Odds: Bulgaria gain momentum as they close in on market leaders Italy, Belgium and Sweden

Once the national final season is over, many Eurovision fans immediately start looking at the betting odds. Who is gaining momentum? Which country’s hype is starting to fade away? In recent years, betting odds have been good indicators of which entries would feature at the top of that contest’s scoreboard. Nevertheless, there are of course exceptions. For example, Austria and The Netherlands were largely unfancied until days before the final back in 2014.

Latest screen capture from Oddschecker.com

Belgium and Portugal gain momentum following selections

Italy were installed as market leaders straight away and have remained strong favourites since. Even prior to Robin Bengtsson being selected, Sweden were in the top five of the odds based on the strength of their national selection. They remain second and are closely followed by Belgium. Following an early release of City Lights on Spotify prior to the day of the official presentation, Blanche’s odds shortened dramatically. As a result, she rose to second favourite within hours. She has since stabilised and remain a solid third.
Portugal followed a similar pattern following Salvador Sobral’s victory in Festival da Canção a few days earlier. Initially outsiders, Portugal leapt into the top five and have remained their since. Portugal continue to shorten as shown by the blue highlighting on the Oddschecker screen capture above.

Bulgaria’s Kristian Kostov the biggest mover in the past 24 hours

In the last 24 hours, it has been Bulgaria who are making the biggest strides forward. Following the release of Kristian Kostov’s Beautiful Mess, his country’s odds have continued to shorten. PaddyPower now have Kristian as 8/1 fourth favourite for victory. As the other bookmakers catch up, it is likely Bulgaria will shortly be challenging Sweden and Belgium for a spot in the top 2.

Positive reactions to Azerbaijan and F.Y.R Macedonia

Elsewhere in the top 20, the odds for most other countries are beginning to drift slightly. This is shown by the red highlighting on the screen capture above. This is no doubt a response to the top five becoming increasingly fancied for victory. Nevertheless, Azerbaijan and F.Y.R. Macedonia are going against that trend with their odds shortening at Bet Stars and PaddyPower respectively. This is no doubt a response to the positive reactions to Skeletons and Dance Alone after their reveals a few days ago.
Outside of the top 20, Hungary are the most notable country when it comes to going against the current norm of drifting odds. Origo‘s odds are shortening at multiple bookmakers with prices being reduced to 25/1 at Betfair and PaddyPower for example. Expect to see Hungary enter that top 20 in the coming days.
Do any of the current odds surprise you? Perhaps you were expecting to see a country towards the top that isn’t even in the top 20? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below and via our social media pages @escXtra!