Eurovision 2024: United Kingdom’s First Rehearsal!
Next up on the stage of Eurovision Song Contest 2024 is the United Kingdom. Olly Alexander with his song “Dizzy” is ready for his first rehearsal on the stage of Malmö Arena!
Who is Olly Alexander?
As he embarks on the first release under his own name, Olly Alexander remains one of the world’s most trailblazing modern pop stars.
Across three hugely successful albums to date, the singer, actor and fashion icon has scored two UK number 1 albums, 10 UK Top 40 singles and was recently awarded the BRIT Billion Award (with 6.5 billion streams globally).
With his band Years & Years evolving into a solo project and, in 2024, a brand-new solo era, Olly has become a once-in-a-generation voice: the Russell T Davies show It’s A Sin won Best New Drama at the National Television Awards, with Olly also nominated for Leading Actor at the 2022 BAFTA Television Awards, for his performance in the series.
Olly has headlined arenas and festivals worldwide and collaborated with the likes of Sir Elton John, Kylie Minogue and Pet Shop Boys.
Olly’s entry “Dizzy” is produced and co-signed by Danny L. Harle, who serves as the producer of Dua Lipa’s upcoming album, “Radical Optimism” and is also behind her recent hit songs, such as “Houdini” and “Training Season”.
Olly Alexander was selected internally by BBC back in December 2023. The announcement of his Eurovision participation was conducted by himself during the Finale of Dancing With The Stars program.
The Rehearsal
First up today is the UK’s Olly Alexander, singing his song Dizzy. He’s a very well-known and long-established performer in the UK, as well as an award-winning actor.
Very helpfully, we received some staging notes from the UK delegation for this performance – here’s how they describe what we’re currently watching:
Olly Alexander’s Eurovision performance transports viewers into a post- apocalyptic dystopian boxing gym locker room, aboard a spaceship hurtling toward Earth through a black hole in 1985!
We’re not making this up, we promise. Essentially there’s a big room set on stage, lined with dirty tiles and shower heads – this whole thing feels like a grittier version of George Michael’s Outside, so very much the vibe of the official video. Olly’s four male dancers are wearing (the bare minimum of) red boxing gear, and the camera angles keep changing so it feels like the room is rotating, backed by a spinning black hole graphics on the LED. It really does feel like they’re in a dirty locker room hurtling through space.
In short, it’s VERY ambitious and mind-blowing bit of staging, with a gym bag full of special effects that mean it only really comes to life on screen.
Also a note on the song arrangement – to our ears, there’s a new middle eight with extra strings, and the build to the final chorus is different.
PYRO UPDATE! Loads of sparks and fireworks at the end, which make it feels like the set is malfunctioning, then a final big bang. Photos coming soon!
United Kingdom First Rehearsal Eurovision 2024. Credits: Sarah Louise Bennett
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United Kingdom’s second rehearsal is scheduled for Saturday, 4/5. A TV snippet of Olly Alexander’s performance will provide a clearer picture of what to expect on the Eurovision stage.
You can watch a small clip from United Kingdom’s first rehearsal from TikTok:
@eurovision @Olly Alexander has us feeling a certain type of way with all that hanging around… let’s call it Dizzy #Eurovision2024 ♬ original sound – Eurovision
Source: eurovision.tv
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