Moustachioed men in frocks, a pipe-playing dwarf and a bare-chested punk rocking out on a pile of planks – welcome to the wonderfully wacky world of Eurovision.
Fans got their first glimpse of the acts competing for a place in the grand final in Liverpool on May 13.
Rehearsals for the first semi-final showed Israel’s Noa Kirel, 22, wearing a bikini-style outfit and long boots to sing her song Unicorn with an energetic routine of splits and kicks.
Also causing a stir were Croatian rockers Let 3, featuring five men with big moustaches.
At Eurovision they will perform wearing military-style costumes featuring swishy skirts – an improvement on previous looks, having got arrested in 2008 for performing naked.
Finland’s punky Kaarija, with his song Cha Cha Cha, wears a sleeves-only bright green top, teamed with neck studs and a bare chest to perform on top of a pile of wooden crates. He says: “I want to put on a crazy live show.”
Czech Republic girl group Vesna, singing My Sister’s Crown, features six women dressed in pink suits with ponytails so long they touch the ground.
Moldova’s act, from Pasha Parfeni, had dancers wearing huge single horns and a pipe-playing dwarf in a winged helmet.
Sweden’s singer Loreen is currently the clear favourite to triumph on the night. She was seen singing her song, Tattoo, wearing three-inch fingernails.
Rehearsing last night, UK hopeful Mae Muller wore a sexy corset and performed I Wrote a Song in front of a huge LED wall, accompanied by four dancers.
Mae, 25, will be the very last act to perform on the night.
Unveiling the clips on YouTube, BBC presenter Rylan Clark said: “They were good, weren’t they?”
Meanwhile security plans are being put in place for the final amid concerns that pro-Russian hackers might try to disrupt the broadcast and the voting.
Kieran Martin, ex-CEO of the National Cyber Security Centre said: “You’d be looking out for attempts to interfere with the broadcast with a pro-Russian message.”
