Millions of people tuned in to an extravaganza of kitsch on Saturday as Europe set aside its financial worries for a few hours for the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest. The 55th edition of the annual talent contest was expected to draw more than 120 million viewers in 39 European countries but also as far afield as Myanmar, Australia and New Zealand, organisers said. It kicked off with Norwegian violinist Alexander Rybak performing 'Fairytale', the song that won him the contest last year. He was followed with the first entry in the competition, Azerbaijani diva Safura and her song 'Drip Drop'. With sexy divas, bare-chested bronzed playboys, exuberant costumes and sparkling light displays, no effort has been spared for the musical showdown, broadcast live from Telenor Arena near Oslo packed with 16,000 spectators. Bookmakers suggest Azerbaijan, Germany's Lena with her punchy ballad 'Satellite', Armenia's Eva Rivas with 'Apricot Stone' and Israel's Harel Skaat with 'Milim' have the best odds of winning the contest, described by Time magazine this week as having taken 'tacky to a new level for over 50 years.' Contest rules say the winning country hosts the following competition and -- with financially troubled Greece and Iceland, and a slew of Eastern European countries also, among bookmakers' favorites -- the cost of putting on the show is also grabbing the spotlight. Norway's public broadcaster NRK spent 200 million kroner (25 million euros, 30 million dollars) to host the show. It was less than the 32-million-euro bill footed by Russia last year but reports said NRK had to sell off its rights to broadcast the football World Cup in South Africa to finance the contest. 'The cost has become too much. I feel sorry for Azerbaijan or Moldova if they win. Where would they get the money?' said Eurovision expert Inge Solmo, who wrote the 'Absolutt Grand Prix' book about the contest. In a survey published this week in Norway, a rich country thanks to its oil reserves, 43 percent said the 200 million kroner spent on Eurovision was a waste of their television licensing fees. 'You can bet that the head of Greek public television and the minister of finance are hoping (Greek candidate) Giorgos Alkaios and his crew will reach a stellar second place tonight,' a columnist in daily Aftenposten wrote Saturday in an allusion to Athens' fiscal woes. 'A solution would be to organise a more economically sober Eurovision. But the terms Eurovision and austere are contradictory,' he added. As is the custom, the large European countries -- Germany, France, Britain and Spain -- are automatically qualified for the final, as is Norway as the host of the event. Bosnia-Hercegovina, Moldavia, Russia, Greece, Portugal, Belarus, Serbia, Belgium, Albania, Iceland, Georgia, Ukraine, Turkey, Israel, Ireland, Cyprus, Azerbaijan, Romania, Armenia and Denmark also made their way past the two qualifying rounds held Tuesday and Thursday. Sweden -- which first won the contest in 1974 with pop wonder ABBA's 'Waterloo'-- failed to make the finals for the first time in Eurovision history. With a total of 25 contenders, the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest will be declared at about 2200 GMT. The winning song is selected by specialist juries and by viewers voting by phone or text message in the 39 countries that took part in the contest. 