EUROPEAN EXTRAVAGANZA

Naviband of Belarus performing the song Story of My Life during rehearsals for the Grand Final of the 62nd annual Eurovision Song Contest at the International Exhibition Centre in Kiev, Ukraine, on Friday. More than 200 million people were expected to watch the extravaganza yesterday, which pitted 42 nations in a contest in which glamour and a touch of the absurd create a spectacle embraced by generations of Europeans.