Chiara has first rehearsal today

Chiara slept in Kiev yesterday and took the day to relax and chill out in the balmy Ukrainian weather after arriving at her hotel in Kiev at 12.30 a.m. - a gruelling 22 hours after she left Malta.

Malta's representative at the 50th Eurovision Song Contest is still nursing a hoarse voice, the result of days of stress in the run-up to the anticipated festival.

Accompanied by her husband, parents, the Maltasong board, and her management Bridge Productions, Chiara is in good spirits and feels well prepared to face this morning's first rehearsal on the stage of the Sports Palace.

She will have to wake up early today, gobble down a quick breakfast and have her make-up done by Diane Nikolic and hair styled by the team of Cut Coiffeur, before the rehearsal kicks off at 10 a.m. (9 a.m. Malta time).

Chiara will have another rehearsal tomorrow morning plus three dress rehearsals, which should give her the confidence she needs to master the stage prior to Saturday's final show.

Having placed third in 1998 with The One That I Love, Chiara is this year hoping to surpass her personal best with Angel, the song she wrote and composed.

"There is an element of added personal pressure. Reaching a higher placing than in 1998 is something I would be pleased with, however what is important to me is knowing that I have the public's support and enjoying the performance," she said.

So far, Chiara is one of the top 10 favourites in the poll, though in the past days she has slipped to seventh position from fifth as British bookmakers William Hill give punters odds of 16/1.

In another international betting agency, Bet365, Malta remains strong in fifth place with odds of 10/1. Which means Malta just has to wait and see what happens on the night and how well Chiara performs during her three minutes on stage.

Greece's contestant Helena Paparizou remains the favourite among most bookmakers and fans. Malta's Eurovision fan club, OGAE Malta, is also predicting that Greece will win, on the basis of results of a poll it carried out among local voters on its website.

In a separate poll OGAE Malta also asked the Maltese to predict Chiara's placing and 50 per cent believed she would come between second and fifth place. Ten per cent of voters gave Malta a victory.

The picture will become slightly clearer after Thursday's semi-final when the remaining 10 finalists will be known.

Meanwhile, the Sports Palace is a hive of activity as the delegations of the 39 competing countries continue to arrive in Kiev and settle in for a week of rehearsals and press conferences.

The hotels surrounding the venue are packed and many who could not find a room are opting to stay in the tents set up in the area.

In the past weeks Ukraine has come under fire from the European Broadcasting Union and others about the way Kiev hotels have sharply increased room rates to cash in on the tourism boom the contest can offer. Many who had booked rooms last year have seen reservations cancelled, often without notice, and were told they can rebook but only at prices up to three times the initial rates.

Pavlo Hrycak, vice-president of the National TV Company of Ukraine (NTU), admitted in the media this was the case and accused hoteliers of trying to rip off visitors. He reserved particular criticism for the Radisson SAS, Lybid and Rus Hotels. One night at the four star Radisson in Vienna is €167; in Kiev it will cost €350.

The tent village was set up on an island on Dnjepr river and can accommodate about 4,000 people. It has been equipped with LCD-screen for people to follow the rehearsals live from the Sports Palace.

The exorbitant hike in prices also led to the cancellation of a planned Air Malta chartered flight to Kiev and, unfortunately, many Maltese fans who had wanted to support Chiara had to be left behind.

Hamilton Travel made this coverage possible.