Focus - Will he do, do, do it?

With just under a month to go before the big Eurovision night in Athens, Ariadne Massa turns the spotlight on a festival which, though derided by many, is watched by millions.

Fabrizio Faniello rushes into the coffee shop apologising for his tardiness and attempts to slip incognito into a chair, a task that proves impossible as people turn to look or wave.

He flashes them a wide smile, exchanges greetings and plonks himself down, lamenting the fact that he has not slept well in days.

He is quick to add that travelling to different countries promoting his song I Do, is something he has always aspired to, despite the strenuous moments.

"It has always been one of my dreams to travel the world and experience different cultures and winning the Song for Europe Festival is giving me this chance," he said.

It's not as if he is lacking in the air miles department. Five years ago, when he had won the festival for the first time at the age of 19, he was signed up with the German recording company Cap Sounds that was intent on promoting him.

The company believed in his potential and today the singer has a growing international fan base in Denmark, Germany, Rumania and Sweden, among others. Over 8,500 copies of his single I'm In Love were sold in Sweden and his album was launched in 30 countries. His latest album Believe, which made it to the top of the charts in Malta, should be launched across Europe shortly.

He has performed in front of thousands at prestigious festivals and in October he was also bestowed with the honour of representing Malta at the commemorative event marking the Eurovision's 50th Anniversary in Denmark.

Fabrizio Faniello is one of the luckier artistes who can rely on his singing for income, though running a bar in Bugibba does help pay the bills at the end of the day.

So, with so much going for him, does he really need the platform of the Eurovision?

"The Eurovision is the perfect place to launch your music - I mean, which other festival can boast that over four million viewers tune in to watch the show each year? So even if you don't place first the exposure is phenomenal," he said, taking a big gulp of his cappuccino.

Caffeine, plus buckets of energy, is what is keeping him going at the moment as he shuttles between one European country and the next, conducting interviews and singing.

"I'm walking a lot more, probably eating less and better and losing weight without much effort, which isn't so bad."

So how is he received in the other countries? Do they really care about the Eurovision? And will these promotional tours translate into votes on the big night?

"The feedback has been great. I don't know if they will vote for Malta on the night, but I hope so. Maltasong has this year planned to target countries which gave Malta nil points last year so I hope the idea works and we garner enough support," he said.

In between shaking hands with strangers who come up to wish him good luck, the singer recounts his surprise at how popular his single Love on the Radio was in the Eastern bloc.

"I was invited on a radio programme in Belarus to promote I Do and they had Love on the Radio on their playlist. They had no idea it was mine and they said that it was extremely popular there."

The fact that Fabrizio Faniello had sung a duet with Andrea Antonesku in 2003 and placed third in Romania's music festival has also earned him popularity in that country.

It was not all bliss in Romania and he had to face some awkward questions fielded by journalists, following last year's comments by former Maltasong chairman Grace Borg who had questioned Romania's technological capabilities and the authenticity of the televoting.

"There were some journalists who were still upset by the comments made last year and brought it up during the press conference. I apologised for the situation, and it was cool at the end," he said.

Fabrizio Faniello, who turns 25 on Monday, will be spending his birthday touring and he will also be missing tonight's big Eurovision bash at the Vertigo Nightclub in Paceville.

"It's been a great ride."

From the chairman

Maltasong chairman Robert Abela believes it is going to be tough for Malta to place among the top six in the upcoming Eurovision and secure a place in the finals of the 2007 edition.

"Of course, our motto and energies are focused on winning and putting on a good show, but this year there is stiff competition and it seems that Greece, Romania, Sweden and Belgium are the favourites, which just leaves us with two places to make it among the top six. So even if we place seventh, which is good, it's still not good enough," he said.

According to new regulations issued by the European Broadcasting Union, just the top six and the big four - Germany, the UK, Spain and France - are guaranteed participation; the rest will have to go through the semi-finals.

Mr Abela said many of the competing countries were this year fielding some heavyweights and were bent on doing well after years of not featuring in the top 10 and seeing Eastern countries taking the lead.

Whatever the case, Maltasong is doing its utmost to promote Fabrizio Faniello in the competing countries, especially those that did not give Malta any points last year.

"This is the first time that a singer will have toured 20 countries. We are trying everything and I hope our efforts translate into votes," he said. The singer will be leaving for Greece on May 8, one week before the rest of the delegation, to concentrate on rehearsing with the dancers and undergo a voice class to make sure the show will be up to scratch by the time the official rehearsals on stage kick off.

"Fabrizio will also have a couple days to rest, then we're in for the kill."

Five foreign dancers have been chosen to accompany him on stage as opposed to Maltese, because they are also required to double up as backing vocals.

"All of them are professional dancers and we're very happy with the synergy between them," he said.

At the moment, Maltasong is busy preparing for the week running up to the big night on May 20, putting together press packs and promotional material.

Tonight a big Eurovision bash is being organised at the Vertigo Nightclub, Paceville, attended by the artistes representing Andorra, Croatia, The Netherlands, Poland and Romania.

During their stay they will feature on a number of television programmes, including this afternoon's Kollox Sibt on Net TV and Norman Hamilton's Bla Agenda on Super One TV tonight.

Eurovision trivia

¤ The most used words by Eurovision fans in connection with the song contest are Abba, Eurovision, Dana and Leandros, according to a study by the University of Leiden.

¤ More women than men win the Eurovision. On average, for every three or four women who win, only one man has won the contest.

¤ Dialects and imaginary languages have surfaced again and again at Eurovision. In 1989 Switzerland's entry was sung in Romansch and Lithuania's song Strazdas was sung in a west-Lithuanian dialect.

In 1996 Austria attempted to win over voters with a song in another alpine dialect.

France has also tried to win with songs in Corsican and Breton and in 2003 Belgium came second with a song in an imaginary language.

¤ Until now, the most covered Eurovision hit is Volare. Stars like Dean Martin, Al Martino, Marino Marini and David Bowie have all made cover versions of the song.

¤ The first Eurovision took place in 1956, with just seven countries - Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Luxembourg. The contest was based on the San Remo Music Festival, which is a popular Italian song contest that began in 1951 and continues to take place each year.

¤ Over the years the number of countries taking part gradually increased.

¤ At the first Eurovision in 1956, each country was allowed to enter two songs, less than three minutes long. This changed in 1957 when each country was limited to one song. From 1999 the rules changed allowing performers to sing in any language.

The Med in Switzerland

Keith Camilleri, one of six singers of the group six4one that is representing Switzerland in Athens, is riding on high and making the most of this experience as long as it lasts.

The 28-year-old Maltese national was handpicked by German composer Ralph Siegel together with five other foreign singers - Liel Collet, from Israel; Claudia D'Addio, Switzerland; Andreas Lundstedt, Sweden; Marco Matias, Portugal; and Tinka Milinovic, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

He will go down in the annals as the second Maltese to represent another country in the Eurovision. He follows in the steps of Maltese national Ray Caruana who had garnered a second place for the UK with his group Live Report in the 1989 contest.

Together with the rest of the group, Keith Camilleri is now shuttling between Switzerland and his hometown for rehearsals.

So is six4one touring quite a bit to promote their song, If We All Give A Little?

"Rather than touring we are concentrating on choreography and since we're the first to sing on the big night the pressure is on. The fact that we're all from different countries also makes it more costly to tour," he said in a drowsy voice from his hotel room in Switzerland yesterday morning.

Instead, the bulk of the promotion is being done through foreign media and the internet. The group's song has also been chosen as the official anthem of a new movement called We Are What We Do. This movement has embarked on a project, Change the World for Ten Bucks, which is bent on inspiring people to use their everyday actions to change the world.

"This is an incredible step for all of us. They chose the song because it encapsulates the We Are What We Do philosophy of simple actions done by lots of people being the answer to many if not of all of the world's problems."

Asked if Switzerland attached as much importance to the Eurovision as Malta, he said the festival was not their "be all and end all of music".

"They obviously have more opportunities and singers look to the MTV as a platform for their career, not the Eurovision. Having said that, people here do follow the festival and we still get to feel important," he laughed.

The singer said he was also surprised by the Maltese public's reaction to the fact that he was representing another country.

"I thought the Maltese would take it against me. On the contrary, people are stopping me in the streets and wishing me luck."

So once the Eurovision is over, what's next?

"My dream would be to have a good management team behind me. Maybe one day I'll get to realise my ultimate goal to make it on the international music scene and become a singer on MTV. Who knows!"

What the polls are saying

If the polls get it right then Greece could very well run away with the title for the second consecutive year. Anna Vissi, who is a big success and well-known on the music circuit, is so far getting the thumbs up from all the reputed bookmakers as well as the majority of polls being carried out in the participating countries.

According to British bookmakers William Hill, Greece is in the lead with odds of 2/1, followed by Romania (13/2) and Sweden (7/1).

Ireland's largest bookmaker, Paddy Power, is predicting similar results with Greece in the lead (15/8), followed by Romania (6/1), and Sweden (8/1).

This year a computer scientist from Glasgow has turned to a simulation to study voting trends in the past, and based on the results he has projected Bosnia and Herzegovina as this year's likely winner.

Unsurprisingly, programmer Derek Gatherer found there were pockets of biased voting revolving round regions such as the Balkans, Scandinavia and the Baltic states. He claims these patterns are strong enough to be used as a prediction tool for the outcome of the contest.

In all this, Malta features nowhere near the top - William Hill and Paddy Power are giving Fabrizio Faniello's song I Do odds of 40/1 of winning the Eurovision, which puts us in 18th place from 24 countries.

However, Maltasong chairman Robert Abela does not attach too much importance to these predictions, more so because they usually reflect the views of those obsessed with the Eurovision and not the public in general.

"The polls are not reliable. At the end of the day it's all about those three minutes on stage. And Fabrizio has ample charisma," Mr Abela said.

The singer too, is unfazed by all this.

"I don't believe in any of the predictions. In 2001, bookmakers were placing my song among the top three right until the eve of the festival - I ended up placing ninth," he pointed out.

"I admit, this year it won't be easy because there are a lot of different musical styles, and it does not help that there are a lot of established stars taking part. Whatever the outcome there is no other show that reaches so many households and I am looking beyond the Eurovision.

"I am going to Greece to give a good performance - then it's for the people to decide."

The venue

This year the event is being held in the Olympic Stadium's indoor basketball hall, in Maroussi, Athens.

The venue, inaugurated in 1995, was chosen for its functionality, unique design and history in hosting major athletic events.

It consists of six levels and has a seating capacity of 18,500, including 2,000 fold-up seats and 300 seats for the media. It also has a 500-square-metre press centre and 39 dressing rooms installed backstage for the artists and hosts.

The stage consists of a main circle with movable segments so that it can vary in shape from song to song. The main stage, which is a 13-metre-wide circle, is surrounded by elements enabling videos to be broadcast.

Thirty-seven countries will be taking part in this year's contest, with 24 vying for the title on the final night. Meanwhile, 38 countries will take part in televoting on May 20 (all 37 participating countries plus Serbia & Montenegro, which withdrew).

In all, a total of 80 rehearsals will take place, and at least 76 press conferences will be given.