In a blaze of laser lights, artists from 26 countries were preparing to rip the roof off at Saturday's Eurovision Song Contest final, the world's biggest live music television event.

An estimated 160 million people across Europe and beyond are expected to tune in for the TV extravaganza, where kitsch, drama, pyrotechnics and histrionics take centre stage.

Sweden has long been the bookmakers' hot favourite to win the 69th edition of the glitzy contest with the comedy trio KAJ's "Bara Bada Bastu" song on the delights of sweating it out in a sauna.

But after two semi-finals and strong performances, Austria, France, Finland, the Netherlands and Israel are fancying their chances of causing an upset at the St. Jakobshalle arena in Basel.

And there could always be a surprise in store, with Estonia, Albania and host Switzerland all thought to have an outside chance when the viewers' votes come in.

Mystery also surrounds whether Canadian megastar Celine Dion -- who won Eurovision in 1988 when competing for Switzerland -- might make an emotion-drenched return, despite concerns around her struggles with Stiff Person Syndrome, a painful autoimmune........

© International Business Times