All cool, calm and collected!

Everything seems to have passed smoothly here at the office on the first day of the competition. The day has gone looking after the contestants but with a miraculous absence of panic. The organisation has gone without a hitch.

The competition secretaries make sure that the contestants are ready waiting when it is their turn to perform. We impress on them that they must be in the office an hour before they are due to go on. It is touching to see how meticulously they obey our “orders” without putting up any resistance. Before going on stage each contestant is taken in hand by the secretariat; we direct them to a particular place where they can warm up and change into the clothes in which they will perform. We then fetch them when it’s nearly time to go on. Many of the contestants find this is good practice; it means they can keep calm without having to worry about being ready for their turn on time. Sometimes a contestant is not at the agreed place, however. This means hasty phone calls and sprints up and down the corridor. So far no one has got lost and the same will undoubtedly apply in the future. There is no corner of the Sibelius Academy beyond the gaze of the competition secretary in an emergency!

In other words the office lives in cycles according to the competition schedule. But once each contestant has been safely dealt with, we turn our hand to whatever else needs doing. One jury member needed some hydrocortisone for a finger – so we went out and bought some. We tried to find out where to buy telephone cards but a brief enquiry yielded no results! So perhaps you readers can help make our contestants’ lives a bit easier by letting us know where telephone cards hang out! Any hints will be gratefully received. Our contestants’ indecision occasionally makes our peak-capped roadie’s hair turn grey; the agreed position of the chair on the platform may change many times before the performer actually goes on stage. As the competition proceeds, our brisk stage hands and their stooges will no doubt become familiar to all!

More tomorrow. In the meantime, good night!
Eeva