I thought for a while I wouldnt be. My driver wasn't there to collect me and I did all sorts of broken English and finger pointing to organise a taxi at a set rate. Then on the way to the apartment Tanya rang (the landlady) and said the water is broken in my flat and I'm staying somewhere else. Its further away from the arena. I still dont have an actual address of where I am staying, so thank god I've got a great sense of direction.
On the plus side, when I got off the plane in Moscow there was a girl holding a Eurovision card and I went up to her and skipped the entire immigration queue of about 50 people. Turns out she thought I was from the Finnish delegation. Hilarious but very helpful.
The metro system here is very much like London and the stations are stunning inside, but its not user friendly. I only had 2 stops to go to get to the arena but even so it took me 2 hours to find the metro entrance! When I did finally negotiate the metro system I then took 40 minutes to find the arena and then the accreditation area. Fortunately no queues there as I really expected. I have a shiny big electronic photographic pass now to wear everywhere, then I got a Eurovision scarf (very cute!) and a metro card for 70 free trips. I unfortunately dont get a bag or a book like the press do. I also dont get access to the press area after tomorrow (when the shows start).
I snuck into the press conference of Germany today which was uneventful, stole a Patricia Kaas from France promo cd, and saw the UK rehearse. The UK does look and sound amazing. I do think now it may go top 10.
And then there was the opening night party. On entry I was given free wine, then I was directed to the buffet - bread tables, meat tables, salad tables, dessert tables and nibbles. The food was constant but settled on Strogonoff and potatoes. Stood and watched the Dutch, Icelandic, Czech Republic and Belgian entries getting interviewed. Had more free wine. The show 'Legends of Eurovision' started and I went up the front and saw Ruslana (who is just so gorgeous) and Dima Bilan and Carola and Genghis Khan (remember that song 'Moscow'? It was excellent there!) and Tatu and so many other acts...
Then I followed that up with even more free wine. During my time there I was interviewed by Swiss radio about their entrant and whether I think it will make it to the final (I do), and had copious amounts of photos taken of me.
I have tons of photos I need to upload, as well as video clips.
As for my hopes for this Eurovision, I have now:
1. Officially danced to Brainstorm 'My Star' at a Eurovision party.
2. Acquired the first of my free promo stuff
3. Seen Ruslana
Three particular wishes left:
4. A photo with Alexander Rybak from Norway (not yet, but I *do* have a photo of him up close)5. Make friends with the Latvian delegation (Intars is apparently ill and wasnt there tonight)
6. Acquire an 'Anti Crisis Girl' tshirt. (everyone here is wearing them so I'm asking lots of people if I can have one too)
Next - 1st semi 1st rehearsal to attend, then the Dutch party at 7pm and the Azerbaijani party at 11pm. Big day.
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