Swedish singer Loreen is the hot favourite to be crowned winner in Liverpool this weekend in bwin’s Eurovision Song Contest 2023 odds.
The 39-year-old star is returning to compete for her country more than a decade after triumphing at the 2012 contest in Baku, Azerbaijan, with her dance-pop anthem Euphoria.
Loreen, who is 10/21 after coming through the first semi-final, is competing with her new track Tattoo, written by the same team behind Euphoria, after winning the Melodifestivalen competition – Sweden’s televised selection process for Eurovision.
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After the semi-final, Loreen said she did not feel like she needed to “prove” herself to the audience but added: “I do have a need to make you feel and for that I work my arse off.”
Finland sits in second place in the Eurovision 2023 betting odds at 11/4 for their act, rapper and singer Kaarija, who impressed in the semi-final with his track Cha Cha Cha.
He said he felt proud to be singing in his native language, adding: “It feels really great of course because in Finland we have many people who don’t believe you can go to Eurovision and have a Finnish song.
“I want to show and do my best. We can win if we have a Finnish song. That is why I am here.”
Holders eyeing repeat victory
Reigning champions Ukraine are currently third in the market at 11/1 for their latest entry, electronic duo Tvorchi, who will perform their song Heart Of Steel.
Last year, Ukrainian folk-rap group Kalush Orchestra swept to victory with their track Stefania.
The UK came in second place with singer-songwriter Sam Ryder’s uplifting pop song Space Man, giving the UK its best result for more than 20 years.
His success meant the UK was chosen to host this year’s competition on behalf of war-torn Ukraine as it continues to face the Russian invasion.
Mae Muller will attempt to follow in Ryder’s footsteps with her track I Wrote A Song, which features tongue-in-cheek lyrics about a cheating ex-boyfriend and a propulsive dance beat.
The 25-year-old singer has been given Eurovision winner odds of 66/1, currently putting her in joint-eighth place in the betting.
The biggest story from the semi-finals this week was Ireland’s Wild Youth failing to qualify for the Eurovision grand final, bringing an early end to their 2023 bid.
The Dublin band were among the five acts eliminated during the 15-strong first live semi-final of the week at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool.
Ireland has participated in Eurovision more than 50 times and has a record seven wins, but has failed to qualify for the final since Ryan O’Shaughnessy entered with his song Together in 2018.
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In the second semi-final, Greece, Denmark, Georgia, Iceland, San Marino and Romania failed to qualify.
None of the bookies’ favourites performed during Thursday night’s knock-out round, but a number of eye-catching acts still featured.
Belgium (66/1) with Gustaph performed Because Of You, a house music-flavoured dance track featuring euphoric piano stabs.
Wearing parachute pants and a wide-brimmed white hat, the vocalist was joined by backing singers with pink fans and a dancer performing a vogueing routine.
Polish pop singer Blanka made an impact with her track Solo, a summery tune with a catchy hook reminiscent of Ariana Grande’s music, and she could be a dark horse at 100/1 in the Eurovision odds.
How the Eurovision voting works
The Eurovision Song Contest is widely known for its fiendishly complex voting system.
To make things more complicated, the European Broadcasting Union, which produces the competition, has made some tweaks for the 2023 edition.
Viewers from all participating countries will be invited to vote for their favourite songs on the night of the grand finale. Fans can vote over the phone, by text or via the Eurovision app.
Each person can vote up to 20 times but voters will be unable to select their own country’s entry.
The public votes make up 50% of the total vote, with the other half determined by a professional jury in each participating country.
The experts’ scores are based on the Friday night jury final performances, which are not usually televised.
After viewers have cast their votes, a national spokesperson from the participating countries will be called in to present the points of their professional jury – which range from the maximum “douze points” (12) to zero.
After the presentation of the scores from the juries, the public points from all participating countries will be combined, providing one score for each song.
What has changed this year?
As of 2023, only viewers’ votes will decide which countries qualify onwards from the semi-finals stage.
This means that acts will not have to face the judges until they reach the grand final stage.
For the first time in the competition’s nearly seven-decade history, people from countries outside the contest will be able to vote online and on the app.
Their votes will be converted into points that will have the same weight as one participating country in both of the semi-finals and the grand final.
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