Music fans braced for Eurovision

Sahlene, Estonia's Eurovision entry, rehearses her song, "Runaway,"

TALLINN, Estonia -- Swedish girl group Afro-dite has emerged as the favourites to win this year's Eurovision song contest.

The band's placing ahead of the event on Saturday bodes well for them -- the contest propelled their pop music forebears ABBA to fame nearly 30 years ago.

Germany's Corinna May is second favourite with the UK's Jessica Garlick third.

The annual kitsch-and-glitz music extravagansa is loved and loathed in equal measure with entrants dreading two words from the panel of judges – "nul points."

Garlick, 21, said: "When I was younger I remember sitting watching Eurovision on TV and my mum telling me that one day I would be there singing for the UK.

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"I think that has helped drive me and made it an ambition."

Around 160 million people mainly from Moscow to Madrid, but also in Japan, Australia and the United States, are expected to tune in to Eurovision's 47th song contest.

In the past the annual music event has launched acts such as Abba, Celine Dion and Julio Iglesias.

The hosts of this year's show, Estonia, are seen as coming in fourth, followed by France, Spain, Malta, Belgium, Denmark and Latvia.

Estonia won the contest last year by a sizeable margin with the song Everybody, performed by Tanel Padar and Daven Benton.

Eurovision organisers said in a statement: "Romania is the most unlikely to win this year's Eurovision song contest."

Each of the 24 song entries will be introduced by a one-minute video postcard highlighting an aspect of Estonian life.

Estonia is "standing at Europe's border and wishing hard to be part of it," according to material produced by Estonian Television.

Many Estonians are excited to have a chance to show off their country.

Leane Morits, an office worker from Tartu, the country's second city, said: "For Estonia, and especially for Tallinn, it is definitely great public relations."