Who will win Eurovision 2024? Latest odds revealed

The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 is here, with the UK fielding a strong contestant in Malmo with Olly Alexander

British singer Olly Alexander performs on stage at the Nordic Eurovision Party in Stockholm on April 14, 2024. (Photo by Christine Olsson/TT / TT News Agency / AFP) / Sweden OUT (Photo by CHRISTINE OLSSON/TT/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images)
What are Olly Alexander's odds of winning Eurovision? (AFP via Getty Images)

The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 is underway in Malmo, Sweden as the finalists follow their dreams of getting a win for their country.

Although the United Kingdom has had a tough time in the wilderness of the contest's scoring over the past couple of years, there are high hopes of a bigger share of the points this time as Olly Alexander answers the Eurovision call.

But can the UK actually win, and who are the favourites to be crowned champion this year? We take a look at the Eurovision 2024 favourites.

07 May 2024, Sweden, Malmö: Baby Lasagna from Croatia with the song
Will Baby Lasagna triumph in the competition? (Jens Büttner/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Two strong favourites to lift the Eurovision trophy this year have emerged - Croatia and Israel, ousting Switzerland from its previous spot as the strongest contender with Nemo's song The Code pushed down to third place in the bookies' odds at 9/2.

Croatian act Baby Lasagna has been expected to do well with his entry, Rim Tim Tagi Dim, since the acts were unveiled and he now looks poised to scoop a win at 5/6.

Israel's Eden Golan has had an unexpected surge in the odds to 10/3 since qualifying in the second semi-final on Thursday after a Eurovision campaign hit by controversy.

09 May 2024, Sweden, Malmö: Eden Golan from Israel with the song
Israel's Eden Golan has changed her song to Hurricane. (picture alliance via Getty Images)

Eurovision's organisers have rejected calls to ban Israel from the contest amid the war. Golan had a last-minute song change to Hurricane after her original entry, October Rain, was thought to refer to the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. Thursday's semi-final also saw pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather outside the arena.

Ukraine has risen up the ranks after qualifying from Tuesday’s first semi-final (May 7). Ukrainian duo alyona alyona and Jerry Heil are at 9/1, while Ireland also qualified and has current odds of 14/1.

However, things aren’t looking so good for the UK, now priced at 80/1 just a day before the final.

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 07: Olly Alexander onstage during the London Eurovision Party 2024 at Outernet London on April 07, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)
Can Olly Alexander win for the UK? (Getty Images)

These are BetVictor's latest odds for the 10 most likely champions:

  • Croatia - 5/6

  • Israel - 10/3

  • Switzerland - 9/2

  • Ukraine - 9/1

  • Ireland - 14/1

  • France - 16/1

  • Italy - 18/1

  • Netherlands - 22/1

  • Greece - 66/1

  • UK - 80/1

  • BAR - 100/1

When Years & Years singer Olly Alexander was announced as the UK's Eurovision entrant during last year's Strictly Come Dancing, hopes were high that we could get a win.

His track Dizzy was originally one of the favourites in the contest, but unfortunately he has dropped down the odds as the main event approaches and is now just 80/1 to win.

Watch: Olly Alexander's Eurovision entry Dizzy

Sam Ryder was our most successful act of recent years, placing second to Ukraine in 2022 with his song Space Man. The UK last won Eurovision in 1997 with Katrina and the Waves' Love Shine a Light.

Sweden is the host of this year's contest after being crowned the winners in 2023 with Loreen's song Tattoo.

Loreen became the second performer to win twice at Eurovision, along with Ireland's Johnny Logan, and she also helped Sweden to tie with Ireland on most overall wins with seven each.

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - MAY 13: UK Entry Mae Muller reacts during The Eurovision Song Contest 2023 Grand Final at M&S Bank Arena on May 13, 2023 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Anthony Devlin/Getty Images)
Mae Muller placed 25th. (Getty Images)

After Ryder's 2022 success and with the UK as proxy hosts in 2023 in place of Ukraine, there was optimism that Mae Muller might be able to go one better than Ryder with I Wrote A Song.

However, the entry did not live up to expectations in the voting, with Muller placing 25th out of 26 finalists, finishing with just 24 points.

The Eurovision Grand Final takes place on Saturday 11 May.