UK singer Josh Dubovie has now arrived in Oslo, one of the final contestants to make his way to Eurovision.

As one of the "Big Four" guaranteed a place in the Final, Dubovie wasn't required for early rehearsals for the two Semi Finals. All acts have now rehearsed at Telenor Arena.

Dubovie went to extraordinary lengths to make his way to Oslo, with ash from the Icelandic volcano threatening to impede his arrival. But Dubovie made a 36-hour trek on land and sea just to make sure he arrived safely. The 1000 or so miles he traversed was a lot tougher than the regular two-hour flight from London to Oslo.

He sailed via ferry from Harwich to Esbjerg, Denmark, then travelled by road to another ferry port, Hirtshals. From there he headed to Larvik in Norway, and took a coach to Oslo. Sounds like something out of The Amazing Race!

The song That Sounds Good to Me by Pete Waterman, Mike Stock, Steve Crosby has also had a bit of a re-work since Dubovie was chosen to represent the UK. It doesn't sound quite so '80s now.

At rehearsal he performed with three female backing vocalists atop a row of light boxes, and two males danced alongside him. There's a lot of white in the act, no doubt to make the most of the lighting for the song. No word yet on what Dubovie will wear.

SWEDEN:

Sweden's Anna Bergendahl will provide a point of difference as a solo guitarist-singer with her five backing vocalists. The melodic This Is My Life by Bobby Ljunggren and Kristian Lagerström should prove a popular contender. Anna's voice is distinct, strong and tells a story.

Sweden has won four times, including ABBA's legendary 1974 win with Waterloo. It won again in 1984, 1991 and 1999, but the last three years have been disappointing finishes.

A former Swedish Idol contestant, Anna will be the 50th entrant in EV for Sweden. This is My Life reached number one on the local charts in March and stayed there for four weeks. It will surely do well in Oslo.

For her performance the backing singers are some distance from Anna, fittingly giving her the main focus. Wait for the wind machine.

I'd go
Down the beaten track
Long the river
With an empty bag
At the end
She said to me
Why are you here
With the autumn leaves?
Cause this is my life, my friend
And this is my time to stand

ISRAEL:

Israel is always an interesting addition to Eurovision, where its music isn't driven by Euro-pop.

Last year was a beautiful duet There Must Be Another Way by Noa & Mira Awad. And how can we forget 1998's Dana International, the transgender performer who wowed them with Diva and won the Contest?

This year Harel Skaat (pictured) will perform the ballad "Milim" by Tomer Adaddi and Noam Horev. The title of the song means "Words."

The dashing Harel gives a dramatic performance even if most of the viewing audience won't be able to understand the Hebrew lyrics. Such is the power of a singer and a song, and Harel doesn't disappoint here. It's not hard to see why he is so popular in his home country.

In 2009, in an Israeli music poll for the best singer and song of the past decade, he finished in second place.

Harel is currently ranking very high in the online betting for Eurovision. One to watch.

שוב העצב כאן
שוב הפחד קם
והסוף נרקם
בחלוני
זגוגית סדוקה
ושוב שתיקה
מותשת וזרוקה
בדמיוני
האור נרדם
דמעות של דם
שורפות לי בגרון
ידית שרוטה
תקרה שמוטה
כשאני שר לך את השיר האחרון

GEORGIA:

This is only the third year Georgia has competed, having finished 12th and 11th.

Representing the country is Sofia Nizharadze who will sing Shine by Hanne Sorvaag, Harry Sommerdahl & Christian Leuzzi. Composer Hanne Sørvaag has also written the stirring My Heart is Yours for Norway this year. This one is a better song.

Europe is going to eat this one up. It ticks so many boxes. Great vocal, optimistic lyrics, broadly appealing and loaded with those big notes.

Sofia's experience goes back to the age of just three years old. Since then she has performed in musicals like Romeo and Juliet and Notre Dame De Paris and sung with José Carreras.

Her performance is accompanied by dancers, billowing smoke, a wind machine and fire.

Who can ever tell the color of a soul
And the memories we keep from long ago?
Do we ever really know each other’s past?
You can’t go back to before
But tomorrow will bring even more
Like the tide’s gonna turn you will know, when it’s cold
You’re on your own but you’re never alone
Shine, shine like the stars in the sky
Wipe your dust off your love, let it shine

Oslo is really getting into the spirit of Eurovision now. Banners are popping up all over the city.

A Eurovision Village has opened at Rådhusplassen (City Hall Square) in the heart of Oslo to allow the public to engage with the event. It was opened by the three presenters, Nadia, Haddy and Erik with performances by Norway's entrant, Didrik Solli-Tangen who sang My Heart is Yours, plus Niamh Kavanagh singing a dance version of It's For You before the flashmob dancers took over. Norweigan boyband A1 closed the show.

The traditional Welcome Reception for all the participants is up next followed by Dress Rehearsals and Semi Final 1.