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The Grand Final of the song contest will be
held on Saturday night in Liverpool, northern England, which is
hosting the event on behalf of last year’s winners Ukraine.
Twenty of the finalists have been endorsed by the public in two
semi-finals. They will be joined by Ukraine and the “Big Five”
of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain and Italy in the
final.
“Sweden are the short price favourite,” William Hill
spokesperson Lee Phelps told Reuters. “Loreen has won it before
– she’s kind of Eurovision royalty. We are expecting more money
to come for Sweden.”
Loreen, who triumphed in 2012 with “Euphoria”, is performing
“Tattoo” in her second contest.
Kaarija, the green bolero-sleeved singer from Finland whose
track “Cha Cha Cha” has gone down a storm in the arena, has also
been a very popular selection, Phelps said, and Ukraine “was up
there in the betting”.
He said Eurovision had grown and grown in popularity for wagers,
reflecting the rise of the global event.
The United Kingdom’s Mae Muller is not among the favourites, but
she was still attracting 12% of all bets, he said, adding that
the bookmaker is donating profits from Eurovision to
humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
Eurovision blogger William Lee Adams said capturing the
zeitgeist had been key to winning in recent years.
“They’re tapping into something that’s happening either
culturally or politically, something people can relate to in
that moment,” he said. “You may not be able to voice it, but you
feel it.”
Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra, who will perform again in the final,
reminded the world last year that the country’s culture had
existed for a long time and would continue to exist after the
war, he said, while Netta from Israel won in 2018 by singing
about female empowerment after the “me too” scandal.
(Reporting by Paul Sandle and Sarah Mills; Editing by David
Gregorio)
(Photo: Kaarija from Finland performs during
the first semi-final of the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest in
Liverpool, Britain, May 9, 2023. REUTERS/Phil Noble)
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