The tension is building at the Abdi Ipekci Hall in Istanbul and with just one day to go before the preliminaries of the Eurovision Song Contest, Malta's entry is being touted as one of the favourite 10 countries set to qualify for the finals on Saturday night.
Julie and Ludwig, who will represent Malta with the song "On Again... Off Again", composed by Philip Vella and Gerard James Borg, have to battle stiff competition from 22 other countries in a qualifying heat tomorrow night.
Greece and Ukraine are the two favourites.
Maltasong chairman Grace Borg said that though the overall predictions were encouraging it was important for everybody to remain with their feet on the ground and not get carried away.
"I don't want to raise hopes. However I am confident that Julie and Ludwig will give it their best shot and give a great three minute performance. They have good stage presence, but at the end of the day it's not in our hands but in the hands of the public," she said.
Norman Hamilton, vice-president of International Federation of Festival Organisers (Fidof), said there was a high level of entries this year and Malta had to focus its energy on overcoming the first hurdle tomorrow night and winning over the international public.
For the first time in the history of the Eurovision the winner will be chosen by televoting only, in all the participating countries including Malta. Over 100 million viewers will create the largest music jury in the world.
Television viewers watching the live broadcast can vote for their favourite song by televoting, using SMS or phone votes. However, back-up juries are in place just in the event of any technical failure.
The Maltese duo are working hard on their moves and had a mock dress rehearsal at the hotel yesterday afternoon in anticipation of today's two dress rehearsals at Abdi Ipecki Hall.
Tomorrow's semi-final will be broadcast by 33 of the 36 competing countries taking part in Eurovision, which includes the finalists of Saturday's show. France, Poland and Russia are not broadcasting the live programme.
The names, but not the ranking, of the 10 countries which will go on to compete in the final will be brought on stage in blank, sealed envelopes and announced on the same night.
The envelopes will be picked at random. The first envelope selected will occupy the first empty space in the final's order of presentation, the second picked will occupy the second open place, and so on.
In order not to prejudice the public vote during the final, the actual scores of the 10 countries that make it to the show on Saturday will remain secret until after the end of the event.
The semi-finals, which will see the young Maltese duo singing in the eighth position, will be broadcast live on TVM tomorrow at 9 p.m.