The Main Event: Who you are and what to bring

Right, here's what you've all been waiting for... it's time to announce the countries that have been allocated for Eurofiasco 2006!

What to Bring

But first - what do you need to, like, do? It's simple - you need to bring with you:

1. Most importantly, some Eurogrog from, or connected with, your country

2. Ideally, a small item of Eurofoodstuff in a similar vane

3. (and here we're stretching you slightly) some clothing, accessory or just something that means we know which corner of EBU-land you're hailing from on the night

4. A pound coin for the sweepstake [with a prize for the country coming first, and for the country coming last]

Prize Alert: the best-dressed (or accessorised, or just accompanied) will win a special prize on the night...

Drinking Alert: the rules are relatively simple: when your country is on, everyone should be imbibing your country's tipple. When the voting's on, it's down-your-drink-if-you-get-douze-points, basically.

The Countries

If you have a * next to your country then you're definitely in the final. If not, there's a chance that you may not be, however we'll work something out on the night and pair you up with another country. The draw is weighted towards the countries that are more likely to be in the Final, based on the ESCtoday Big Poll [read more at http://www.esctoday.com/news/read/6038]

Where you're paired up, or in a group, then you've got some of the less-likely-to-get-to-the-finals as well as a more likely one. However we don't want you skimping on the booze, hence having more countries. ;-)

Right, here goes, in no particular order (at all!):

Steve Taylor and friends - Latvia, Belarus and Albania

Lindsay and Alan - Romania*

Emma - France*

Chrissie and Karl - Iceland, Ireland

Romaine - Norway*

Marky Mark Loder - Malta*

Sweeney - Greece*

Ben - Bosnia & Herzegovina

Burton - FYR Macedonia

Alex - Moldova*

Dom - Slovenia

Clare - Denmark*

Jenna - Russia

Ruth, Fiona, Caroline - Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine

Aidan McCann/James McWilliams - Cyprus, Monaco

Maxwell - Estonia

Lee - Belgium

James Birkett - Armenia

Claire and Michael - Spain*, The Netherlands

Kate Bennett - Germany*

Mark Sambrook - Switzerland*

Paul Webb and friends - Israel*, Lithuania

Thomas - Croatia*

Steve Cross - Poland

David Mungall - Bulgaria

Hannah - Andorra

Matt Hay - Portugal

Claire - Finland

James - Iceland

If you want to know more about your country and judge your chances of winning the sweepstake (and how many drink-inducing douze points you may get), then there's everything you could ever want to know about the artist and their song, at http://www.esctoday.com/annual/2006/participants.php

If anyone else is coming, let me know and I'll sort them out accordingly!

Oh, and if you're wondering where the United Kingdom is... that's for the hosts. Come on Daz!

See you on the 20th... or the 18th if you can make it... but check back here for more news in the meantime