News: Helen's Diary No.2

"When Jade hits those notes, the place genuinely stopped..."

The BBC's producer of this year's Eurovision Song Contest, Helen Tumbridge, has kindly agreed to keep all of us up-to-date with the exciting goings-on in Moscow. Here's her second diary entry:

Saturday 9th May. I'm having a right old ding-dong with this keyboard. It's written in acrylic or Cyrillic or something. Whatever it is, it's most definitely not the Queen's English and I worry that whatever I'm writing this end is something quite different your end. With any luck it might be interesting or dare I say, slightly amusing...

Today is Jade's first rehearsal day. Off we went to the stadium with a police escort... I've never had a police escort before (well other than the one that involved that incident, but that was years ago, and I swear it was a case of mistaken identity, officer...), so off we went, and the process of first rehearsals began.

The stadium is immense. I thought the Eurovision stickers on our car and bus were big, but the whole stadium is swamped in one huge Eurovision sticker! They do good stickers, the Russians...

I don't know how to describe the stage other than saying the obvious. Phenomenal? Mind blowing? I just don't have adequate superlatives, and I'll be damned if I can find the thesaurus with this keyboard, so you'll just have to put up with my inadequate vocabulary to describe the place. It's just quite breathtaking in its complexity, originality and ability to morph into a myriad of different designs. Well done Mr Designer.

The conveyor-belt of backstage preparations has begun. Each delegation has its own dressing room, complete with Eurovision juice and biscuits. Then we were taken to the preparation area - no Eurovision biscuits I'm sorry to say, but the perks have got to stop somewhere I suppose.

Jade's performance involves a white staircase, which she walks down whilst singing. I can do neither, so the fact that she does both at the same time is very impressive. Where the stage hands had placed the staircase was not where Ms Arlene Phillips wanted it placed, and if Ms Arlene Phillips wants it moved, then by golly, she gets it moved. The fact that four men were flattened and another two went off limping in the process didn't get in her way. I exaggerate. She charmed whilst I smiled and with a little "but you're such big strong boys" the staircase was moved. I do feel for the stage hands that to do the changes on the show. They have 30 seconds between each song to clear one country and set up the next. It is a sight to behold. At home you're watching what we affectionately call "the postcards" whilst on stage there's pandemonium. But, I've never yet witnessed a change over that doesn't happen in or ahead of time.

So, staircase in place, handsome violinists in place, Jade in place... and she began to sing.

You know, not many things makes me cry. Not many things cause the hairs to stand up on the back of my neck. Not many things cause me to catch my breath. But Jade Ewen at 2 minutes 15 seconds into your first rehearsal, all three things happened at once. When Jade hits those notes, the place genuinely stopped, show workers, crew, fans alike stood, listened and many a jaw was heard hitting the floor. She is a superstar. Do you think now is the time to ask her to open my school fete?

The idea of the 40 minute rehearsal slot is to check sound levels, staging, lighting and camera shots. Changes were made. And off we went again. And again, Jade blew us away with her voice. And then again. By this point I was an emotional wreck and wiping my nose up my sleeve - which is hard in a sleeveless top.

Once the regulation press conference was over, we all headed back to the hotel. After a disastrous boat trip in Belgrade last year up and down, and back up and down the Danube several times, I swore "Tumbridge Tours" was permanently closed for business. Nevertheless, I was soon persuaded to take the team on a night journey round Moscow. I declined the demands to provide a commentary, as apart from the occasional "oooh look at that!" I would have been hopeless. However, Moscow at night is INCREDIBLE. Possibly the most beautiful city I have ever seen. And trust me... I've been around.

And then, I'd like to say we all went to bed. But we didn't. We went to the infamous Euroclub where several countries were holding parties. Jade was mobbed by crews, photographers, fans and we were quite relieved when we managed to get to the VIP area - I've never been to a VIP area before! How the other half lives...

More of Helen's adventures in Moscow later this week!