Growing tension – artists preparing backstage

Andrea Demirovic, Montenegro (starting as number 1)
"I can't wait to open the Eurovision Song Contest, it's such an honor. I hope that this will be the third time lucky for Montenegro and that we will reach the final for the first time. I keep my necklace with me, my little silver guardian angel. I'm always wearing him."

Copycat, Belgium (3)
"My voice has been very hoarse from a cold a couple of days, but on the day before the broadcast it finally came back, just in time! Ask Elvis in his heaven how it happened ..."

Petr Elfimov, Belarus (4)
"I don't feel nervous now. Actually I don't need the nerves, I need to be calm, and to be in the special mood. If we will be the winners, we invite you to come to Belarus!"

Malena Ernman, Sweden (5)
"It feels really good now, I'm ready. But when I'm walking backstage I ask myself where I am. The corridors look the same everywhere!"

Inga & Anush, Armenia (6)
"When we walk to the stage for the broadcast, we try to think that we are in high mountains far, far away, without worries. We are excited and nervous to get everything working on stage, so we will probably need a vacation after this."

Lovebugs, Switzerland (8)
"The last thing we do before we go on stage is giving our singer a tiny bit of vodka. It helps for everything. It makes you feel a bit loose, opens the throat and improves the feeling."

Yohanna, Iceland (12)
"I'm probably going to be calm when I walk to the stage, I always am. I'm not using any particular routines before the performance. Usually, my body becomes very tired, I don't know if it's a way to relax. It was great to get spontaneous applauses from the audience during the rehearsal, I felt it on stage."

Next Time, Macedonia (13)
"We will rock tonight – energy and power! We are wearing clothes like Russian soldiers of old, and we actually met Russian soldiers backstage who are taking part in the interval act. They wanted to take a photo with us, and it was mutual ..."

Karolina from Waldo's People, Finland (15)
"Waldo still has the flu. He's had it for almost two weeks now. It comes and it goes, but we will have to focus on the evening and try to forget the bad things. It's going to be tough with the competition from all the other songs, but we hope for the best."

Daniela Varela, singer from Flor-de-Lis, Portugal (16)
"I'm really enjoying myself, I never though that I was going to be at the Eurovision Song Contest. I started singing with the band just eight months ago. In the national selection in Portugal, I was so nervous; but now, strangely, I'm not very nervous. I think I'm growing. I'm not usually listening to pop music, but since I've got here I found myself dance to all of the pop entries. I believe that this contest is opening your eyes."