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"It's time for the world's biggest television show, the Eurovision Song Contest. On Saturday, May 10, for one night only, Europe will unite behind twenty-six songs, each just three minutes long. Performed live in the B&amp;W Hallerna in Copenhagen, a continent-wide phone vote will back up the thoughts of a professional jury in each country. The scores will be announced on the night, and in the space of three hours the 26 will be whittled down to just one winner.\nThe Eurovision Song Contest has been running every year since 1956. Organized by the European Broadcasting Union, last year's Contest gathered worldwide viewing figures in excess of 180 million viewers. It dominates the European social media charts and triggers countless media stories, flooding the editorial sections from fashion and entertainment to politics and international relations. \nThe prize? To host the Song Contest next year (and pick up the hefty bill).\n\nSinger Sanna Nielsen representing Sweden performs the song 'Undo' during a rehearsal of the Eurovision Song Contest Final on May 9, 2014.Image: Frank Augstein/Associated PressMuch like the bonanza of picking up Superbowl hosting duties, hosting the Song Contest is traditionally seen as expensive, but it provides huge opportunities for promotion.\nThe host broadcaster gets to organize the show and show off to all the other broadcasters what they can do with the latest technology. Danish broadcaster DR this year is looking to use the largest LED screen in Europe, as well as to create an impressive stage construction. The team has also leveraged social media very heavily, with the inclusion of user-generated content in the show with 'the choir of Europe' assembled on-screen using smartphone video clips in the opening of the first semi-final.\nThen you have seven hours and references to the host city and country, working as an extended advert for the tourist industry. It's common for the tourism boards of the host country to help out with the cost of the event because of the value of the promotion. It has such an impact that cultural departments in some countries have stepped in to support their broadcaster, clearly seen in 2002 when the Estonian government stepped in to cover the bills. The subsequent promotion and awareness of Estonia as a true European country was worth it.\nAnd the politics of Eurovision are never far from the surface. Thanks to cultural affinity a number of countries traditionally award high marks to their neighbors. Watch out for the traditional vote from Belarus to Russia, Russia to Azerbaijan, Sweden to Finland, Iceland to Denmark, and nobody voting for Germany (at least this year).\nIn the end though, it's about the songs, the spectacle of the staging, the power of the singers, and the impact of the camerawork. If you thought the Superbowl Half Time show was the greatest musical gig on the planet...think again. Before you settle in for the live show (streaming for free from the official website at 1500 Eastern/1400 Central), here are five musical highlights to watch out for during the show.\nFinland\nEveryone mentions Abba and pop/disco at the Eurovision Song Contest, but the Contest reaches across genres, as Finland's Softengine go down the Muse route for a bit of a guitar-based rock. It's actually rather refreshing when it pops up half way through the Contest, with one of the best light shows of the evening. Recently signed to Sony, this is their big break.\n\nPoland\nAfter taking two years out, Poland returns with a confident statement on the objectification of women...or is it?  My Slowianie (We Are Slavic) has been a huge hit in Poland and across Europe, with 43 million hits on YouTube and a huge fan base for Donatan and his singer Cleo. Given Eurovision's following in LGBT circles, they might have slightly miscalculated what the audience are looking for...\n\nIsrael\nActually, you won't see Mei Feingold's mix of Destiny's Child / Scarlett Johansson on the stage, because it was eliminated during Thursday night's semi-final. With only 26 spaces on Saturday, and 37 countries entering, the field needs to be culled, and it can be rather traumatic if your favorite falls...\n\nThe Netherlands\nAnd then we come to the two favorites going into the show...first up, the safe country-western-styled 'Calm Before The Storm' from The Common Linnets, two longtime friends, each with their own successful solo careers, who have joined up for the Song Contest. Ilse de Lange is the Roseanne Cash, Waylon is the Rodney Crowell (and has the attitude of 'why am I at this Contest, anyway?' to match). Yet the song is storming up the international iTunes Charts, it's running near the end of the show (which is an advantage), and it has a serious chance of winning the whole thing.\n\nAustria\nAlready catnip for the media, Austria's Conchita Wurst sings the 'torch song' of this year's contest. A huge, brassy, Bond theme of a number, this has cinematic staging, a powerful refrain, and a chorus that is going to deafen gay bars and clubs for years...normally, that would be enough to get noticed at Eurovision, but when your act is a drag act...with a perfectly groomed beard...that is singing about openness and acceptance, then you have not just a torch song but an anthem for a generation.\nNot bad for a contest approaching sixty years old.\n"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2014/05/10/what-to-expect-from-the-finals-of-the-eurovision-song-contest/>