Dressed like a groom and crooning I Do, Fabrizio Faniello will melt many a woman's heart, but it has yet to be seen whether he will charm the viewers of tonight's Eurovision Song Contest - so far the chemistry is weak.

Despite his attempts to put on a good show, the spark is just not there and established betting companies are placing Malta in 19th place - far from the top 10 positions the island covets.

However, whatever the state of affairs, there is no clear winner this year and the festival has been bursting with surprises from Lithuania's qualification with the song We Are The Winners (of the Eurovision) to Finland's monster act with Hard Rock Hallelujah. The fact that Belgium and Cyprus failed to qualify for the final also astonished fans.

The Olympic Arena was yesterday buzzing with activity as the 24 finalists took to the stage for two dress rehearsals and a full run of tonight's show, which will be hosted by Sakis Rouvas and Maria Menounos.

The rehearsals started with a spectacular show followed by a performance by last year's winner Helena Paparizou. Switzerland's band Six4One, which sees the participation of Maltese singer Keith Camilleri, were first of the contestants to take the stage but there was a technical fault with the sound in the hall, so they had two takes.

It was the first time that Fabrizio Faniello wore his outfit on stage, after the involvement of three stylists and a number of complications that arose over the choice of clothes he should wear delayed the final decision.

The Maltasong committee had to bring in a third stylist, recommended by the Greek delegation, at the last minute after the Greek person brought on board let them down.

The final decision rested on an outfit that presents the singer as a groom - black trousers, white shirt, satin sash and a black and brown waistcoat complete with a yellow rose in his lapel. The four dancers looked flashy in gold, sparkly cropped tops and knee-length trousers.

One of the dancers had twisted her ankle the previous night but still managed to put on a good show. Fabrizio Faniello performed well and he oozed charisma. However, albeit being one of the better acts so far, it is failing to convince and two popular websites - www.escesctoday.com and www.doteurovision.com - were not impressed.

"His vocal lacks power at the moment, although he may be keeping some in reserve for when it counts. On screen, his choice of costume seems to age him... he looks more like he is dressed for a wedding disco than a Eurovision performance. Otherwise, the routine was performed well and he was popular in the hall," esctoday commented.

Doteurovision said: "Generally not that impressive today were the entrants from Malta, Norway and Romania. Fabrizio fails to convince vocally and the song sounds and looks dated".

Meanwhile, the Maltese website, www.di-ve.com, are carrying a poll on his attire and until yesterday afternoon 57 per cent thought "he looks like an ghannej (a folk singer)", 21 per cent felt it was not the singer's style, 14 per cent felt it was stylish, and seven per cent thought it was too formal.

Tonight's show, which will be broadcast live on TVM at 9 p.m., will see 24 countries perform in this order: Switzerland, Moldova, Israel, Latvia, Norway, Spain, Malta, Germany, Denmark, Russia, FYR Macedonia, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lithuania, the UK, Greece, Finland, Ukraine, France, Croatia, Ireland, Sweden, Turkey and Armenia.

Those who wish to vote for their favourite song tonight can dial 5004 32 before the two digits of the song or send an SMS on 5061 55 with the two numbers of the entry at the end.

Hamilton Travel made this coverage possible

No clear winner

This year there seems to be no clear winner of the Eurovision and there is the feeling among many that 2006 is the year for change. Betting companies are offering the best odds on Sweden, Greece, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania and Russia. A vox pop among journalists in the Olympic Arena's press centre in Athens failed to shed any light and they had mostly differing views on who should win. These were their comments:

Noah Bajric from Bosnia. "Lithuania surprised everyone by qualifying for the final and then there's Lordi's act to deal with - quite a few gimmicks. I have a feeling this will be the year of protest votes."

Igor Vojnovski, from Macedonia. "I think Bosnia and Herzegovina will win. We were expecting

Finland to do well, but Lithuania? They're trying to get the votes from those not interested in the Eurovision, so good luck to them."

David Onion, from the UK. "I think Sweden will win - it's a fabulous song and the performance is amazing. On the other hand I placed bets on Lithuania and Finland so I wouldn't mind if either one won. If people are watching the Eurovision at a party, having a drink, then there's a good chance one of these entries will grab their attention."

Diana Mnatsakanyan, from Armenia. "I think Romania will win. I don't like Lithuania, but Lordi's show is impressive and they could be winners. Their act will certainly remain one of the most memorable ones."

Valentia Todorovska, from Macedonia. "I think Croatia's Severina will steal the show. She's hot and it's something different."

Desire Vesenik, from Slovenia. "I think Bosnia and Herzegovina will win because it's the best in terms of quality and performance. With Cyprus out of the game they don't have much competition. I'm happy Lithuania and Finland qualified. The contest needs something different, because there's too many songs that sound the same."

Hijlco Spam, from Holland. "I'm hoping and thinking

Germany will win - it's fresh, different and easy to sing along to without being kitsch. I like Lithuania's joke. I also think that people who love to hate the Eurovision will vote for Lordi, but if they win we risk having 24 freak acts next year."

Paul Henley, from the UK. "I believe Greece will win - Anna Vissi is what the Eurovision is about and she's the only one who has the nerve to appear on stage on her own. She's got presence."

Fabrizio Faniello performs the song I Do during a dress rehearsal of the 2006 Eurovision song contest final in Athens Olympic indoor arena yesterday.