Nicky Byrne 'nervous' ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest in Stockholm

The former Westlife star jetted off to the Swedish capital today from Dublin airport to get stuck into days of intensive rehearsals, media appearances and promotional parties.

The 2fm presenter will strut his stuff on the second semi-final on May 12 with the hope of qualifying for the big event on the 14.

“I won’t be afraid of the stage but that doesn’t mean I won’t be nervous,” he told Independent.ie.

“Of course I will. It is the biggest stage around.”

With Russia’s entry Sergey Lazarev the hot favourite to take home the gold, Nicky is feeling the pressure to turn out a stellar performance.

The singer has already been busy promoting the song around Europe and recently appeared on Ukrainian television performing his song Sunlight.

With the contest just around the corner, the Dublin native is hoping his legions of Westlife fans will pick up the phone and vote.

“I think the Westlife fan base around the world will help a little bit,” he said.

“At the end of the day, it is a big competition and that will only take you so far.

“What you need is a great performance and a great song.”

While Nicky admitted the pop group released some questionable songs over the years, the fans have never let him down.

“The Westlife fans are great. Even when we released some dodgy songs over the years, they were the best in the world.

“During those years, we were lucky that when we were in competitions, when there was a public vote, they came out in droves.”