Eurovision 2024: The odds before the second semi-final – “Battle” between two for victory!

We are just hours away from the second semi-final of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest, which means that in a few hours from now sixteen countries will compete for one of the ten tickets leading to Saturday’s grand final.

With two days left until the Grand Final, the favourite column of many of you is back, as the betting analysis for the 68th Eurovision Song Contest is back again.

With less than a few hours to go until the second semi-final of Eurovision 2024, we take a look at the betting companies’ odds regarding each country’s chances of winning this year’s contest.

Battle of Croatia and Switzerland

The 68th Eurovision Song Contest now has one huge favourite and that is Croatia. Baby Lasagna‘s supersonic performance in the first semi-final has given Croatia a clear winning edge, with their maiden victory as an independent country “just around the corner” according to the bookers. For the first time during this year’s Eurovision season, a song is being played at odds of less than two, between 1.62 and 1.91. The chances of history being made and having a new country win are overwhelmingly in favour of the Croats.

The only threat to Croatia could be Switzerland, always according to the bookers. Nemo has managed to gain slight momentum since yesterday, being the only country in the top ten, with the exception of Croatia, who are offered at lower odds than the day before yesterday. Switzerland and Nemo‘s win is now being bet at odds between 3.5 and 4.

Beyond that, the gap between the top two countries and the rest has increased dramatically. Thus, third is now Ukraine, who gained one place after their performance in the first semi-final. Up to 12 times the stake is returned if the Ukrainians win in Malmö.

A one-place rise for Ireland, which is now in fourth place. The possibility of Ireland winning is now offered between 10 and 19. Rounding out the top five is France, who like Italy return up to 26 times the stake of anyone who believes in them. France‘s win is played between 17 and 26, while Italy‘s is played between 13 and 26. However, Oddschecker shows France fifth and Italy sixth, as Italy’s odds are expected to rise even further in the coming hours.

A big loser before the shows is clearly the Netherlands. Having lost four places compared to before the start of the rehearsals and now outside the top five in seventh place, a potential win for Joost Klein and “Europapa” could return up to 36 times the stakes. Eighth is Israel, seen as the eighth favourite to win the 68th Eurovision Song Contest, at odds of close to 67.

Greece remains in ninth place. A potential win for “ZARI” and Marina Satti is currently being played at odds between 51 and 151, higher than in our analysis the day before yesterday where it was also being played at odds between 51 and 151.

Finally, the top ten is completed by the United Kingdom, which after a long time returns to the higher echelons of the betting tables, with Olly Alexander having built momentum after his first rehearsals. Up to 201 times the stake returns the UK’s first win inside the 21st century.

Second Semifinal

As we are just a few hours away from the second semi-final, in today’s analysis we will take a look at the chances of each of the fifteen participating countries in tonight’s show to qualify.

Six countries are considered a given to qualify, with Switzerland, Netherlands, Armenia, Israel, Norway, and Greece being offered by bookies at odds of under 1.10. Significantly, the odds on the top four countries in particular return almost nothing to those who bet on them. For example, in the event that someone bets ten euros on their qualification, they will only make a profit of fifty euro cents on the best one.

In the same category we could also include Georgia, which has made a big impression in recent days, now having one foot and a half in the grand final of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest. Up to 1.14 is offered for Georgia to qualify for the first time since 2016.

Beyond that, it’s a clear-cut case for the final three tickets, with Belgium, Austria and Estonia all having very, very good chances of qualifying. At odds of close to 1.30 you can bet the three countries.

And we go on to the remaining six countries in the semi-final, which are considered by the bookies as underdogs for qualification. Clearly more likely are San Marino and Denmark, who should be considered anything but out of the running, with their qualification being played at close to 3.25 and 3.5 respectively.

Finally, Albania , Czechia, Malta and Latvia seem to be “boiling in the same pot”, whose qualification quadruples, quintuples and sixfold the stakes.

We await the final results tonight with great interest to see if the bookers will be confirmed once again.

Which countries do you think will qualify for the grand final on 11 May?

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the developments!