Before that, the Upper Austrian said goodbye to fans, friends and the press on Monday evening with a small house concert as a powerful “Adjö”, the Swedish adieu, in the Vienna Hotel Le Méridien.
In addition to her ESC hit in acoustic and fully produced versions, Kaleen also gave a private insight with recordings of a childhood influenced by music early on. “I took the path step by step, and it wasn’t always easy and never self-evident. That’s why I’m enjoying being here today all the more.”
But Kaleen doesn’t have to rest until she leaves for Malmö, as the singer has been at various ESC pre-parties all over Europe in the past few weeks. On Friday, the ESC hopeful will be at the red carpet of the Amadeus Awards and will sing her ESC contribution live on the ORF 1 show “Die grosse Chance” on the same evening.
Tight rehearsal schedule
Only then does Kaleen hit the shores of the Öresund. As always at the ESC, the rehearsal schedule in the large Malmö Arena is traditionally tight. Kaleen’s first stage rehearsal is on May 1st, followed by two more to put the finishing touches to the performance. Then the traditional ceremony with a turquoise carpet is scheduled for May 5th at the Malmö Live event center, where the participants and Kaleen will present themselves.
Picture gallery: Austria’s song contest hope 2024: This is Kaleen
Kaleen (Photo: ORF/Rankin) Bild 1/7
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It’s really regarding the sausage for the first time on May 8th, when the show is played through in its entirety as a dress rehearsal and recorded as a backup before the official second semi-final starts on May 9th, in which the audience has their say. The juries for the semi-finals have been abolished since last year. Here Kaleen has to get one of 10 final tickets in order to be among the last 26 nations on May 11th.
And the chances of this happening are good, if the augurs are to be believed. In a comparison of 15 betting offices, the probability of Kaleen advancing to the final is currently 82 percent, with Austria in 8th place in the semi-finals. And when it comes to assessing who will win in the final, Kaleen is currently in 12th place with “We Will Rave” and is therefore in the top half of the 26-strong field, which wouldn’t be a bad placement either. Last year, the duo Teya & Salena, which had long been considered an insider tip, came in 15th for Austria. It is quite possible that Kaleen’s “Adjö” will not be followed by a “welcome back” in Austria before the final.
