Semi-finals give Malta a better chance

Malta's chances in tomorrow's Eurovision Song Contest were given a boost after its main competitor, The Netherlands, failed to make it through last night's semi-finals at the Sports Palace in Kiev.

In the past weeks expert onlookers had been predicting a battle of the ballads between Chiara and Glennis, but now that The Netherlands are out of the contest Malta's ambassador could stand a greater chance, especially if the audience happens to favour ballads over other genres.

Chiara is fast gaining in popularity in Kiev and with just one day to go before the Eurovision the tension and excitement is mounting, as the temperature is doing in Ukraine's capital.

Last night Chiara had butterflies in her stomach as she watched the semi-finals in anticipation to see which countries would go through.

"The excitement and anxiety begins now," she said before getting ready for another interview with British television ITV.

Until yesterday British bookmakers William Hill were placing Malta in fourth position, jointly with Switzerland and Iceland, offering punters odds of 12/1. This sees Chiara stepping up three places from a couple of days ago.

Greece has not budged from first place with odds of 2/1. Meanwhile, the three countries separating Malta and Greece - Norway, Hungary and Switzerland - remain in the contest after passing on to the finals. Meanwhile, Iceland, which was running neck and neck with Malta, missed the boat.

The remaining countries which made it through the semi-finals are Romania, Moldova, Israel, Denmark, F.Y.R. Macedonia, Croatia and Latvia.

What's On magazine distributed at the press centre is placing Malta among the favourites, in an article, under the headline Ten To Catch At Eurovision, advising readers on who to put their hard earned cash on.

"Eurovision voters tend to be a knowledgeable lot and for this reason we're tipping Chiara's song Angel to do better than most insiders think with odds of 9/1," the article reads.

"This could be Malta's year, despite the fact that Angel is the type of ballad which has fallen out of fashion of late," it adds.

The article continues to say that since Chiara narrowly lost out to Dana International in 1998, she could very well get the sympathy vote, "as well as a whole host of thumbs up from 'that's what a real woman looks like' crowd, owing to the fact that, unlike other Eurovision females, the Maltese crooner is a little big boned."

Chiara is in good spirits overall and she received a very warm welcome at Wednesday's Mediterranean Party, hosted jointly with Greece and Cyprus, with Green Jolly, Ukraine's contestants for this year, invited as special guests.

The three contestants - Chiara, Helena Paparizou and Constantinos Cristoforou - all took to the stage to sing parts of their song, each one backing the other, to loud applause and cheers from the crowd.

While Chiara and Constantinos have really hit it off, there seems to be some negative undercurrents between Malta's singer and Greece's contestant Helena. In fact, Chiara has contradicted Helena's comments made during the press conference, where the latter said Chiara had shrugged off nasty remarks at a nightclub.

"I never went to a nightclub with Helena," Chiara said when asked about this.

Despite everything, all three looked like they were having a good time at the party, which went on till the early hours and saw last year's winner, Ruslana, having a good time.

The Maltese group took over the party, firing up the crowd, lifting Ruslana in the air and dancing on tables, as everyone followed suit.

Today, Chiara has a hectic day ahead with two full dress rehearsals and another tomorrow before the final show.

Meanwhile, Kiev has been gripped by the spirit of music and last night, prior to the opening of the semi-finals, a monument dedicated to the Eurovision, was inaugurated.

The Monument to the Singing Microphone, made of titanium is dedicated to the celebration of the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 in Ukraine and symbolises the unity of music, modern art and technologies.

The stage at Sports Palace is also set to provide a visual feast for the eyes. The show is being hosted by Maria Yefrosinina and Pavlo Shylko (DJ Pasha), while the stage focuses on this year's theme: awakening.

This theme symbolises a blossoming of the grape fern flower, which according to legend only blooms once during the year. The legend goes that if only one person, the most important and incredibly soulful person, will be able to see its unearthly beauty they will receive the secret of wisdom and happiness.

Tomorrow's running order will now be as follows: Hungary, the UK, Malta, Romania, Norway, Turkey, Moldova, Albania, Cyprus, Spain, Israel, Serbia & Montenegro, Denmark, Sweden, F.Y.R. Macedonia, Ukraine, Germany, Croatia, Greece, Russia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Switzerland, Latvia and France.

Hamilton Travel made this coverage possible.