Watching it live from next door, on the screens in the Eurovision media bouncy castle. With six hours to go until the final tonight, I still don't know if I have a ticket and the nerves are really getting to me. Two of us are on a semi-solid promise of a freebie.

I'll come back and add the early songs later, but let's do this live....

08 Albania
Hold on, something has changed here. She's not singing 'dicky da, dicky da' any more, but something like 'little charm, little charm'. Either I didn't notice before, or this is a concious change. It makes it a little better, but the whole 'pretending to play the fiddles with no strings and wandering round with a drum' routine is so utterly pointless that I can't help but laugh.


09 Cyprus
Such a contrived routine on stage that it's almost laughable. Watch for the bit where they kick the canes to make them spin round in their hands. In one rehearsal, one of the women's sticks broke in two as she kicked it and half of it went flying off into the wings.

10 Spain
Look for the bloke who's too fat to be a dancer and wonder what he's doing there. Then listen to his rap and wish he wasn't there at all. Other than that, this is lovely and colourful, and has a longer lyric than American Pie, I can't decide if it's immensely catchy or immensely irritating.

11 Israel
Thank goodness this was a pleasant surprise, qualifying on Thursday. Very well-deserved because musically and vocally this is a very accomplished performance of a beautifully flowing, powerful song. Her tits probably grabbed a few votes too. Even I was transfixed. Big applause here in the media tent, but then I am surrounded by Israelis!

12 (Serbia &) Montenegro
The publicity materials and CD only mention Montenegro, where they're all from, which has really pissed off the folk back in Belgrade. It's like the UK having a Cornish entry. This is the kind of song which just washes over UK viewers but will hoover up the Balkan votes, particularly as it has a boyband with 3 cuties. (The three uglier ones don't get the camera shots - they're not stupid.) Apparently there's no suitable venue for Eurovision in Montenegro, so there's a dilemma. They will probably have their own Eurovision entry in 2006 after separation from Serbia next year anyway. Oh good, MORE Balkan votes!


The break:
Plugging the book. Excruciating dialogue. Oh god, why can't we just have the adverts, like the rest of Europe?


13 Denmark
Suddenly this song has gone from no-hoper, to successful qualifier, to sounding like a contender, only to be dashed by the fateful 'after the break' draw, which doomed poor Xandee last year.

14 Sweden
I can still see this winning by surprise, exactly as it did in Sweden's Melodifestival. It wil appeal to all age groups and nationalities as an old-fashioned show song with a young spunk singing. He needs a haircut though.

15 FYR Macedonia
I wasn't surprised that the people who vote with a map rather than their ears and eyes put this one through on Thursday, but it's still rubbish. Make my day, go away, as a friend said in trehearsal. And more fake drumming - it's just rubbish.


16 Ukraine
Undoubtedly the emotional highlight in the hall, but probably a musical low point for you watching on TV. Being in last night's dress rehearsal, seeing the excitement of the locals when this came on, and realising what this song means to them as they all sing along VERY LOUDLY, it sent shivers down my spine. You may think it's just a fat bloke shouting, but this is the song of the Orange Revolution and they're very proud of it.

17 Germany
God I hate this. I only realised a few days ago, that she's actually singing 'you'd better run hide' and not 'you're better off high', which would certainly be preferable to listening to this 4 Non-Blondes pastiche. Amuse yourself by singing 'Hey, yeah, yeah, yeah,...what's going on?' over the top of it - you'll feel much better.



18 Croatia
I love a bit of Slavic moodiness and I absolutely adore this. I'm going to ignore the mad drummer's pointless handstand, which, thankfully, the camera doesn't dwell on for too long. You also don't get to see his smug face afterwards and the way he plays to the crowd, as the camera goes back to Boris. The drumming and the female vocals really make this for me. 5th, 6th or 7th, I feel.

19 Greece
This is the song that made me go 'oh yes!' after about 15 seconds when I first saw it on Greek TV. It's immediate and very tightly choreographed, but something tells me that the favourite is set up for a fall. Watch for the braces fiddling. It actually works and isn't as silly as it sounds.

20 Russia
I absolutely loathe and detest this Avril Lavignski b-side. Musically it goes nowhere, and god only know what language 'Nobody Hurt No One' is supposed to be. Anybody any idea what it means?

21 Bosnia-Herzegovina
Sadly, there's always at least one act who gets a little bit over-excited and starts shouting. That's what they're doing now. I call it Afro-dite Syndrome. This was undoubtedly the best VIDEO of this year's entries, but it's not the best vocal performance. I still love it, but they just need to calm down and concentrate a bit more.

22 Switzerland
Just to reiterate, I do NOT want the 50th Eurovision to be won by a song which has 'why don't you kill me?' as its hook. It's a song written about, and to, a tiger, which was called Cool Vibes. Makes sense now? Well yes, but most viewers won't know that. Musically, this is stunning, and one of 4 or 5 rock tracks in this year's final, which is nice. They also look stunning and could win anyway, being this near the end.

23 Latvia
Coming up on the inside rail, we have the lovely Lat boys. Hardly anyone expected them to qualify, and yet last night we were talking about this as a potential winner, for the first time. The simplicity, the sign language, the cuteness. You never know. It also has THE most favourable draw. Second from last is the luckiest position in Eurovision history, no matter how many contenders there are. The one thing we all agreed on last night is that we would have no complaints about going back to Riga after only three years. I adored the place and was going to go back anywaay, at least for a long weekend. Ten days next Spring would do nicely.
The one on the right has a sore throat and didn't sing in yesterday's rehearsals. He currently has a Latvian scarf around his neck to keep his throat warm. Not sure if he'll be wearing that later.

24 France
This is the worst French entry in living memory. So repetitive. I love French songs, and I've loved speaking quite a bit of French here this week to French friends and strangers, but we should have had Monaco's ballad as the French song in the final, not this automatically-qualified nonsense. A very poor end to the contest, and surely a contender for bottom place, were it not for Monaco saving it with their guaranteed 12 points.

Damn! Have just received a text saying that only one freebie ticket materialised, so I don't have one. Will have to buy one now - I'm told there are lots available. Must dask to box office.

Hungary to win! For my eighty quid profit, that is.

Malta to win if there's any justice in the world!
I honestly believe that about 14 countries COULD win tonight, but my heart says Malta. The reaction Chiara gets when the song builds is absolutely amazing. She winks to the camera and is note perfect every time. I love her. Please let her win. She's going to take the UK's 12 (from Sweden). I feel it in my waters.

Enjoy!
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