Eurovision Song Contest finalists 2009
The Eurovision Song Contest is down to its 25 finalists. Here's an advance glimpse of the people to be looking out for on Saturday night. Who will get nul points?
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Lithuania's Sasha Son - the singer is a hot favourite and could follow in the footsteps of last year's winner Dima Bilan. Judging by this shot of the rehearsal, he looks capable of an incendiary performance
Photograph: Sergey Ponomarev/AP
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Israel's Noa and Mira Awad - an Israeli-Arab combination, sweetly, singing a song called There Must Be Another Way
Photograph: Sergei Ilnitsky/EPA
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France's Patricia Kaas - started singing at age eight and hasn't stopped since, according to her official Eurovision profile. Time for a throat lozenge
Photograph: Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP/Getty Images
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Sweden's Malena Ernman - an opera singer, with an entry modestly entitled La Voix
Photograph: Sergei Ilnitsky/EPA
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Croatia's Igor Cukrov featuring Andrea - Cukrov came to fame as a contestant on Operacija Trijumf, the Yugoslavian version of Fame Academy, but controversially lost out before the final. Apparently he plays the guitar, piano, trumpet and clarinet - but will he strike a chord with the judges?
Photograph: Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP/Getty Images
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Portugal's Flor-de-lis - folky music, folky outfits
Photograph: Sergei Ilnitsky/EPA
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Iceland's Yohanna - her song is called Is It True? Perhaps the relatively bare backdrop is due banking-crash-related budget cuts
Photograph: Sergey Ponomarev/AP
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Greece's Sakis Rouvas - sings This Is Our Night. Out of him and Jade 'It's My Time' Ewen, only one can be right
Photograph: Dmitry Kostyukov/AFP/Getty Images
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Armenia's Inga and Anush - their song is called Jan Jan. The arm movements are necessary to avoid breaking the beams and setting off an alarm
Photograph: Sergey Ponomarev/AP
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Russia's Anastasia Prikhodko - big sister is watching you, by the looks of it. And her song is called Mamo
Photograph: Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP/Getty Images
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Azerbaijan's Arash and AySel - he's a producer, she's a thrusting young student, they were united by their country's Eurovision jury. They seem happy about it so far, although that woman on the right doen't look entirely comfortable in those metal tights
Photograph: Oleg Nikishin/Getty Images
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Bosnia and Herzegovina's Regina - the red flag looks like part of a French revolutionary theme, rather than some kind of bullfighting thing
Photograph: Sergei Ilnitsky/EPA
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Moldova's Nelly Ciobanu - also a TV presenter, and she dedicates her performance to her daughter, according to the Eurovision site. Somewhere a manufacturer of peasant shirts is extremely happy
Photograph: Sergey Ponomarev/AP
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Malta's Chiara - appeared in Eurovision in 1998, and came second in 2005. Can she go one better?
Photograph: Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters
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Estonia's Urban Symphony - it's a six-woman group, so the others must be hidden in the smoke
Photograph: Dmitry Kostyukov/AFP/Getty Images
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Denmark's Brinck - he comes armed with a song co-written by Ronan Keating, as well as a whole load of fireworks
Photograph: Oleg Nikishin/Getty Images
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Germany's Alex Swings Oscar Sings - complete with the US burlesque artist Dita Von Teese, which surely wraps up the tasteful understatement vote
Photograph: Sergei Ilnitsky/EPA
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Turkey's Hadise - big in Belgium, apparently: she was born there, and appeared in the local version of Pop Idol in 2003. Got to be good for a few votes, that
Photograph: Oleg Nikishin/Getty Images
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Albania's Kejsi Tola - sings Carry Me In Your Dreams. No information on why she's dreaming of a mysterious figure in a mirrorball gimp mask - or indeed why he/she/it is dreaming of her
Photograph: Dmitry Kostyukov/AFP/Getty Images
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Norway's Alexander Rybak - another talent-show graduate (he won) with a song called Fairytale. And he has a violin that makes people do press-ups - there's magic for you
Photograph: Dmitry Kostyukov/AFP/Getty Images
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Romania's Elena Gheorghe - she comes from a family of priests, according to her official Eurovision profile, and her song's called The Balkan Girls. That's them behind her
Photograph: Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters
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Ukraine's Svetlana Loboda - her song is called Be My Valentine! She also has her own fashion label called, more daringly, F*ck the Macho - although not that daringly: the asterisk is in the original
Photograph: Yuri Kochetkov/EPA
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Britain's Jade Ewen - you may have already heard about her. Andrew Lloyd Webber is out of shot
Photograph: Dmitry Kostyukov/AFP/Getty Images
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Waldo's People of Finland - Europop and flames: what could be more Eurovision? The song's Lose Control
Photograph: Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters
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Spain's Soraya - sings La Noche Es Para Mi (The Night Is For Me). She's going to have to discuss that with Jade Ewen and Sakis Rouvas
Photograph: Sergei Ilnitsky/EPA
