Acts from 43 countries, including Bulgaria, have converged in Dusseldorf, Germany for the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest, which will be launched on May 10.

Two semi-finals will whittle down the competition to 25 songs.

Bulgaria's contestant Polly Genova and her band will take part in the second semi-final of Eurovision on May 12 in Dusseldorf together with the performers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Slovakia, Ukraine, Moldova, Sweden, Cyprus, Macedonia, Israel, Slovenia, Romania, Estonia, Belarus, Latvia, Denmark, and Ireland.

The ultimate showdown has been scheduled on May 14.

Genova and her Bulgarian-language song "Na Inat" ("In Defiance") won the internal Bulgarian competition for Eurovision in February 2011.

After her first rehearsal last week, the young Bulgarian singer had her first press conference during which she managed to "enchant" international journalists, according to the Bulgarian National Television, which is in charge of Eurovision in Bulgaria.

The stage performance of Polly Genova's Na Inat song will feature the entire band in white, with a screen showing rain dripping down glass in the background. The final details of the performance such as the fireworks are still being worked out. The fireworks are supposed to mark the very end of the song performance.

Even though the fact that Polly Genova's song is not in English, which is said to be greatly reducing her chances to win Eurovision, the Bulgarian public and many foreigners have favored it because of its powerful message - urging young Bulgarians to stay and try to achieve their dreams in Bulgaria "in defiance" of all difficulties; the message is further perceived as being directed towards all young people encouraging them to fight for their dreams.

Bulgaria has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest six times since its debut in 2005, but it was only the duo Elitza and Stundzhi that brought success to the country and reached the finals in 2007.

After the initial excitement over their participation in the contest Bulgarians already consider the Eurovision experience to be either sloppy or dire, a competition decided mainly by politicial back-scratching.

Still amidst a period of effacement and chalga-risation of Bulgarian music, the intensity of Bulgaria's duo Elitsa and Stundzhi four years ago convinced many that the music jamboree still matters, at least as a medium of the traditional and authentic on a modern note.

The official Eurovision 2011 Video of Polly Genova's song "Na Inat" ("In Defiance") VIEW HERE

You can view Polly Genova's live TV final performance of her song "In Defiance" ("Na Inat") HERE; you can view an earlier video of the song HERE

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