Lithuania | Jurij Veklenko 'Runs with the Lions' at First Rehearsal

Welcome back to Eurovoxx's coverage of the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 rehearsals! We're already at day four which means today we will see the first rehearsals of all nine countries which drew second half of the second semi final - including the two current favourites to win! Join us all day on our YouTube channel, website & other social media for the latest updates and video content.

Image Credit: Lukas Gricius (Eurovision.tv)

Third up is Lithuania! The Baltic state is being represented by the very charismatic Jurij Veklenko and his song 'Run with the Lions'. Last year, Ieva Zasimauskaitė placed a respectable 12th in the final but whilst Lithuania usually qualify for the final, they have only placed in the top 10 twice - in 2006 and then again in 2016. Could Jurij make it three, or go one better!?

Jurijus won Lithuania's marathon national selection 'Eurovizijos' back in Lithuania, beating a strong final line up to win the right to represent Lithuania at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest. Whilst this was his first appearance in the national selection as a self-titled performer, however it's not his first brush of contact with Eurovision. In 2015, he was a backing vocalist for Monika Linkytė and Vaidas Baumila and even got himself a kiss! He was also the main vocal in the iconic 'Get Frighten' which was a finalist in Eurovizijos 2017.

Image Credit: Thomas Hanses (Eurovison.tv)

LITHUANIA - FIRST REHEARSAL

Lithuania have opted for a performance quite similar to their National Final performance. Jurij starts the song behind a mic stand and the stage as a whole is pretty empty. The stage is usually dark however there are mostly golden and some reddish colours that appear on the backdrop, more so in the chorus.

Apart from that, it does feel very empty. We're wondering if perhaps there's going to be some augmented reality lions added at a later stage because at the moment Lithuania is going to need something more added when they are in a semi final as strong as this.