Eurovision Song Contest Odds: Australia Big Movers Ahead Of Saturday's Final
Australia proved to be the biggest movers on betting sites after the line-up for Saturday's Eurovision Song Contest was completed on Thursday night.
Singer and actress Delta Goodrem produced a spectacular performance for her song Eclipse which is now second favourite behind long-time frontrunners Finland to win in Vienna.
The odds on Israel, Romania and Bulgaria have also shortened, but Greece struggled to live up to the hype on stage, while France now look out of the running altogether despite Monroe's powerful rendition of her track Regarde !
Although the United Kingdom are well down the pecking order at 300/1, some bookmakers are going as low as 125/1, so there is hope for Sam Battle, who performed his track Eins, Zwei, Drei live on Thursday under his moniker Look Mum No Computer.
The UK are already guaranteed a place in the final, along with Germany, Italy, France and host country Austria in the absence of boycotting nation Spain.
This year’s event has been marred by political controversy which saw Spain, Ireland, Netherlands, Iceland and Slovenia all withdraw because of Israel’s attacks on Gaza.
In the aftermath of last year’s contest, four of the above countries, plus Belgium and Finland, questioned whether Israel had boosted the public vote for Yuval Raphael, who finished second overall, despite ending in a tie for 14th with the juries.
As a consequence, there have been plenty of changes implemented this year, the most significant being that all votes will be cast online, either on the Eurovision website (esc.vote) or the official app.
The maximum number of votes a single user can cast per payment method has also been reduced from 20 to 10.
Eurovision Song Contest 2026 Odds:
The spirit of Eurovision uniting nations clearly looks to have taken a back seat this year, but there are still a healthy 35 countries participating in Austria, who won last year with Wasted Love.
Austria can be backed at 500/1 to become the first country to make it back-to-back victories since Ireland won it three years in a row between 1992-94 and then again two years later.
That seems an unlikely scenario, but what about those nations that have a genuine chance?
We run the rule over six contenders and assess their prospects for the Grand Final.
Finland
Act: Linda Lampenius & Pete Parkkonen
Song: Liekinheiten
The duo have topped the betting since February and are showing no signs of budging with their rock/classical fusion track Liekinheiten which translates as ‘Flamethrower’.
It’s gone down pretty well in Finland where it was number one in the charts for a spell, but aside from some impressive violin playing from Lampenius and strong vocals from Parkkonen, it lacks a killer hook.
Lampenius was granted special permission by the EBU to play violin live during a dramatic performance in the first semi-final which went down well with the audience.
Chances: Finland are clear favourites on betting apps, but there are better songs out there.
Australia
Act: Delta Goodrem
Song: Eclipse
Delta Goodrem is already a major star and has surprisingly decided to dip her toes in the Eurovision pool for Australia.
Goodrem rose to stardom as shy schoolgirl Nina Tucker in Aussie soap Neighbours in the early 2000s, but branched out with a singing career that yielded nine number one singles and five chart-topping albums.
She’s spent the last nine seasons as coach on The Voice Australia and her book Bridge Over Troubled Dreams was a bestseller.
The Eurovision-loving Australians have brought out a big-hitter after last year’s risque Milkshake Man failed to reach the Grand Final, but will it be enough?
As she stood on a rising plinth emanating from a piano at the climax of this power ballad in the semi-final, Aussies clearly started to get excited that this could be their year.
Chances: It’s a safe track that lacks originality, but momentum is on its side.
Greece
Act: Akylas
Song: Ferto
Akylas can’t be accused of being unoriginal for this techno track which is sung mainly in Greek, but sprinkled with English, French and Spanish.
The 27-year-old from Serres left music school to train as a chef, later singing on cruise ships before going viral with cover versions on TikTok.
His career has come full circle as he hopes to bring Greece only their second Eurovision victory with Ferto, which should appeal to the young and older ravers.
Spotify's official comment after Akylas' second rehearsal was just one word - 'GOOSEBUMPS' - but his odds drifted after the second semi-final.
Chances: Akylas and Ferto have personality in spades and could still cause a surprise.
Israel
Act: Noam Bettan
Song: Michelle
Yuval Raphael, a Nova Festival survivor and last year’s Israel entry, is back as a co-writer for the multi-lingual Michelle, a more upbeat offering than recent songs which focused on resilience, survival and the human spirit.
Born in Israel to French immigrant parents, Noam Bettan uses French, Hebrew and English to get his message across about a difficult girlfriend.
Israel have finished in the top five in the last three years and Michelle can’t be ruled out for a similar outcome.
Chances: Israel have done well with the televote in the last two years, but changes in this area could hit their hopes.
Denmark
Act: Soren Torpegaard Lund
Song: For vi gar hjem
Denmark have twice won Eurovision this century and could be on for a third with this track from actor and singer-songwriter Soren Torpegaard Lund.
Lund co-wrote For vi gar hjem (‘Before we go home’) and decided to keep it in the original Danish instead of translating it into English, a gamble which may just pay off.
It’s a high-energy song with a great chorus and could be bringing home plenty of 12 points in the Final.
Chances: It’s already had approaching three million YouTube views which suggests it is top-three-material, but Lund's hopes have not been helped by being the first to perform on Saturday evening.
France
Act: Monroe
Song: Regarde !
The last two Eurovision winners have been genre-defying mash-ups with an operatic twist and the wonderful Regarde ! is in a similar vein.
Classically-trained French-American teenager Monroe hits all the high notes in this theatrical ballad which has plenty of pop to satisfy a younger audience.
At 17, Monroe already has an album under her belt, but she regards participating at Eurovision as "a tremendous honour".
She added: "I want to showcase the richness and diversity of French music. I want to offer Europe an intense, sincere performance with a universal message: love is what brings us together."
Chances: As one of the ‘Big Five', France are guaranteed a spot in the Grand Final and this track would be a worthy winner, but the odds suggest otherwise.
United Kingdom
Act: Look Mum No Computer
Song: Eins, Zwei, Drei
Look Mum No Computer is the moniker used by likeable musician Sam Battle, who has a massive YouTube following for his quirky videos on building his own synths.
Battle also runs a museum in Ramsgate, Kent, called This Museum Is (Not) Obsolete, described as an "interactive museum celebrating obsolete and experimental technology".
A young version of the Doc on Back to the Future, Battle was the former frontman of indie act ZIBRA, which played at Glastonbury 11 years ago.
True to Eurovision tradition, the 37-year-old inventor has mixed English with German to produce a track which is unlikely to trouble the leaderboard, but we hope it at least avoids the nil points that befell James Newman in 2021.
Chances: His performance in the second semi-final had mixed reactions from UK fans which suggests he won’t replicate Sam Ryder’s success and is likely to finish in the bottom half.
Who will win Eurovision this year? And where will the United Kingdom finish? Let us know in the comments below or vote in our poll above!
