IRELAND is joint favourite to win the Eurovision Song Contest this Saturday. RTE would be expected to host the event for the fifth time in six years should the Irish entry win.
Within' the warren of temporary structures that make up the Eurovision village at the Point Theatre in Dublin, the on site bookie, Paddy Power, has placed Ireland and Italy as joint favourites.
And it is not just the bookies predicting an Irish victory. The Eurovision fans who descend on Dublin for the contest every year and follow it as if it was a strange religious cult also favour Ireland. The fans tend to be good at selecting winners.
Frank McNamara, musical director of the contest, disagrees. But he still places Ireland in the top three, with Estonia and Germany.
Officially RTE wants to win again, bringing our total to a record eight victories. Why? "Because we like to win," chorused RTE's directors of television and radio, Mr Liam Miller and Mr Kevin Healy.
Unofficially RTE wants to come second, taking a large chunk of the honour without the expense of staging the three hour programme next year. RTE might have to spend at least £1 million of its own income and direct huge resources at the contest at a time when it faces increasing financial difficulties and growing competition.
This year's contest will cost £2.8 million, of which RTE contributes £1 million. A further £1 million comes from sponsorship and the balance from the European Broad casting Union.
Yesterday the Minister for Arts. Culture and the Gaeltacht, Mr Higgins, visited the Point. He toured backstage, the green room and the press area. He marvelled at the technology and the design of the show, which usually dominate the event.
The problem was not one of winning, said Mr Higgins, it was who paid. "If Ireland wins time and time again, then is it fair to have one country carrying all the cost?" he asked.
Anyway, it was not a question for him how RTE allocated resources, he said. "I am distanced from that by statute," he said.
Mr Higgins sat through the rehearsals of the Russian entry, and listened to Alla Pugacheva belting out Primadona.
The show was a great entertainment. We must not view culture in a hair shirt sort of way, he said.