VIENNA, April 30 -- A vibrating violin behind a fiery curtain, a Greek cruise ship singer and a song about star-crossed planets are among the favourites to win this year's Eurovision Song Contest.

The bookmakers put Finland's string-laden Flamethrower well ahead of the entries from Greece, Denmark, France and Australia, for now.

Here are the top five favourites to win the world's biggest talent show, held in Vienna on May 16.

Finland: a blazing violin

Linda Lampenius, a 56-year-old violinist, and 36-year-old pop singer Pete Parkkonen will try to strike a chord with the public with their passionate song Liekinheitin (Flamethrower), performed in Finnish.

The handsome dark-haired singer laments his unreturned love, while his counterpart...