The stage is set for the biggest ever event to be held in Serbia.

The final of the Eurovision Song Contest will have a television audience of millions, while thousands will be at the venue itself in the capital.

”People are smiling more, you see locals walking around looking much happier than normal,” Belgrade artist Predrag Miladinovic says.

“Eurovision has given us a good energy.”

In the main shopping street, Predrag sells comic pictures of Slavic men with big moustaches alongside Eurovision t-shirts.

With the spotlight on Serbia, he hopes that for visitors the competition will improve the country’s tarnished image.

”Foreigners are able to see a different face of Serbia. They will understand that we are different to what they imagine,” he says.

”We have a big crisis here in Serbia but we are glad to host Eurovision and to show that we should be part of Europe,” 23-year-old Yelena says, who is one of the army of volunteers working at the contest.

Many people in Western Europe may sneer at the cheesy glitz and dubious performances associated with Eurovision.

Eurovision week kicked off with an open air concert in the grounds of an ancient fortress.

It featured acts mostly from the east, including Ruslana, the Ukrainian winner of Eurovision in 2004.

For many of those watching the concert, there is a sense of pride about putting on the Eurovision competition.

”We hope that people who come will see the beauty of our country and take the best of Serbia to their country,” Dejan, a student from Belgrade, says.

Belgrade is famous in the region for being the party capital of the Balkans. This is something which is being heavily promoted.

Source: bbc

written by Flory