Eurovision 2018 - The road to the Altice Arena, Lisbon, Portugal, chat + news thread starts here.

Waylon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?60=&v=phhGXQEY7As

I see Poland and Ieva were there but no videos :(

Esckaz are loading them

Jessica always sounds screechy as feck to me

Laura Rizzotto's boots.

Can't have Bulgaria!
Netta added the video to the background.
Such a teaser!

OGAE Azerbaijan:

01 pt Russia
02 pts Austria
03 pts Finland
04 pts Cyprus
05 pts Israel
06 pts Italy
07 pts Estonia
08 pts France
10 pts Belgium
12 pts Bulgaria

OGAE Ukraine:

01 pt Denmark
02 pts Italy
03 pts Belarus
04 pts Greece
05 pts Sweden
06 pts Belgium
07 pts Czech Republic
08 pts Bulgaria
10 pts France
12 pts Israel

OGAE Croatia:

01 pt Belgium
02 pts Austria
03 pts Germany
04 pts Finland
05 pts Greece
06 pts FYR Macedonia
07 pts Bulgaria
08 pts Israel
10 pts France
12 pts Australia


Top 10:

01 – Israel   153
02 – France   95
03 – Finland   72
04 – Bulgaria   57
05 - Czech Republic   54
06 – Australia   51
07 – Greece   48
08 – Belgium   40
09 – Estonia   39
10 – Cyprus   37

I'll tell you what impressed me was Surie doing the French song.

OGAE Latvia:

01 pt Bulgaria
02 pts Lithuania
03 pts Belarus
04 pts Ireland
05 pts Austria
06 pts Estonia
07 pts Sweden
08 pts Australia
10 pts Czech Republic
12 pts Israel


OGAE Serbia:

01 pt Finland
02 pts Italy
03 pts Sweden
04 pts Belgium
05 pts Denmark
06 pts France
07 pts Czech Republic
08 pts Greece
10 pts Bulgaria
12 pts Israel


OGAE Slovenia:

01 pt Belgium
02 pts Serbia
03 pts Sweden
04 pts Estonia
05 pts Greece
06 pts Belarus
07 pts Denmark
08 pts Finland
10 pts Israel
12 pts Australia


OGAE Rest of the world:

01 pt FYR Macedonia
02 pts Czech Republic
03 pts Belgium
04 pts Spain
05 pts Estonia
06 pts Italy
07 pts Australia
08 pts Finland
10 pts France
12 pts Israel


Top 10:

01 – Israel   199
02 – France   111
03 – Finland   89
04 – Australia   78
05 - Czech Republic   73
06 – Bulgaria   68
07 – Greece   61
08 – Estonia   54
09 – Belgium   48
10 – Sweden   46

OGAE Denmark:

01 pt Bulgaria
02 pts Czech Republic
03 pts Sweden
04 pts Estonia
05 pts Finland
06 pts Australia
07 pts Germany
08 pts Greece
10 pts Israel
12 pts France


OGAE Lithuania:

01 pt Estonia
02 pts Cyprus
03 pts Sweden
04 pts Belgium
05 pts Ukraine
06 pts FYR Macedonia
07 pts Finland
08 pts Bulgaria
10 pts Israel
12 pts France


OGAE Romania:

01 pt Estonia
02 pts Sweden
03 pts Denmark
04 pts Cyprus
05 pts Australia
06 pts Belgium
07 pts Israel
08 pts Bulgaria
10 pts Greece
12 pts France


OGAE United Kingdom:

01 pt Azerbaijan
02 pts Austria
03 pts Denmark
04 pts Belgium
05 pts Czech Republic
06 pts Cyprus
07 pts France
08 pts Finland
10 pts Australia
12 pts Israel


Top 10:

01 – Israel   238
02 – France   154
03 – Finland   109
04 – Australia   99
05 – Bulgaria   85
06 – Czech Republic   80
07 – Greece   79
08 – Belgium   62
09 – Estonia   60
10 – Sweden   54

Esctips run through the list of contenders pre rehearsals: http://esctips.com/2018/04/21/eurovision-2018-would-you-like-fries-with-that/

OGAE Armenia:

01 pt Finland
02 pts Sweden
03 pts Czech Republic
04 pts Greece
05 pts Cyprus
06 pts Belgium
07 pts Estonia
08 pts Bulgaria
10 pts France
12 pts Israel


OGAE Cyprus:

01 pt Australia
02 pts Norway
03 pts Finland
04 pts Denmark
05 pts Bulgaria
06 pts Czech Republic
07 pts Belgium
08 pts France
10 pts Greece
12 pts Israel


OGAE Estonia:

01 pt Azerbaijan
02 pts Poland
03 pts Lithuania
04 pts Finland
05 pts Czech Republic
06 pts Cyprus
07 pts Austria
08 pts Sweden
10 pts France
12 pts Australia


OGAE Norway:

01 pt Sweden
02 pts Moldova
03 pts Italy
04 pts Denmark
05 pts Israel
06 pts Czech Republic
07 pts Austria
08 pts Australia
10 pts Finland
12 pts France


OGAE Poland:

01 pt FYR Macedonia
02 pts Finland
03 pts Austria
04 pts Sweden
05 pts Cyprus
06 pts Czech Republic
07 pts Belgium
08 pts Bulgaria
10 pts France
12 pts Israel


OGAE Russia:

01 pt Czech Republic
02 pts Denmark
03 pts Latvia
04 pts Estonia
05 pts Sweden
06 pts Finland
07 pts Bulgaria
08 pts Belgium
10 pts France
12 pts Israel


Top 10:

01 – Israel   291
02 – France   214
03 – Finland   135
04 – Australia   120
05 – Bulgaria   113
06 - Czech Republic   107
07 – Greece   93
08 – Belgium   90
09 – Sweden   74
10 – Estonia   71

Good news. The Estonia dress will be there
.
http://esctoday.com/163753/estonia-elina-nechayeva-secures-sponsorship-for-her-projection-dress/

OGAE Belgium:

01 pt Greece
02 pts Germany
03 pts Sweden
04 pts Cyprus
05 pts Austria
06 pts Czech Republic
07 pts Finland
08 pts Australia
10 pts Israel
12 pts France


OGAE Germany:

01 pt Estonia
02 pts Denmark
03 pts Italy
04 pts Austria
05 pts Australia
06 pts Belgium
07 pts Finland
08 pts Czech Republic
10 pts Israel
12 pts France


OGAE Israel:

01 pt Austria
02 pts Cyprus
03 pts Belgium
04 pts Denmark
05 pts Czech Republic
06 pts Australia
07 pts Bulgaria
08 pts Greece
10 pts Finland
12 pts France


OGAE Switzerland:

01 pt Greece
02 pts Italy
03 pts Belgium
04 pts Sweden
05 pts Austria
06 pts Finland
07 pts Czech Republic
08 pts Azerbaijan
10 pts France
12 pts Israel


Top 10:

01 – Israel   323
02 – France   260
03 – Finland   165
04 – Australia   139
05 - Czech Republic   133
06 – Bulgaria   120
07 – Greece   103
08 – Belgium   102
09 – Sweden   81
10 – Estonia   72

Esctracker.com has been updated to show this years entries.

Poland smashing it on Spotify

OGAE FYR Macedonia:

01 pt Italy
02 pts Greece
03 pts Estonia
04 pts Belgium
05 pts Czech Republic
06 pts France
07 pts Cyprus
08 pts Finland
10 pts Bulgaria
12 pts Israel


OGAE Greece:

01 pt Norway
02 pts Czech Republic
03 pts Estonia
04 pts Italy
05 pts Belarus
06 pts France
07 pts Cyprus
08 pts Belgium
10 pts Israel
12 pts Bulgaria


OGAE Luxembourg:

01 pt Sweden
02 pts Estonia
03 pts Belgium
04 pts the United Kingdom
05 pts Germany
06 pts Denmark
07 pts France
08 pts Australia
10 pts Finland
12 pts Israel


OGAE Netherlands:

01 pt Finland
02 pts Italy
03 pts Bulgaria
04 pts Greece
05 pts Austria
06 pts France
07 pts Israel
08 pts Australia
10 pts Czech Republic
12 pts Belgium


Top 10:

01 – Israel   364
02 – France   286
03 – Finland   184
04 – Australia   157
05 - Czech Republic   151
06 – Bulgaria   145
07 – Belgium   129
08 – Greece   108
09 – Cyprus   84
10 – Sweden   81

OGAE Malta:

01 pt Czech Republic
02 pts Sweden
03 pts Cyprus
04 pts Ukraine
05 pts Bulgaria
06 pts France
07 pts Australia
08 pts Finland
10 pts Denmark
12 pts Israel

Top 10:

01 – Israel   376
02 – France   292
03 – Finland   192
04 – Australia   164
05 - Czech Republic   152
06 – Bulgaria   150
07 – Belgium   129
08 – Greece   108
09 – Cyprus   87
10 – Sweden   83

OGAE Andorra:

01 pt Italy
02 pts Australia
03 pts Sweden
04 pts Bulgaria
05 pts Germany
06 pts Czech Republic
07 pts Finland
08 pts Spain
10 pts France
12 pts Israel


OGAE Finland:

01 pt Sweden
02 pts Bulgaria
03 pts Czech Republic
04 pts Estonia
05 pts Greece
06 pts Belarus
07 pts Denmark
08 pts Italy
10 pts France
12 pts Israel


EC Germany:

01 pt Greece
02 pts Belgium
03 pts Austria
04 pts Italy
05 pts Denmark
06 pts Finland
07 pts Australia
08 pts Czech Republic
10 pts France
12 pts Israel

OGAE Turkey:

01 pt Czech Republic
02 pts Australia
03 pts Estonia
04 pts Sweden
05 pts Cyprus
06 pts Finland
07 pts Belgium
08 pts France
10 pts Bulgaria
12 pts Israel


Top 10:

01 – Israel   424
02 – France   330
03 – Finland   211
04 – Australia   175
05 – Czech Republic   170
06 – Bulgaria   166
07 – Belgium   138
08 – Greece   114
09 – Denmark   93
10 – Cyprus   92

Czech Republic singer in hospital.....Brokeback Mountain.

OGAE Austria:

01 pt Ireland
02 pts Italy
03 pts Germany
04 pts France
05 pts Belgium
06 pts Bulgaria
07 pts Australia
08 pts Cyprus
10 pts Czech Republic
12 pts Israel


OGAE Portugal:

01 pt Estonia
02 pts Bulgaria
03 pts Cyprus
04 pts Germany
05 pts Greece
06 pts Italy
07 pts Finland
08 pts Spain
10 pts Israel
12 pts France


OGAE Sweden:

01 pt Czech Republic
02 pts Azerbaijan
03 pts Cyprus
04 pts Bulgaria
05 pts Austria
06 pts Denmark
07 pts France
08 pts Finland
10 pts Israel
12 pts Australia

Overal final positions and points:

01 – Israel   456
02 – France   352
03 – Finland   226
04 – Australia   202
05 – Czech Republic   181
06 – Bulgaria   178
07 – Belgium   143
08 – Greece   119
09 – Cyprus   106
10 – Denmark   99
11 – Sweden   91
12 – Estonia   88
13 – Italy   75
14 – Austria   70
15 – Germany   34
16 – Belarus   28
17 – Spain   26
18 – Ukraine   19
19 – F.Y.R. Macedonia   15
20 – Norway   13
21 – Ireland   5
== - Lithuania   5
== - Poland   5
24 – Azerbaijan   4
== - United Kingdom   4
26 – Latvia   3
27 – Moldova   2
== - Serbia   2
29 – Russia   1

All the other countries received 0.

indeed

Daily Press Poll 2018: Results from day 1 of rehearsals:  https://www.escxtra.com/2018/04/29/daily-press-poll-2018-day-1/

How it works:

After the conclusion of today’s rehearsals, we asked 35 members of the press to rate today’s performances based on their rehearsals rather than by their favourite songs. To do this, each press member chose their top 3 performances and we allocated 5 points to their favourite, 3 points to their second favourite and 1 point to their third favourite.

Daily Press Poll 2018: Day 1 results:

The full results of the first day of ESCXTRA’s daily press poll 2018 are as follows:

61 Lithuania
52 Albania
51 Israel
44 Bulgaria
39 Czech Republic
30 Estonia
18 Belgium
17 Azerbaijan
10 Belarus
02 Iceland


Daily Press Poll 2018: Results from day 2 of rehearsals:  https://www.escxtra.com/2018/04/30/daily-eurovision-press-poll-day-2/

95 Cyprus
73 Austria
62 Croatia
49 Finland
32 Switzerland
18 Ireland
15 Greece
04 FYR Macedonia
03 Armenia

Hey, Corby, any thoughts yet on what we have discussed previously?

Israel’s Eurovision Song Contest Entry: Vocal Looper Is Out, Gal Gadot Is In:  https://tinyurl.com/yda9ests

Apr 30, 2018 -- 10:18PM, timbuctooth wrote:

Hey, Corby, any thoughts yet on what we have discussed previously?

I will let you know either tomorrow or Wednesday after all the first rehearsals are done.

This is from the 12th March Corby....

Daily Press Poll 2018: Results from day 3 of rehearsals:  https://www.escxtra.com/2018/05/01/daily-eurovision-press-poll-day-3/

How it works

After the conclusion of today’s rehearsals, we asked 35 members of the press to rate today’s performances based on their rehearsals rather than by their favourite songs. To do this, each press member chose their top 3 performances and we allocated 5 points to their favourite, 3 points to their second favourite and 1 point to their third favourite.

Daily Press Poll 2018: Day 3 results

The full results of the third day of ESCXTRA’s Daily Press Poll 2018 are as follows:

129 Moldova
064 Norway
029 Denmark
029 San Marino
027 Australia
026 Romania
001 The Netherlands
001 Serbia
000 Russia

Italy finally moving in the market.

Despite what these polls might suggest any odds against in the top 10 market is the best bet out there.

It will stand out a mile as the best (only) song and performance on the night and although that might not be enough to beat the fluff in the outright market it should be a certain top 10.

Daily Press Poll 2018: Results from day 4 of rehearsals:  https://www.escxtra.com/2018/05/02/daily-eurovision-press-poll-day-4/

How it works

After the conclusion of today’s rehearsals, we asked 35 members of the press to rate today’s performances based on their rehearsals rather than by their favourite songs. To do this, each press member chose their top 3 performances and we allocated 5 points to their favourite, 3 points to their second favourite and 1 point to their third favourite.

Daily Press Poll 2018: Day 4 results

The full results of the fourth day of ESCXTRA’s Daily Press Poll 2018 are as follows:

97 Hungary
64 Malta
44 Ukraine
42 Sweden
29 Georgia
26 Slovenia
19 Latvia
04 Poland
01 Montenegro

Daily Press Poll 2018: Results from day 5 of rehearsals:  https://www.escxtra.com/2018/05/03/daily-eurovision-press-poll-day-5/

How it works

After the conclusion of today’s rehearsals, we asked 35 members of the press to rate today’s performances based on their rehearsals rather than by their favourite songs. To do this, each press member chose their top 3 performances and we allocated 5 points to their favourite, 3 points to their second favourite and 1 point to their third favourite.

Daily Press Poll 2018: Day 5 results

The full results of the fifth day of ESCXTRA’s Daily Press Poll 2018 are as follows:

54 Estonia
42 Albania
38 Czech Republic
38 Israel
31 Lithuania
24 Bulgaria
16 Croatia
16 Belgium
13 Belarus
13 Finland
07 Azerbaijan
06 Austria
03 Greece
01 Iceland
00 FYR Macedonia

03 Greece

yet, that is in the 1.3's to qualify?

Bonkers press pollings around there....

Daily Press Poll 2018 Part 1: Results from day 6 of rehearsals:  https://www.escxtra.com/2018/05/04/press-poll-part-1-day-6-results/

How it works

After the conclusion of today’s semi-finalist rehearsals, we asked 35 members of the press to rate today’s performances based on their rehearsals rather than by their favourite songs. To do this, each press member chose their top 3 performances and we allocated 5 points to their favourite, 3 points to their second favourite and 1 point to their third favourite.

Daily Press Poll 2018: Day 6 results (Part 1: The second rehearsals)

The full results from part 1 of the sixth day of ESCXTRA’s Daily Press Poll 2018 are as follows:

117 Cyprus
062 Norway
055 Denmark
037 Ireland
027 Switzerland
021 Armenia
015 Romania
011 San Marino
006 Serbia


Daily Press Poll 2018 Part 2: Results from day 6 of rehearsals:  https://www.escxtra.com/2018/05/04/eurovision-press-poll-part-2-results/

105 France
073 Italy
060 Germany
037 United Kingdom
037 Portugal
026 Spain

I thought the French staging was very poor! :)

Daily Press Poll 2018: Results from day 7 of rehearsals:  https://www.escxtra.com/2018/05/05/daily-eurovision-press-poll-day-7/

How it works

After the conclusion of today’s rehearsals, we asked 35 members of the press to rate today’s performances based on their rehearsals rather than by their favourite songs. To do this, each press member chose their top 3 performances and we allocated 5 points to their favourite, 3 points to their second favourite and 1 point to their third favourite.

Daily Press Poll 2018: Day 7 results

The full results of the seventh day of ESCXTRA’s Daily Press Poll 2018 are as follows:

081 Moldova
069 Hungary
047 Sweden
041 Malta
032 Ukraine
019 Slovenia
008 The Netherlands
006 Russia
006 Georgia
006 Latvia
005 Australia
004 Poland
000 Montenegro

United Kingdom draw first half for grandfinal.

Where did Belarus draw?

Spain draws first half for grandfinal.

Germany draw first half for grandfinal.

May 6, 2018 -- 1:22PM, Roger De Bris wrote:

Where did Belarus draw?

Only the big 5 draw today for first/second half position in grandfinal. Those that qualify from the semi-finals will draw the first/second half position in the press conference after their semi-final.

France draw first half for grandfinal.

Daily Press Poll 2018: Results from day 8 of rehearsals:  https://www.escxtra.com/2018/05/06/daily-eurovision-press-poll-day-8/

How it works

After the conclusion of today’s rehearsals, we asked 35 members of the press to rate today’s performances based on their rehearsals rather than by their favourite songs. To do this, each press member chose their top 3 performances and we allocated 5 points to their favourite, 3 points to their second favourite and 1 point to their third favourite.

Daily Press Poll 2018: Day 8 results

The full results of the eighth day of ESCXTRA’s Daily Press Poll 2018 are as follows:

110 France
063 Germany
056 Spain
050 Italy
029 Portugal
025 United Kingdom

Italy draw second half for grandfinal.

Looking forward to seeing this Belarus staging. :) Cheers Corby. ;)

Thanks Corby

Many thanks for your months of updates on the thread Corbs.

Must be a labour of love to put the effort into doing this year on year.Greatly appreciated by everyone on the forum.

5/6 of the big five in the first half then, odd drawing!

lol odd writing from me too, 4/5 of course, + Portugal

i thought finland, moldova and germany were all worth keeping an eye on

moldovo's a bit weird and probably not strong enough but the other two could out run current odds, hard to beat israel if she performs though

No links for tonight's Jury votes? :)

Daily Press Poll 2018: Results from the Eurovision SEMI-FINAL 1 JURY SHOW:  https://www.escxtra.com/2018/05/07/press-poll-2018-semi-1-jury-show/

How it works

After the conclusion of today’s jury rehearsal, we asked 35 members of the press to rate today’s performances. To do this, each press member chose their top 3 performances and we allocated 5 points to their favourite, 3 points to their second favourite and 1 point to their third favourite.

Daily Press Poll 2018: Day 9 results

The full results of ESCXTRA’s Daily Press Poll 2018 after this evening’s jury rehearsal are as follows:

103 Cyprus
067 Lithuania
027 Switzerland
022 Estonia
020 Bulgaria
014 Czech Republic
012 Finland
011 Ireland
010 Azerbaijan
008 Albania
007 Austria
004 Israel
003 Belgium
002 Armenia
002 Croatia
002 Greece
001 FYR Macedonia
000 Belarus
000 Iceland

So Cyprus won the Jury vote....
When will the points be leaked?...

Cyprus now fave LPM 4.1
Israel LPM 5.5

No one knows who won tonight's jury vote unless an insider knows and it gets leaked.

Just looking at market here , wtf israel now 5 .4

That's it Corby.
I would be surprised if an insider DIDN'T leak some info.
I always expected Netta not to win the Jury vote but to win the Televote.

Cheers again for all the great work Corbs

Top 5 on Esctracker.com right now.

Top 5 on Esctracker.com right now.

1. Cyprus
2. Austria
3. Ireland
4. Lithuania
5. Israel

@timbuctooth Did you get my pm regards Cyprus Top 4? I will have small wager on this if you haven't done so but if there is no value on that then instead i will go with Moldova Top 10. Only a tiny wager, nothing elaborate. Thanks.

Elise said: “moldovo's a bit weird and probably not strong enough”

Most of the market has been asleep with respect to Moldova IMHO.  Matched at 1000 before rehearsals, it was trading at the 80-100 level over the week end.  Odds halved again after semi-final 1 despite Moldova not being in it.  This looks like the proverbial falling sword – unwise to get in its way, at least until after semi-final 2 broadcast tomorrow.  The clues are out there.  Watch the instinctive body language in the press room during the first run of their first rehearsal.  Note how long it takes the guys in the video to react positively – about a second, and it doesn’t let up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYnZX_tRjUE&t=93m30s

Why the big drift on Estonia?

Irelands best entry for years,  well worth an e/way punt

In such a weak semi I wouldn't be surprised if Moldova won.

Corby; just replied.

Herro sausages!

For me Italy could be the dark horse of this year, a passionately performed song with a message of defiance and hope which they will translate to the viewers using onscreen lyrics (and images) from 15 different languages. They name drop cities which have been affected by terrorism, project images of war, suffering, children and hope in some of the lyrics. A very powerful package imo. Judging by the current state of the market this is an extremely open year, and it wouldn’t surprise me if something like Italy is able to sneak into the mix with a song and performance that can strike a chord with many viewers.

At the odds (50s on the exchange and 40 on the high street) I think it's a better value bet than most of the dross that is occupying the upper regions of the market.

Daily Press Poll 2018: Results from the Eurovision SEMI-FINAL 2 JURY SHOW:  https://www.escxtra.com/2018/05/09/press-poll-2018-semi-2-jury-show/

How it works

After the conclusion of today’s jury rehearsal, we asked 35 members of the press to rate today’s performances. To do this, each press member chose their top 3 performances and we allocated 5 points to their favourite, 3 points to their second favourite and 1 point to their third favourite.

Daily Press Poll 2018: Day 11 results

The full results of ESCXTRA’s Daily Press Poll 2018 after this evening’s jury rehearsal are as follows:

079 Hungary
038 Sweden
030 Malta
030 Ukraine
027 Slovenia
025 Norway
019 Denmark
017 Moldova
016 Australia
008 Russia
007 Georgia
006 Latvia
005 Poland
005 Montenegro
004 Serbia
004 San Marino
003 The Netherlands
000 Romania

May 9, 2018 -- 8:16PM, timbuctooth wrote:

Corby; just replied.

Cheers. Replied back.

when i said not strong enough and a bit weird i was more thinking for the overall win, i still thought it was over priced and worth watching as per the other two also, all 3 did shorten a bit, the whole thing feels a bit up in the air to me, i'm not convinced the win market has this right

Yes, Italy should walk it if it was just down to the song and performance but I think we know that these days it isn't that straightforward. That's why I suggested playing the top 10 market. You could have got a little 11/4 and plenty of 5/2. Basically, any odds against was good. That would have more than covered a little dabble in the outright market. It is hard to believe it isn't favourite in the Big 5 market as well. The French put a lot of effort into their selection (unlike the UK) but despite what the odds might suggest ended up with something that isn't in the same league.

The German song sounds very similar to a well known recent song. Its bugging me what it is. Anyone hear the same and if so what song is it. Remember the year the linnets was the same as every breath you take.

Running order for the Grand final: https://eurovision.tv/story/exclusive-running-order-eurovision-2018-grand-final

01. Ukraine
02. Spain
03. Slovenia
04. Lithuania
05. Austria
06. Estonia
07. Norway
08. Portugal
— break position
09. United Kingdom
10. Serbia
11. Germany
12. Albania
13. France
14. Czech Republic
15. Denmark
16. Australia
— break position
17. Finland
18. Bulgaria
19. Moldova
20. Sweden
21. Hungary
22. Israel
23. The Netherlands
24. Ireland
25. Cyprus
26. Italy


So Israel gets slot 22 between Hungary and The Netherlands whilst Cyprus gets slot 25 between Ireland and Italy.

Your top three. Im going for Cyprus Germany France.

My prediction is that this could be one of the most open results we have had in years and with 26 runners should be 8/1 the field at this stage. Organisers have contrived to put the favourite in a prime penultimate slot but it is no 11/8 shot. She could fall over her fake lashes, hair extensions or her lips could explode. There are some strong performers and I think Europe might give it to Australia this year; it was a jt favourite not so long ago and now lingers around 100/1 having touched 300/1 because of a poor rehearsal (allegedly). I don't see Europe giving votes to Germany or France whatever the song is. I guess it depends who ends up watching for the final tele vote but Czech, Finland, Sweden and Holland all have a good chance imvho. Australia is the neutral vote and that's why I think it might nick it with a good slot before second break.

Esctracker top 10 right now:

1. Cyprus
2. Austria
3. Sweden
4. Australia
5. Ireland
6. Denmark
7. France
8. Czech Republic
9. Israel
10. Germany

"The most successful running order position in terms of the number of wins at the Eurovision Song Contest Final is quite clearly the 17th position in the Final running order"

https://adriankavanagh.com/2017/05/12/the-eurovision-song-contest-final-the-luck-of-the-draw-or-the-running-order/

7 winners drawn 17 - Saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaara Altoooooooooooooooooooooo

No act won final from 25th or 26th position either, from same blog:-

No act has ever won a Eurovision contest (either a Final or a semi-final) from the “dreaded” 2nd position in the contest running order. The same rule also applies in the case of acts that have performed from the 25th and 26th positions in the contest running order, as well as acts that have performed from 16th position in the Final running order (although one act – Finland in 2006 – has won a semi-final from this position in the contest running order).

Australia won't be winning anything on the strength of that last night.
She was all over the shop.

Can anyone explain WTF is going on with Ireland?????

Some charge on it!!!

I think the Ireland song is one of the best and was overpriced at 100(easy to say now)

100?

It was 1000 a while back...

There are at least 10 countries that won't give Ireland a single vote. Poor song and must be lay of the contest at 12/1. Think they making a song and dance over EBU banning transmission in China. Storm in an Eurovision teacup won't count for anything on the night.

Everyone loves Ireland no?

I backed a few Roger including Ireland at 860/1for a fiver , [before the s/finals ] i laid it back at 300/1 a few weeks later tHE VIDEO was worderful , I like Denmark as well, have to say theres lots of good songs and performences ,,one of the better years for the Eurovision.

Well done frank. I thought it was terrible from the start!
Too much "Springtime For Hitler" for me...
A few decent ones this year. As always the voting is the best part of it.

The Producers was one my fav films Roger,[ the first one with Zero Mostel and the great Gene Wilder] i saw it a few years back on Broadway,  Estonia just might be a very good e/way bet ,it will get plenty of votes from the Balkans, good luck lads with your bets lads

Great to hear that. Mine too. The remake was sacrilegious. Went to see it in the theatre and walked out soon into it.....

Estonia back in a bit from 70.0

I have to say that they improved the camerawork for Ireland on the staging.
Looks a lot better than the video.
I can see why all the money has come for it now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oX6p8LxrqSw

Cool vid

Every year Eurovision seems to outdo itself and leap from one laughable contest to another, Lordi, Latvian pirates, bearded Austrian women, letting the Aussies in and now a favourite from a non European country who performs a chicken dance and will no doubt get the sympathy vote regardless. I think the bearded women in particular was the catalyst for Brexit, the trauma most people would have suffered witnessing that no doubt lingered all the way to the voting booth.

I will still watch however, car crash TV at it's pinnacle.

Favourite is from Cyprus....

Sydney sit down, have a sandwich, drink a glass of milk. Do some f**cking thing....

Enjoy the show.

Why is Italy still so far out of line with similarly priced outrights on top 10 market?

Because ALL specials markets are clueless.

Slightly disappointed it wasn't top 4 but thankfully nap landed with Italy top 10. Disparity between jury and public vote crazy.

Sweden ranked 2nd with jury but ranked 23rd with public finishes 7th overall. I wonder if the jury went for the light show but the public went for the song.

Is there a breakdown of the public vote by country somewhere? I know UK gave Italy nothing which doesn't surprise me given the problem we have in accepting a song in another language plus being brainwashed by X-Factor rubbish.

https://eurovision.tv/event/lisbon-2018/grand-final/voting-details/united-kingdom

the breakdown online only has the points scoring for public vote right now, sure it never used to be like that.

UK juries had 4x Italy last!

What's really interesting with the breakdown by judges is you can see that 'Popera' is a divisive musical genre (at least in the UK). Estonia got: 15    3    7    16    2    Basically the old bloke and the DJ didn't like it. Also it's not a surprise that Cyprus overtook Israel in British bloggers' estimations, and the sudden late surge of support for Ireland when you look at the televote.

In fact, to predict the outright winner, I'm going to try much harder to ignore the speculations of UK Eurovision bloggers as UK tastes are frequently out of touch with the Europe-wide consensus.

Also it's fascinating how well Denmark did by breaking into the top 10, a position many couldn't see. It came 9th in the UK televote matching the final result. I suppose it must have been a combination of the singer's convincingly Viking looks (he could have stepped right out of the TV series Vikings) and the dramatic, yet simple staging.

May 11, 2018 -- 12:22PM, Trusty wrote:

My prediction is that this could be one of the most open results we have had in years and with 26 runners should be 8/1 the field at this stage. Organisers have contrived to put the favourite in a prime penultimate slot but it is no 11/8 shot. She could fall over her fake lashes, hair extensions or her lips could explode. There are some strong performers and I think Europe might give it to Australia this year; it was a jt favourite not so long ago and now lingers around 100/1 having touched 300/1 because of a poor rehearsal (allegedly). I don't see Europe giving votes to Germany or France whatever the song is. I guess it depends who ends up watching for the final tele vote but Czech, Finland, Sweden and Holland all have a good chance imvho. Australia is the neutral vote and that's why I think it might nick it with a good slot before second break.

8/1 the field.