Tuesday 12 March 2013

Welcome to Moldova!

Don't say OnEurope don't go to the ends of the earth for you - yes, I sit here in a knock-off Starbuck liveried coffee bar in the centre of Chisinau, all poised for the joys that the first Moldovan semi-final is bound to hold.

I've just popped out to the TRM studios for a quick squizz, and the whole ace appears to be made of wood panelling and formica. The stage area looks pretty posh, but is also about the size of a small town gig hall around the back of a pub, so I'm guessing there won't be much of a crowd in there.

The green room's an altogether different affair, and appears to be crafted from office dividers in the corner of a wide corridor. They were just delivering the lurid orange beanbags when I was there, but they were too wide to get through the doors, so I fear they may have to dismantle the whole room to get them in.

But despite all that, the Moldovans are putting their heart and soul into this. Every ad break on the local telly features a handy guide on who the acts are and how you can vote (and even what the dear old 12-10-8 system means). On top of that, there's posters featuring many of the acts all over town, mostly for my favourite shouty woman Doinita Gherman. She's even turning up on some of the big advertising screens in town, with clips of her bouncing about, and the legend Eurovision 2013 flashing on and off. Looks like someone wants this to be her year - well, it is her fourth go.

The other act to watch out for at Christina and Glam Girls. If they can actually sing live and aren't a frightening harpy racket, I reckon they could do some business.

But I'll leave you to make up your own minds on tonight's fare. Hopefully I'll be able to find soem wifi at the studios so I can post some pics and stuff. Mind you, the only other place I've caught a signal in town so far is the Maccy D's window sill, and I'm blowed if I'm watching it from there!


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