according to the press people we talked to:

1. 🇱🇺 Luxembourg – 18 votes
2. 🇫🇮 Finland – 14 votes
3. 🇦🇹 Austria – 11 votes
4. 🇱🇻 Latvia – 10 votes
5. 🇱🇹 Lithuania – 9 votes
6. 🇬🇷 Greece – 7 votes
7. 🇦🇲 Armenia – 6 votes
8. 🇲🇹 Malta – 4 votes
9. 🇮🇱 Israel – 3 votes
10. 🇦🇺 Australia – 3 votes

When it comes to the automatic qualifiers, the media has a clear favorite as well. Out of the 30 people we talked to, 24 see France as the strongest of the three automatic qualifiers in semi final 2, while Germany is following with 6 votes.

In case you would like to see our full report on this afternoon’s dress rehearsal, make sure to check out our live report from inside the arena.

For more updates live from Basel, make sure to subscribe to our website and check out our social media platforms. @buildingbridgespod

Photo: Corinne Cumming / EBU