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This is Amir, whose song Song J'ai Cherche has been a bookmakers’ favourite for some time. He’s widely expected to finish in the top three.

It's incredibly catchy and easy on the ear - an upbeat, happy song which everyone here seems to like. 

Here's an unusual nugget for you - Amir started training as a dentist but decided mid-way through to try out for The Voice and got into the final.

He says of his song, which he co-wrote in both French, and English: "I felt the need to write and deliver a message in a language that everyone can understand."

J’ai Cherche carries a message of achievement and love. You can't argue with that. 

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Jamie Lee, who sings Ghost, won The Voice of Germany final last year. 

She loves the Japanese Manga style, which is reflected her distinctively colourful look. Love the socks.

The song is a slow power ballad but it's catchy and looks fantastic with her set, which looks like a moonlit garden. 

But she still needs a bit of support from her Voice coach, who she rings to calm her nerves before a performance, saying "I get terrible stage fright every time".

You'd never know, Jamie.

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Host nation Sweden is the only Nordic country left in tonight's final. 

Frans Jeppsson Wall is already very popular at home, and how could anyone not like his song, If I Were Sorry? 

It's understated, catchy and features a cool smattering of background lighting, which spells out words as he sings.

This one has the press practically on their feet.

Aged just 17, he’s still at school, but his song (which he co-wrote) has already been streamed more than 7.8m times. 

He first gained recognition aged seven, during the 2006 World Cup, with his release of a tribute track paying homage to Swedish football player Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Frans is going to go far, I predict. 

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This is a super-catchy song which has the crowd bouncing from the get-go. 

Poli Genova belts out If Love Was a Crime and you can see members of the press room bobbing and tapping away to this as they type. Plenty of cheers for her knock-kneed dancing.

She's wearing a cape - this is a bit of a Eurovision thing, I'd say, having watched the dress rehearsal.

Poli can’t get enough of Eurovision, having represented her country in 2011 and she also hosted the Junior Eurovision in Bulgaria last year.

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Hovi Star is somewhat reminiscent of Antony and the Johnsons and has been very popular in the Eurovision press room.

His song starts with just a piano, Adele-style, and has delicate strings joining the accompaniment, which builds into a whopping, fist-clenching Eurovision crescendo. With fireworks.

Check out the dancers inside the spinning hoop - looks stunning but I hope they don't get too dizzy. I'd last 10 seconds in there.

He sings Made of Stars, and says it’s definitely ticking a big box for him. 

“It's been my lifelong dream to perform on the huge ESC stage. When I was six years old, I remember myself standing on our living room table and performing the Eurovision songs for my Mum."

Aaah.

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Francesca Michielin, who is singing No Degree of Separation, won the Italian X Factor aged just 16.

This is a sweet-sounding, catchy song with a background set to match - bunches of flowers and balloons adorn the stage, with a tree as a backdrop. It's sung in Italian and English. 

She is broadening her outlook with Eurovision, saying: "This event gives me a chance to listen to rhythms, moods and melodies that I'm not familiar with, coming from many different countries."

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Freddie, who is singing Pioneer, went down very well with Mel Giedroyc and Scott Mills on BBC Four during the semi-finals.

There’s plenty to hold your attention, what with the whistling backing singers and the dancing drummer.

Freddie has a gravelly voice, not entirely unlike Rod Stewart's if you close your eyes. This is a rousing number, and just look at his drummer go. 

This is serious stuff though. Freddie says: “My song is about our inner struggles we have to face day by day, and the fact that all the answers lie deep inside of us."

And if you're feeling a bit pent-up, just bash one of his drums.   

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This is Samra, singing Miracle, another popular song here. She's wearing a gold bodystocking and has backing singers in an array of white and gold, with her male dancers looking a bit like futuristic American footballers. It sort of works though.

She tells us not to be deceived by her song, saying: "Despite the fairytale-like title my sound is a dramatic break-up story. 

"I've been through the similar experience once. It's never easy to let someone go but you have to stay strong and keep moving."

Quite right too.

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Douwe Bob is singing Slow Down, which he co-wrote with his band. He says the lyrics have a “deep personal meaning”.

This is a catchy country and western-sounding number which is popular with plenty of people here, including Graham Norton. 

Douwe says: “It's a protest song against society's demands on people these days.

"It seems everybody has too little time for too many things. And so do I.”

I’m with you there, Douwe.

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Gabriela Guncikova used songwriters Christian Schneider and Sara Biglert based in - you guessed it - Sweden, for her song I Stand. 

This is one of several power ballads sung by female performers tonight. Not that it's a bad thing, just an observation. 

She's shunned backing dancers and commands the stage by herself. I have to also point out her amazing rope and crystal necklace and skirt that changes colour with the set's lighting. Very Hunger Games.

"It is an amazing opportunity to represent my country and also introduce myself and my vision to the audience and make them feel better and entertain them,” she says.

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This is Laura Tesoro, aged 19, who started her career young, securing her first TV role aged eight, and by 11 was starring in Annie. 

She is sporting a lot of silver, as have several other Eurovision contestants. Her song is a good, poppy crowd-pleaser with a catchy hook and great brass backing. Slick backing dancers too.

And since you asked, here's what the song, What's the Pressure, is about. 

"It's about how the world around you is so crazy and about how you feel under so much pressure, but that in the end you have to stop worrying about stuff and just do what makes you happy," she says. 

So now you know.

Welcome to Stockholm's Globe arena, which holds an audience of 16,000 people, who in this case are extremely excitable Eurovision fans. 

Just check out those amazing catwalk outfits as the finalists strut their stuff. 

You're in good hands with your Swedish hosts - comedienne and actress Petra Mede and last year's Eurovision winner Mans Zelmerlow,

Mede has been pretty busy on the Eurovision front. She’s the first person to host the show twice since 1974, plus she hosted the BBC's Eurovision anniversary show with Graham Norton last year.

So this is a first for me. 

Free hugs in the press room - this guy is rushing around hugging as many people as he can. And not in a creepy way - he's just trying to make people smile.

I can't imagine this anywhere else, but somehow it works here.  

The Eurovision final is just hours away and it's really buzzing here as fans gather outside the stadium. 

The atmosphere feels familiar - it's very similar the London 2012 Olympics, which I was also lucky enough to work on for the BBC. It was brimming with optimism, friendliness and a real sense of nations coming together. 

This is just the same - but with more glitter. 

I promised you some fans this morning, and I didn't have to look far. 

Tracey Stuart and Alan Bishop, from Edinburgh, are here to support the UK, although their favourite entry is Bulgaria.  They've been coming to Eurovision since 2013. 

"I love the atmosphere and meeting everyone from all the different nations. Whoever wins will be our next holiday destination!" Tracey says. 

Alan adds: "Everyone's so easy to talk to - there's no barriers."

Margie Crouch, Reanna Craig and Adam Herd are from Brisbane, in Australia. 

But - they don't want their hotly tipped finalist Dami Im to win. 

"It's a great song but it's too serious," they say. 

"Australia brought the world Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and the thing we love about Eurovision is the silliness. 

"If we win it wouldn't be right - we can't host it. We're happy to have a token entry."

Sasha Lynch from London is frozen, and I'm not surprised. The weather has turned and it's blowing an icy gale outside. She's game enough to pose for a picture through. 

"I love how crazy it is, the fans get dressed up and I love the energy and positivity."

Carola Af Klinteberg and her son Erik have travelled from Sweden's Malmo to fly the flag for their country.

It's their second time at Eurovision and they love coming because "everyone's happy and it's a good show".

This animated group support mostly France, with a bit of Belgium and Russia thrown in for good measure. 

Gaultier Swietek, in the white jumper, says Russia will win, but Anthony Dernicourt begs to differ - he's the one wearing the Belgian flag on his face. 

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My latest scan of the latest Eurovision odds reveals that Russia are still the bookies' favourites, with odds of 4/6. 

Australia are still second with 3/1, followed by Ukraine [pictured] at 15/2. France is next with 12/1 and Sweden is at 20/1.

The UK is still 10th with 66/1, but it's in good company with the same odds going to the Netherlands and Belgium.  

I've just been asked by one of the hotel staff if I'm singing in tonight's Eurovision Song Contest. That has to be a compliment, right?

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I just grabbed a quick chat with UK hopefuls Joe and Jake as they left their hotel for more rounds of publicity and rehearsing. 

Jake, with his guitar slung over his shoulder, said: "We've spent the last six months working so hard for this - we're really excited."

They added it was "incredible on stage" last night, singing to a packed stadium at the jury vote performance.

This show, which isn't televised, is exactly the same as tonight's and generates 50% of the finalists' scores. 

Each of the 42 countries participating has five professional jury members, who cast their vote the night before the final.

This means that if there are any unexpected problems with the televoting, the jury votes can be used as back-ups.

So tonight, after the TV viewers have voted, the combined televote and jury vote will determine who wins. 

For those of you who like this sort of thing, here's a quick rundown on the new voting system (in case you missed it when it was announced in February).

Up until this year, each country's jury and public votes were combined and announced in one go. 

Now votes will be split - with each country's jury vote cast first, followed by the combined viewers' votes from all of the countries. 

Organisers say this will create a "dramatic finish" as the winner will only be revealed at the very end.

Nail-biting stuff.

It should be an improvement on previous years, when the winner was sometimes known for up to 20 minutes before the end of voting.

So the big day has finally dawned. 

All of those empty seats in the stadium will be full of fans, who will no doubt find it hard to contain their excitement. I hope to be meeting some later on, so watch this space.

And what's it been like covering this huge event from inside the Eurovision bubble?

I've seen what monumentally hard work it is for the performers, hosts and everyone involved with the show.  

The rehearsals, which are screened in the press room, are an exact replica of what the audience will see on the night. 

It's a slick operation - the Swedes evidently love Eurovision - so the pressure on everyone is immense, even if they're not showing it. 

With up to 200 million people watching this, including viewers from the US and China, no one wants to put a foot wrong. 

It's also interesting to see how seriously all the countries involved now seem to to take the competition.

The "novelty" acts of years gone by are absent. Many of the entrants have cut their teeth on shows like The Voice or X Factor. So for some of them, Eurovision is a stepping stone for their pop careers. 

And for the journalists? It's fun, but incredibly hard work. There's a lot going on, a lot to get your head around (I've been brushing up on the biogs for all 26 finalists) but also a lot of camaraderie.

Laptop being temperamental? Several offers of help are immediately offered. (Thank you Metro's Benny Royston). 

Everyone here patently loves covering such a massive, unique event and so the atmosphere is great fun. 

And should you want your make-up doing for the big night, help is at hand outside the press room. I've always fancied some false eyelashes...

It's a small world at Eurovision, and who should I find myself chatting to but Graham Norton.

While preparing his commentary for Saturday's extravaganza, he gave me his take on the questions I asked Ken Bruce earlier:

Q: How many Eurovisions have you done now?

A: This is my eighth.

Q: Which acts stand out for you this year?

A: I think Australia are going to do very well. I think they might win it - they're very good. Who else? I quite like the Netherlands, they're pretty good.

Q: What do you think of the production and computer graphics that accompany the performances? Do they detract from the music?

A: No. I know when Eurovision began it was just a red velvet curtain and some potted plants but the staging has become a big part of it. People used to bring on a donkey and a cart and a bridge and a waterfall - and we had a working stove with the Russian grannies a couple of years ago. 

So staging is now a big part of it and you vote for things that are beautifully staged here, because Mans Zelmerlow had amazing staging last year. The staging won it for him I would say. It was a good song but it wasn't the best song. 

I think this year there are some in-camera graphics that I can see because I'm watching them on a screen, and they can be seen on TV. But people in the auditorium can't see them and you think - hang on - if they can't see them then we might as well just do this on a green screen and have done with it. 

But I do think staging's vital.

Q: Do you ever sigh and think "not another Eurovision", or do you look forward to it?

A: This is only my eighth Eurovision so I do look forward to it - I love more or less everything about it. 

Q: Eurovision judging can be brutal - what do you think about Nicky Byrne not making it to the final?

A: It's just so horrible for him but it's Eurovision - you take your chances. I don't know why he didn't get through because he looks great, he sounded good. The reaction of the crowd in the room is a pretty good indicator of how things are going. But poor Nicky but the Eurovision bullet. 

BBC Radio 2's Ken Bruce, a veteran Eurovision commentator if ever there was one, was good enough to spare me five minutes. Here's what we chatted about:

Q: How many Eurovisions have you done now?

A: This is my 29th - hopefully I'll make it to 30 next year.

Q: Which acts stand out for you this year?

A: It does seem as if Russia are carrying it a lot ahead of themselves - they're still the frontrunners. 

But there is a similarity and common feel to all of this year's songs. We used to have more variety and it's more difficult to distinguish between them all this year.

Q: What do you think of the production and computer graphics that accompany the performances? Do they detract from the music?

A; It's still a song contest. Music and lyrics should be almost everything. The music has to be good, but it is lifted by the presentation. I like to think it's still more about the songs than the brightness of the lights. 

Q: Do you ever sigh and think "not another Eurovision", or do you look forward to it?

A: After each final that sigh goes out! But I'm still enjoying it - it's a great thing to do for one day a year.

Q: Eurovision judging can be brutal - what do you think about Ireland's Nicky Byrne not making it to the final?

A: My heart goes out to him - it's a tragedy. He's a lovely guy and it was a good song; he didn't deserve to be jettisoned. Nicky's got a reputation and a following and he put them on the line, it was a risk putting himself out there. It's a terrible shame.

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