LISBON - A peaceful Danish Viking, an Estonian soprano in a giant dress and an upbeat dance will be on display at Sunday's Eurovision final in Portugal, which is toning down the frills at the annual song contest.

Favorites include Cyprus' fiery song "Fuego" by Eleni Foureira and Israeli singer Netta Barzilai's "Toy", whose lyrics "I am not your toy" sum up the concerns of many women who have adopted the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment.

The 25-year-old former singer in the Israeli Navy band accompanies the up-tempo song with trills, clucking sounds and chicken-like dance moves.

Highlights will undoubtedly include Denmark's red-bearded Rasmussen, whose song is based on a legend about a Viking who refused to fight, and a special dress worn by Estonian soprano Elina Nechayeva which flows down from her waist, beyond her feet and out across the stage.

The dress comes to life with lightening displays and laser effects while she sings.

Eurovision was first held in 1956 with the aim of uniting Europe after World War II.

Today it has a combined global audience of around 200 million people - more than the Super Bowl in the United States - and has served as a global launching pad for the likes of ABBA and Celine Dion.

Despite an ever-increasing number of TV music contests such as Pop Idol, fans say the show - the longest-running international TV competition according to Guinness World Records - is in a category of its own.

"I love the different countries coming together," said Bhushan Joshi, a 35-year-old doctor from Sydney who came to Lisbon for the song contest.

Dozens of people gathered on Saturday morning at a "European Village" set up in the central Praca do Comercio, sitting on lounge chairs and discussing the upcoming final.

Portugal is hosting the event for the first time after its entry, jazzy solo ballad "Amar pelos dois" ("Love for two") by Salvador Sobral, won the contest last year in Ukraine.

Cash-strapped public broadcaster RTP has vowed to stage a more "theatrical" contest that makes less use of flashy electronic visual effects, following in the footsteps of Sobral who said after his win that "music is not fireworks, music is feeling".

This year's contest will cost around 20 million euros ($24 million) to stage, the lowest amount since 2008 when it started to have two semi-finals.

Sobral will perform his winning song from last year at the final with Brazilian music icon Caetano Veloso. - AFP