Surprisingly, the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest is less than three weeks away. Only 18 days to go until all the peaceful negotiations that Europe’s leaders have involved themselves in over the last year are ripped apart in a frenzy of dancing, singing and, well, weirdness.

hecklerspray have again teamed up with Betfair.com to look at the countries taking part, their songs and their odds of winning. We’ll start where we should – at the top of the alphabet.

So today, let’s look at Albania, Andorra and Austria…

Albania (pop. 3,582,205; a Mediterranean country in southeastern Europe)

Singing for Albania this year will be Ledina Celo, a sultry Shakira lookalike. Her song will be Neser Shkoj (I’ll Go Tomorrow). It’s a traditional-style Albanian song about weddings. Lyrically, it’s all dresses and crying and "Di di da di di da". Current odds – 79/1

Andorra (pop. 70,787; a small landlocked country that is also a principality in southwestern Europe)

Singing for Andorra will be Marian Van Der Wal, a woman with a very interesting neck. She’s singing La Mirada Interior (The Inside Look). It’s about "opening your heart" and "looking inside yourself", hopefully not to meant literally. That would be disgusting. Current odds – 449/1

Austria (pop. 8,150,836; a landlocked country in central Europe)

Singing for Austria will be Global.Kryner, a group of six musicians rocking the traditional beer-tent Oberkrainer vibe. They’ll perform Y Asi, a song about a girl from Cuba who watches some Austrians dance and then learns to yodel. Seriously. Current odds – 219/1

We’ll be listing all the other Eurovision entries in the run-up to the contest. If you can’t wait, head over to the ’special bets’ section of Betfair.com to see all the contenders. The things we do for you…

Sign up with Betfair.com and get free bets! Enter the promotional code WEB111 for £10 free or WEB222 for £20 free.

[story by Stuart Heritage]