Crowd go wild as contest rivals meet
Carola's wild night in Athens

Only a week after winning the Melodifestivalen and a ticket to represent Sweden for a third time, Carola last night played to a wildly enthusiastic crowd in a top Athens nightclub, where she was joined on stage by Eurovision Song Contest rival Anna Vissi, who she will hope to face at the international final in May.
The Swedish superstar gave a rousing rendition of her entry Invincible before handing back the microphone to Anna Vissi. Clearly as wowed at the Greek participant as the party-goers were at her, Carola said of Anna "she is a superstar". The crowd were whipped up into a frenzy by the surprise appearance, with perhaps two of the biggest musical stars of Sweden and Greece together on stage in the lead-up to the contest.

Time to socialise
Carola also found time to talk business with Greek commentator and 2005 national selection presenter Alexandra Pascolidou, who passed on valuable advice and tips which will hold her in good stead for this year's Eurovision Song Contest.

As well as performing together, Anna and Carola spent part of Saturday shopping together in the Greek capital, and met up together with Cypriot singer Annette Artani at the club.

Despite the hectic schedule in Athens, Carola did manage to find some time to herself - an essential breather before things get serious back in Sweden over the coming week, with important talks with SVT to make plans for Sweden's participation in May. Carola must still navigate through the international qualifier due to Martin Stenmarck's poor result for Sweden in Kyiv; and her confidence must no doubt be boosted by the reception she received in Athens.