It’s time to get excited. The road to Eurovision 2020 has started. The semi-finals of this year’s competition are on May 12th and 14th with the final on the 16th.
So things are a little way off as it stands, but there have been plenty of songs having been released recently for the contest.
The odds on the UK taking the win in Rotterdam were slashed on Thursday after James Newman’s “My Last Breath” got its airing on BBC Radio One.
Eurovision 2020 Winner Odds*
Lithuania 4/1
Romania 7/1
Italy 8/1
Sweden 10/1
Russia 11/1
Bulgaria 12/1
Norway 12/1
Germany 12/1
Malta 14/1
Switzerland 16/1
UK 20/1
Australia 20/1
Ireland 25/1
33/1 bar
* (betting odds taken from Betfair at 23:32 GMT on Thursday, 27thth February 2020)
Does the UK have a serious contender?
So the song is known and it has some time to work its way into the consciousness of the Eurovision aficionados. After “My Last Breath” had its unveiling over the airways, punters flocked to support the entry.
What do we have here in the song? It’s not a big blockbuster of glamour and pomp that some of the other known entrants are going with. It’s a serviceable entry, a fusion of Coldplay and an Ed Sheeran acoustic number.
But is it going to stand out? That’s a different thing as the UK doesn’t exactly have a great track record at the Eurovision. The last win was 23 years ago. Not since 2009 has a UK entry even made the top ten.
Is Newman on to a winner?
James Newman has had a long career in the industry, having written for Ed Sheeran (so no surprise at the sound then) and Rudimental. Things have been a little different this time around.
The BBC scrapped the public vote after last year’s UK entry by James Rice finished last in the final.
That was another forgettable, perhaps lamentable effort in a long list of forgettable songs that the UK has sent to the competition in the last decade or so.
This year the choice of who to send to the Eurovision 2020 to represent the UK was left to industry experts.
UK Eurovision Odds slashed
You could easily have found at least 35/1 odds on the UK to win Eurovision 2020 before the song was unveiled.
It took so much backing in a usual knee-jerk reaction that the UK has been trimmed to 20/1 in Eurovision 2020 betting* (betting odds taken from Betfair at 23:32 GMT on Thursday, 27thth February 2020).
The market movement pulls the song into being a dark horse if not a genuine front runner.
Lithuania leads the way
The market leaders in Eurovision 2020 betting is Lithuania at 5/1* (betting odds taken from Betfair at 23:32 GMT on Thursday, 27thth February 2020).
Romania and Italy are the only other nations trading in single figures for the win at the moment and 7/1 and 8/1 respectively* (betting odds taken from Betfair at 23:32 GMT on Thursday, 27thth February 2020).
Favourites Lithuania are being represented by The Roop with the song “On Fire”. That won their national final which is, just out of interest optimistically called “Let’s Try Again!”. The Roop are a pop-rock band and they actually were third in the national selection vote in 2018.
