Once upon a time Eurovision was fairly unpredictable. Now however, in the age of Youtube, social media and jury voting, it’s pretty easy to work out who will get the most points. So who should your money be on?
The Favourites
According to the bookies there’s only three real contenders this year; Sweden (3-2), Russia (3-1) and Italy (7-2). Australia (9-1) and Belgium also stand a chance with the odds on the latter slashed from over 60-1 before the semi finals to just 6-1 now!
Dark Horses
After winning their national final with almost 80% of the vote Estonia were looking pretty good to the bookies until they dramatically dropped out of the top 5 this week and now hover around 25-1. Serbia on the other hand have moved considerably further up the table; with some bookies offering odds over 150-1 last week, Bojana will only win you 30 quid for each pound or euro you bet now! Also in with a chance of filling out the Top 10 are Norway (28-1), Latvia (40-1) and Azerbaijan (50-1).
Middle of the Road
Having finally seen the error of their ways, bettors appear to have given up on the UK whose odds were around 90-1 this morning. Similarly, Slovenia (60-1) no longer look likely to break the Top 10 despite being fairly popular with the bookies until now. Israel (50-1), Spain (60-1) and Georgia (80-1) also seem unlikely to make a big impression but should just about manage to finish on the left side of the results table.
Unlikely
In a year full of ballads Greece (100-1), Albania (also 100-1) and France (125-1) have apparently failed to inspire the betting public. They are joined by Cyprus (105-1), Romania (110-1) and Hungary (110-1) in the group least likely to win, but still with a fair chance of avoiding nul points.
No-Hopers
And of course finally there’s the bottom of the table, the acts so forgettable that there’s a very good chance they won’t get any points at all. Interestingly, this group features some of the more diverse acts including same-sex couple supporting Lithuania (125-1), Turkey-baiting Armenia (125-1) and Poland’s wheelchair bound Monika Kuszyńska (175-1). On Thursday night Germany’s Ann Sophie (175-1) warned us she was feeling under the weather but at 125-1 last week she was never looking likely to win big anyway. Hosts Austria are in serious danger of going from first to last at 150-1 with Montenegro (175-1) also likely to join them near the bottom of the table.
Of course, Eurovision is about more than just the bookies opinion – and the bookies don’t always get it right! Why not found out who you should be voting for and let us know in the comments!