I loved your story! It was so filled with Murphy’s law situations, and typical nightmarish stuff for the unicycle performer. Stage managers never seem to understand that the riding surface matters for unicyclists. Nobody seems to get that bagpipes make a lot of noise.
It’s like no amount of practice can prepare one for the actual event. Certainly you cannot prepare for the effects of being in that one-chance situation, with all those eyes on you!
Also I am struck by how similar the format of the show is to our version. I hope the SA version has also found judges that actually like variety acts; this took several seasons for the American show.
I wish you best of luck with your second go-round! I recommend lots of remedial practicing up there with the pipes. Practice stuff like riding over electrical cables at odd angles, riding on super-polished surfaces, etc.
And a dismount. Since I don’t think you want to be taken too seriously, you could finish by falling off. Like letting the bag deflate (after your song finishes, of course), and then slowly falling over as the tone goes down. If you finish with a little roll (whatever works while holding the pipes), even better! Pop up into a stylish pose.
Also, if you’re able to freemount your giraffe you could have lots of fun with that. You could work out a bit with the Presenter to help you out, or hand you the pipes once you’re up there. Lots of opportunity for silliness to ensue there. Have fun with it!