The Eurovision final will begin on Saturday night and the bookmakers believe they already know who the winner will be.
Croatia is expected to win, according to sportsbook BetMGM.
The Balkan country is predicted to win with their artist Baby Lasagne, real name Marko Purisic, at odds of 4/5, making them the current favourite.
So it could be bad news for British fans as statistics suggest UK contestant Olly Alexander is unlikely to win the competition after his performance was criticized for his “shaky voice” and raunchy routine in Tuesday night’s semifinals.
Elsewhere, Israel’s Eden Golan is likely to take second place, with odds of 11/4, after his candidate was voted into Saturday’s grand final last night despite mass pro-Palestinian protests.
The Eurovision final will begin on Saturday night and the bookmakers believe they already know who the winner will be (Baby Lasagne pictured)
Elsewhere, Israel’s Eden Golan is likely to take second place, with odds of 11/4, after his contestant was voted into Saturday’s grand final last night despite mass pro-Palestinian protests.
Singer Eden Golan performed her song ‘Hurricane’ in Thursday’s second semi-final in front of 9,000 spectators at the host city’s Malmo Arena, defying thousands of protesters marching for the Gaza war.
Thousands of protesters clamored in the streets of Malmo calling for his expulsion from the competition before the event, and 50 more arrived at the front of the arena before his performance and had to be dispersed by police officers.
But despite boos from the pro-Palestinian contingent in the crowd, Golan earned his place in the final thanks to votes from viewers.
On the other hand, Switzerland is also winning hearts with its singer Nemo, with a 15/4, despite finishing in 20th place last year.
Italian Angelina Mango follows closely at 7/1, having achieved an impressive fourth position in 2023.
Meanwhile, Ukraine, who won first place in 2022, have good odds with duo Alyona Alyona and Jerry Heil and are currently projected to place fourth at 9/1.
Ireland (12/1), Netherlands (14/1), France (25/1) and Israel (30/1) complete the expected top eight, followed by Finland and Greece (both 50/1) and hosts Sweden of this year. (80/1).
However, Britain’s Olly is an outsider to win, with unpromising odds of 150/1.
The UK last held the victorious title in 1997, when Katrina and the Waves hit number one with the song Love Shine a Light.
It was the fifth time the UK had taken the top spot after Bucks Fizz previously won in 1981 with the hit Making Up Your Mind.
The Eurovision semi-final concluded with some surprising results: Ireland celebrated their passage to Saturday night’s final, while Australia were sadly sent home despite debuting the first indigenous performance.
The top 10 acts were confirmed on Tuesday afternoon, after half of the countries’ representatives took to the stage in Malmo, Sweden, to fight for a place in the final.
Ireland came on stage with an extraordinary performance and went straight to the final, with many viewers even predicting that they could win the contest.
Bambie Thug, 31, a non-binary artist from County Cork, performed a spectacular performance of her song Doomsday Blue as they sang while performing a ritual surrounded by candles and were joined on stage by a dancer in demonic makeup and false teeth.
Baby Lasagna from Croatia immediately caught the public’s attention with their song Rim Tim Tagi Dim
So it could be bad news for British fans as statistics suggest UK contestant Olly Alexander is unlikely to win the competition after his performance was criticized for his “shaky voice” and raunchy routine in the semifinals Tuesday night.
Bambie Thug, 31, a non-binary artist from County Cork, performed a spectacular performance of her song Doomsday Blue as they sang while performing a ritual surrounded by candles and were joined on stage by a dancer in demonic makeup and false teeth.
In the photo, the Eurovision stage at the Malmo Arena.
Meanwhile, Croatia’s current favorite Baby Lasagna immediately caught the public’s attention with his song Rim Tim Tagi Dim.
The catchy tune is supposed to convey the stress of leaving home in search of a better opportunity, and some of its lyrics say, ‘Yeah, I’m a big boy now.’ I’m ready to go, ciao, mom, ciao.’
Olly Alexander has spoken out about the dramatic moment his Eurovision semi-final performance went wrong, after sparking concern among fans over his “shaky” voice.
The Years and Years singer, 33, spoke to Lorraine on Wednesday about the ‘wardrobe malfunction’ he suffered, after fans heard his song Dizzy.
Unfortunately, things started to go wrong when Olly’s microphone pack slipped out of his pants and started hanging behind him.
The star then had to continue the performance while trying to grab the package, which no doubt contributed to the less-than-perfect vocals that some fans complained about.
Last year Sweden was crowned the winner of Eurovision. Finland finished in second place, while Israel came in third.
Loreen, who performed for Sweden, looked delighted, while UK ambassador Mae Muller looked sad at coming second to last.
Immediately after coming off the stage, Loreen said: “It feels crazy. This is so surreal, man, I’m happy and grateful, I’m grateful to all of you who voted for me.
‘The only thing I feel now is a lot of love. Never in my wildest dreams did I think this was going to happen.’
He said sitting and listening to the votes was “very surreal.”
And he added: ‘I have lived this performance for six months. It’s been basically my whole life.’
Last year, bookmakers correctly predicted Sweden’s success.
In the odds for Eurovision 2023, Sweden was hailed as the leader with Loreen’s Tattoo, which had odds of 2/5 on Ladbrokes.
Switzerland will be represented by 24-year-old rapper Nemo with the song The Code.
Nemo said the song is about them realizing their own non-binary identity and they hope to stand up for “the entire LGBTQIA+ community” by entering the contest.
The artist, whose full name is Nemo Mettler, added that by accepting he ‘didn’t feel like a man or a woman… I had to break some codes.’
