The return of national juries after an absence of 12 years could sway the result of tomorrow's Eurovision Song Contest final, according to Malta's producer.
"A jury is more likely to appreciate a good song and better voices than voters, who may be more inclined to vote for a performance," Munro Forbes said.
For the first time since 1997, a jury has been reintroduced for the final where viewers and professional juries from the 42 competing countries each have a 50 per cent stake in the outcome.
According to the contest's executive supervisor, Svante Stockselius, nothing was more democratic than the vote of the public, but a jury took the opportunity to listen to the songs several times before they made up their minds.
Mr Forbes, who was roped in by the Maltese delegation because of his expertise in the field, agreed and said this format had worked in the last Junior Eurovision Song Contest, which had been used as a sounding board.
"We met in February to discuss the outcome of the JESC and the feedback was positive. We felt it helped redress the balance between East and West," he said.
"The popular songs still got most points by both the jury and televoters but the variations emerged with the less popular songs."
The division between East and West has long echoed through the Eurovision's halls and when Russia's heartthrob Dima Bilan won last year, several countries began to collectively wring their hands over whether the West should continue taking part.
Two separate contests for Eastern and Western countries were proposed but this idea was shot down by the European Broadcasting Union, which felt there was enough division in Europe. Instead, in a bid to address the matter, the jury was reintroduced.
At a press conference yesterday, Mr Stockselius reiterated that the reason for a jury was that in past years, back-up juries and televoters disagreed about the results and this move was intended to reduce the effect of so-called diaspora voting.
The juries will be "professionals", comprising music industry experts rather than members of the public.
Reflecting on the outcome of Tuesday's semi-final, Mr Stockselius said were it not for the wildcard rule, one of the songs would not have been among the public's top 10 - the song was "saved" by the jury.
This system - where televoters choose the first nine countries and a jury selects its favourite - was used again last night during the second semi-final and the countries will be revealed after tomorrow's final.
The 10 finalists chosen from the two semi-finals will this afternoon join the Big Four - the UK, Spain, Germany and France - and last year's winner Russia, in the first of three dress rehearsals before the big night. Mr Forbes said he was encouraged by the audience's reaction towards Chiara in the arena on Tuesday and overall he was happy with the look.
Was he confident Chiara would place among the top 10?
"If I had a crystal ball I'd be able to tell you... and I'd also be a billionaire. Chiara has been very popular twice before and there's no reason to believe her popularity has waned," he said.
Chiara, who spent the past two days giving interviews and relaxing with relatives and friends who flew in to Moscow to support her, is all geared up and ready to face the challenge ahead.
Mr Forbes said: "We hope her performance is appreciated across Europe and it stands out - Chiara has three minutes to convince Europe."