Europeans vie for pop dominance at song contest

[June 01, 2010]  OSLO, Norway (AP) -- Musicians from 25 countries are vying for pop supremacy in the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest, but the annual extravaganza is being hurt by the continent's financial woes.

The Eurovision final on Saturday is expected to be watched by 125 million TV viewers and is Europe's largest song competition.

Bookmakers favor Azerbaijan's 17-year-old chanteuse Safura, but a Google Eurovision predictor program has projected that Germany's Lena Meyer-Landrut will win.

The 55th songfest has been hit by the continent's mounting financial troubles, as several countries have pulled out, including the Czech Republic, Montenegro, Andorra and Hungary.

Norway is hosting the 2010 contest after its boyish fiddler Alexander Rybak won last year.

[Associated Press]

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