The grand final of the 64th Eurovision Song Contest will take place on Saturday, 18 May in Tel Aviv, Israel, with the semi-finals held on Tuesday 14 and Thursday 16 May, Euronews reports.
Of the 41 competing countries, the current favourite is the Netherlands, at odds of 2/1, with Duncan Laurence looking to bag the Dutch a fifth win with his song Arcade. The country last won in 1975. Second favourite this year is, according to odds, Russia.
Bulgaria and Ukraine will not participate in this year’s contest for the first time since 2015 – Bulgaria for financial reasons, while Ukraine could not get the winner of a very controversial national selection competition to sign the contract, and their second and third choices refused to go to Tel Aviv.
There has been much controversy this year around the location, with various musical artists urging contestants to boycott the event over Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the violence there, and Israel retaliating with a PR campaign in response.
Australia
Artist: Kate Miller-Heidke, who co-wrote the music and lyrics for the stage production Muriel’s Wedding: The Musical – which also features, of course, music from Eurovision royalty Abba.
Song: Zero Gravity
Odds: 2%
Public reaction: Kate was crowned the winner of Eurovision – Australia Decides after running away with the points from both public and jury.
Greece
Artist: Katerine Duska, often referred to as “Greek Amy Winehouse”. This Greek-Canadian singer-songwriter based in Athens rose to fame with her cover of the Arctic Monkeys’ hit “Do I Wanna Know”.
Song: Better Love
Odds: 2%
Public reaction: Duska was very well received by bloggers after the first rehearsals in Tel Aviv, although Pink Floyd legend Roger Waters did ask her not to participate in the contest due to the conflict in the Middle East.
Hungary
Artist: Joci Pápai, who is heading to Eurovision for the second time, after finishing in 8th place in 2017.
Song: Az én apám (My Father)
Odds: Less than 1%
Public reaction: Both the professional jury and the public voted for this song in the national round.
Israel
Artist: Kobi Marimi, is an actor who began his singing career only recently. He won the sixth season of HaKokhav HaBa, an Israeli interactive reality singing competition, which earned him the right to represent the country in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019.
Song: Home
Odds: Less than 1%
Public reaction: Marimi won his place at Eurovision through a reality singing contest, Rising Star, so it’s fair to say he’s a hit with the public, becoming something of a nation’s sweetheart. His song Home, however, received mixed reviews. In response to the criticism, last year’s Eurovision winner Netta came out in support of the singer on social media, saying she had a similar experience with her contest-winning song Toy.
Albania
Artist: Jonida Maliqi is also a presenter on Albanian television.
Song: Ktheju tokës
Odds: 1%
Reaction: After the first rehearsals in Tel Aviv, Eurovision bloggers said Maliqi had one of the best voices in the competition. The rehearsal was beset with technical problems however, so hopefully, the team will have better luck in the semi-finals.
Armenia
Artist: Srbuk, a star of X Factor Armenia and The Voice: Ukraine, has become one of the most popular musical acts in Armenia, and is a familiar face at music festivals and public events.
Song: Walking Out
Odds: 1%
Reaction: Reviewers say Srbuk’s voice is powerful – the song, however, has has mixed reviews.
Austria
Artist: PAENDA, whose style is a mix of electro, hip hop, pop and techno.
Song: Limits
Odds: Less than 1%
Public reaction: Reviewers say the song, written by PAENDA, works well with her singing style. But critics think there is not enough going on in the song itself.
Azerbaijan
Artist: Chingiz, who was born in Moscow and moved to Azerbaijan when he was six years old. Chingiz won the Azerbaijani version of Pop Idol and participated in The Voice: Ukraine.
Song: Truth
Odds: 8%
Public reaction: Chingiz had tremendous support from the jury and viewers of the show.
Belarus
Artist: ZENA, who is a social media star with more than 93,000 subscribers on Instagram and more than 15 million views on YouTube. She was a finalist at the 2015 Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Minsk and came in third place in 2016.
Song: Like It
Odds: Less than 1%
Public reaction: Zena dances in her performance as well as singing, which has won her many fans at home.
Belgium
Artist: Eliot, who is 18, was discovered as a musician in season 7 of The Voice Belgique. He says his passion is for English pop and melancholy songs.
Song: Wake Up
Odds: 1%
Public reaction: Eliot says Wake Up is a call to young people to be active and rally together for a better world. Reviewers got his point, calling the song meaningful as well as catchy.
Croatia
Artist: Roko, who has just turned 19, started his career at an early age, participating in Croatia’s Got Talent.
Song: The Dream
Odds: Less than 1%
Public reaction: The song might not be for everyone, but reviews agree Roko sounds great.
Cyprus
Artist: Tamta, who was born and raised in Georgia and moved to Greece at the age of 22. She first became popular participating in Super Idol Greece in 2004. By 2014 she was a judge on X Factor Georgia and judged The X Factor Greece in 2016, making her popular in both countries.
Song: Replay
Odds: 3%
Public reaction: A party song, perfect for a night out in Tel Aviv.
Czech Republic
Artist: Lake Malawi are an indie-pop band, founded by Albert Černý in 2013. The band’s name was inspired by a Bon Iver song, strengthening their indie credentials.
Song: Friend of a Friend
Odds: 1%
Public reaction: A clean performance at reheerasals means the group is predicted to do well.
Denmark
Artist: Leonora, a woman of many talents. As a figure skater, she has won the Danish championship three times and also participated in the Junior World Championship and Nordic Championship. She will sing her song Love is Forever in four languages.
Song: Love Is Forever
Odds: 1%
Public reaction: Audiences said the song was cute with a nice vibe and a positive message we all need, but not quite catchy enough.
Estonia
Artist: Victor Crone, who is actually a Swedish musician, but currently based in Estonia. He hopes to make his adopted country proud.
Song: Storm
Odds: Less than 1%
Public reaction: Crone feels Storm should be open to the interpretation of the listener but says the song is about: “weathering hard times – and knowing that they will eventually come to an end”. Reviewers seem to agree that it has a deeper meaning than its lightness would suggest.
Finland
Artist: Darude, one of the most successful of modern Finnish artists and writer of the 2000 international mega-hit Sandstorm will perform with singer and actor Sebastian Rejman.
Song: Look Away
Odds: Less than 1%
Public reaction: This mutli-talented pair have been very well received by the Finnish public.
France
Artist: Bilal Hassani
Song: Roi
Odds: 2%
Public reaction: Bilal, 19, is already an online star with a huge community of followers and millions of song views. But since being selected for Eurovision he has been the target of cyber harassment over his sexuaility as well as his wig and makeup, and his Moroccan origins. But Bilal says the only thing that scares him is to sing in front of 200 million people.
North Macedonia
Artist: Tamara Todevska, one of the best-selling female artists in her country. She will dedicate her song Proud to her two children.
Song: Proud
Odds: 1%
Public reaction: Both the song and Todovska’s performance received excellent reviews from the audience.
Germany
Artist: S!sters, consists of Carlotta Truman and Laurita Kästel, who are not in fact sisters.
Song: Sister
Odds: Less than 1%
Public reaction: The jury and public both voted for the song during the national competition to represent Germany in Tel Aviv, however, it gets mixed reviews among audiences. Some say it isn’t a “Eurovision song” while others applaud its message about female friendship.
Georgia
Artist: Oto Nemsadze, who won this year’s Georgian Idol.
Song: Keep on Going
Odds: Less than 1%
Public reaction: While a powerful song for the Georgian audience, this might not necessarily be the case for international Eurovision fans.
Iceland
Artist: Hatari, a BDSM, techno-dystopian, performance art collective founded in 2015 in Reykjavik say they are entering Eurovision to bring down capitalism.
Song: Hatrið mun sigra (Hate Will Prevail)
Odds: 4%
Public reaction: Already easily the most extreme of Eurovision performances this year.
Ireland
Artist: Sarah McTernan
Song: 22
Odds: Less than 1%
Public reaction: Audiences have enjoyed this memorable, positive song and McTernan’s performance but, according to the odds, it doesn’t stand much of a chance.
Italy
Artist: Mahmood, whose real name is Alessandro Mahmoud, was born in Milan to an Italian-Egyptian family and won the prestigious Sanremo festival with the song he will sing at Eurovision.
Song: Soldi
Odds: 9%
Public reaction: After Sanremo, the track immediately became a mega-hit in Italy, topping the charts.
Latvia
Artist: Carousel, a band founded in 2015.
Song: That Night
Odds: Less than 1%
Public reaction: According to bloggers, a beautiful tune and great lyrics still might not be enough for Latvia to get to this year’s final.
Lithuania
Artist: Jurij Veklenko, who rose to fame via a number of Lithuanian TV shows. It’s not his first time at Eurovision Song Contest either – he has twice performed as a backing vocalist.
Song: Run With The Lions
Odds: Less than 1%
Public reaction: Run With The Lions gained the highest points from both the jury and the viewers.
Malta
Artist: Michela, who has only just turned 18, performs in a wide range of genres from pop and country to soul.
Song: Chameleon
Odds: 4%
Public reaction: The colourful performance Malta has in store for the Euronews audience this year is very likely to get its attention.
Moldova
Artist: Anna Odobescu performed with a jazz orchestra before becoming a vocal coach.
Song: Stay
Odds: Less than 1%
Public reaction: Odobescu’s performance gets great reviews from the Eurovision fans and bloggers, however the song itself is not thought to be that strong.
Montenegro
Artist: D mol is a young Montenegrin music group formed at a private music school. Their mentor Daniel Alibabic is a former member of No Name, Montenegro’s participant for the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest in Kyiv.
Song: Heaven
Odds: Less than 1%
Public reaction: The song seems to be reaching neither the audience nor the bookmakers. The first rehearsals revealed the band remains enthusiastic. Maybe their live show in Tel Aviv will win more hearts!
The Netherlands
Artist: Duncan Laurence, who won a talent show when he was 16, landing the opportunity to record his first demo.
Song: Arcade
Odds: 25%
Public reaction: If Laurence’s performance in Tel Aviv matches its expectations, he has a great chance of winning.
Norway
Artist: KEiiNO was founded in 2018 specifically to compete for the chance to represent Norway at Eurovision, and consists of Sami songwriter and rapper Fred Buljo, and Norwegian singers Alexandra Rotan and Tom Hugo.
Song: Spirit in the Sky
Odds: 1%
Public reaction: Spirit in the Sky has rocketed to the top of the Norwegian charts.
Poland
Artist: Tulia’s fame began in 2017, when Depeche Mode published the band’s folk version of their Nineties hit Enjoy the Silence on their official fan page. The band sings in a unique style of Polish folk called “śpiewokrzyk” – which means “screaming sing”.
Song: Fire of Love (Pali się)
Odds: Less than 1%
Public reaction: Audiences have been going mad for it.
Portugal
Artist: Conan Osiris, a singer, dancer, songwriter, composer and producer.
Song: Telemóveis
Odds: 1%
Public reaction: Telemóveis won the competition with the maximum number of points form both the jury and audience.
Romania
Artist: Ester Peony, who studied jazz in Bucharest. She composes for mainstream and underground musicians and is also famous for her covers. Her first single Sub aripa ta got 16 million views on YouTube.
Song: On a Sunday
Odds: Less than 1%
Public reaction: Peony tells a sad love story with class, and Eurovision’s audience might give it more love than the bookmakers.
Russia
Artist: Sergey Lazarev, who will represent Russia for the second time. He started his music career as a child and later formed a popular duo called Smash! with his friend Vlad Topalov. Lazarev finished in third place at Eurovision 2016 in Stockholm.
Song: Scream
Odds: 12%
Public reaction: Bloggers say the performance is modern and well staged and the song has been well received by journalists in Tel Aviv.
San Marino
Artist: Serhat, who is of Turkish origin, is a singer, songwriter, music producer, and television show producer and host of the Turkish origins. He’s back at Eurovision for the second time and wrote the song he performs this year.
Song: Say Na Na Na
Odds: Less than 1%
Public reaction: The song has had very mixed reviews, but since Serhat’s new album has been released in Sweden, Germany, Belgium and France, he’ll be a familiar face to many.
Serbia
Artist: Nevena Božović, who took third place at the 2007 Junior Eurovision Song Contest and sang with the band Moje 3 which represented Serbia at the 2013 contest. Nevena was also a jury member in the Serbian national finals to choose the country’s 2015 Eurovision entry.
Song: Kruna (The Crown)
Odds: Less than 1%
Public reaction: Her confident voice has found her many fans.
Slovenia
Artist: Zala Kralj & Gašper Šantl are a singing duo and a couple who first met on Instagram.
Song: Sebi
Odds: 1%
Public reaction: The song has received conflicting reviews but the couple are generally held to be charming.
Spain
Artist: Miki, who is frontman of a cover band formed of his high school best friends.
Song: La Venda
Odds: 1%
Public reaction: An uplifting song, La Venda will certainly cheer up the Eurovision song contest, but critics say it’s more suitable for a village feast than international competition.
Sweden
Artist: John Lundvik, who represents Sweden as a singer and is a songwriter and composer who worked on the United Kingdom’s composition Bigger than US, performed by Michael Rice. He’s also a former sprinter.
Song: Too Late For Love
Odds: 7%
Public reaction: The song hit number 1 in Sweden and is currently one of the most played songs on Swedish radio. When this year’s participants were asked which song they would sing if not their own, this was a popular answer.
Switzerland
Artist: Luca Hänni, who won the “Deutschland sucht den Superstar” TV talent show. He was the first non-German and the youngest ever contestant to do so.
Song: She Got Me
Odds: 5%
Public reaction: Going on audience reaction we are highly likely to see Switzerland in the final this year, which is not the usual state of affairs.
United Kingdom
Artist: Michael Rice, who is known to the UK public as the winner of the first series of BBC Entertainment show All Together Now 2018. Growing up he worked at McDonalds, but always dreamt of being a singer. His career started when a video of him singing a Years & Years song went viral. Rice is currently working on his debut EP.
Song: Bigger Than Us
Odds: 1%
Public reaction: Rice’s talent and his charm is well received by the public. But will the song stand out enough?