Ireland seeks to extend its record of seven wins in the Eurovision Song Contest tonight when Waterford's Chris Doran sings If The World Stops Tonight in the Turkish capital of Istanbul.
The 24-year-old winner of the televised You're A Star talent contest is ranked in the top 10 by bookmakers - at 14/1 with Paddy Power and Ladbrokes and 20/1 with Boyle Sports. Greece and Ukraine are 3/1 joint-favourites in a competition that has become increasingly dominated in recent years by eastern European nations.
Although overtly a cultural occasion, politicians have - as ever - been eager to get in on the act. The Minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism, Mr O'Donoghue, issued his best wishes to Doran, noting "the whole country will be behind him". Fine Gael MEP Avril Doyle has used the opportunity of the Eurovision's journey to Istanbul to call for "the door to be left open for Turkey to join the EU".
The organisers of the song contest are hoping to avoid a repetition of Wednesday night's semi-final voting fiasco when some countries received the wrong number of points following a technical glitch.
TV viewers in Monaco were unable to call in their vote because of problems with their phone network. In Croatia, four points were given in error, via text message, to their own national team.
Ten countries were selected in the semi-final, completing tonight's line-up of 24.
Meanwhile, the UK has put its hopes on James Fox, a former star of the television talent show Fame Academy, to reclaim some pride for Britain after its "nul points" last year.
