Saturday night is Eurovision night! I've cancelled all engagements, plumped the cushions on the sofa, ordered in the junk food and Fanta and invited around some gay friends.
I'm bracing for three hours of stupendously silly entertainment, the downright awful mixing with the merely passable.
For a contest all about cultural barriers both overcoming them and indulging in them, and taking delight in the hopelessness of others, it has become part of the folklore of the song contest that in its own small way, it does more for the EU than, well, the EU.
In late news, the genre-busting Finnish metal band Lordi have made it through to the final, telling fans they are pleased to be involved in the "pop concert". Betting sites are quoting the band at 3/1.
But the favourite to win is Greece's Anna Vissi, with Everything, which could have dire implications for the Athens city council given how expensive the event is to stage.
Against such rivals, it seems inconceivable that British act Daz, who compares poorly against past British winners with kid's song Teenage Life, will make much of an impact. Where's Chico when you need him?
Croatia's Severina will sing ''Moja Stikla,'' or''My High Heel,'' a song which she wrote herself. It includes the lyrics: ''hop, hop, hop, hop, come on, my chicken'' and ''red beet, red teet, Africa, paprika.''
Iceland's Silvia Night sings ''Congratulations,'' which includes the lines: ''born in Reykjavik in a different league/ no damn eurotrashfreak.'' I guess we will find out on the night.
For many the event has unfathomable appeal. Others just love it. ''It's the highlight of my year,'' said Nhan Chiem, an Australian corporate communications manager told Bloomberg. Chiem is in Athens to attend his second Eurovision final and says that he spent a year in Sweden after seeing the country promoted during a Eurovision contest. He says a big part of the Eurovision appeal is ''the wonderful charm of Europe, the different cultures and languages'.'
