BBC
Disaster for Olly Alexander at Eurovision
Eurovision Betting Trends: UK Shows No Faith in Olly Alexander as Odds Plummet to 250/1…
United Kingdom’s poor recent history – barring Sam Ryder – in the Eurovision looks set to continue this weekend, as per the bookmakers’ projections. The latest odds have Olly Alexander at a massive 250/1 to win on Saturday, translating into a 0.4% implied probability of victory.
As well as being shown no faith by the bookmakers, the sentiment is shared with Eurovision bettors in the United Kingdom. Only 2% of bets on the Eurovision winner market this week have backed the United Kingdom to win, compared to 2023, where 9% of the bets had backed the UK.
Oddschecker’s Leon Blackman:
“Eurovision bettors in the UK have shown no faith in Olly Alexander to win this Saturday, picking up a mere 2% of the total bet share on Oddschecker. This figure is down from 8% in 2023 in the UK which backed Mae Muller to win. Olly Alexander’s odds are currently 250/1 to win, implying a 0.4% chance of victory on Saturday. Analysing the betting data on Oddschecker in Ireland, there is clear support for their nation to do well Saturday night. Bambie Thug is the most popular bet to win Eurovision in Ireland this week, picking up an impressive 31% of the bet share. Ireland currently stand as sixth-favourites in the betting at odds of 25/1.”
Compared to Ireland, the trends are the polar opposite, 31% of the bets placed in Ireland on Oddschecker have backed their nation to win on Saturday. Ireland currently stand as sixth-favourites on Oddschecker at odds of 25/1, implying a 3.8% chance of victory.
Croatia is the betting favourites as it stands at 10/11, followed by Israel (3/1), Switzerland (7/1), France (14/1), and Ukraine (20/1).
|
Eurovision Winner
|
Odds
|
Implied Probability
|
% of bets this week in the UK
|
|
Croatia
|
10/11
|
52.4%
|
18
|
|
Israel
|
3/1
|
25%
|
17
|
|
Switzerland
|
7/1
|
12.5%
|
7
|
|
France
|
14/1
|
6.7%
|
3
|
|
Ukraine
|
20/1
|
4.8%
|
4
|
|
Ireland
|
25/1
|
3.8%
|
12
|
|
Italy
|
50/1
|
2%
|
3
|
|
Netherlands
|
66/1
|
1.5%
|
11
|
|
United Kingdom
|
250/1
|
0.4%
|
2
|
TV Critic Vivian Summers has watched the acts and notes ‘While we generally view Eurovision as a bit of fun, other countries take it very seriously. Many also have a little more conservative values, although how that will fair with Ireland’s offering remains to be seen, maybe wild witches is acceptable – however I don’t think Olly’s singing is the problem, the dirty dancing – same for Spain – will probably see both those countries perform badly, despite good songs and voice.’
