Doran prepares for song contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is here again and its bizarre appeal is probably down to the fact that up to 100 million people will watch it tonight, though surely we should know the terrible routine after 48 years of it.
Apparently not.
Step forward Waterford's Chris Doran.
The 24-year-old is flying the flag for us this time around, singing If the World Stops Turning at Istanbul's Abdi Ipekçi Arena tonight.
And he fancies his chances tonight of joining the Logans, Martins and Danas of this world.
"We have a great chance of winning it, really we do," he said last night.
"It seems to be the year for the ballads. We could very well be lucky and could well win it.
"A lot of the songs sound the same but the semi-final showed us that it's not about ripping off jackets or the dance it's about the song.
"It's a song contest at the end of the day and it's about the song, not the gimmicks."
"Definitely our song is better than a lot of them. It's a good song and it's catchy. And it's been going down very well over here.
"The first rehearsal went very well last Monday and the second went even better. The stage is amazing and it's great to perform on. Everyone seems to like the song. Loads of people have been trying to get photographs with us, even the other singers."
The mood among the 600 Irish fans here is also very upbeat.
And while Chris believes the main competition will be from Greece or the Ukraine, fans from his native Waterford and elsewhere who have travelled can only see one result.
"We're already looking forward to the Eurovision in Waterford next year," said Tina Burns.
"Four of us came out here to support Chris. It's our first girlie holiday and it won't be our last."
A nation holds its breath ...
The 49th Eurovision Song Contest is on RTÉ 1 tonight at 8pm.
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