Bookmakers see Croatia in the lead – Nemo among the favorites
Published: Saturday, May 11th 2024, 14:10
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Despite the protests against Israel and the short-term disqualification of the Dutch singer, Croatia's singer Baby Lasagna was still at the top of the betting odds just a few hours before the start of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 final in Malmö. Swiss music hopeful Nemo was still among the favorites.
Croatia's singer Baby Lasagna was consistently in first place in the betting odds on Saturday afternoon with 44 percent, leaving Eden Golan in second place (21 percent) with her ballad "Hurricane".
This year's ESC final was accompanied by clear criticism of Israel's participation. In Malmö, thousands of demonstrators called for Israel to be excluded because of its actions in the Gaza Strip. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) tried to prevent the conflict from overshadowing the competition.
In the final of the music competition, half of the votes come from the international juries. Experience has shown that they are unlikely to be inclined towards a harder rock number such as the Croatian "Rim Tim Tagi Dim". Here, the votes could go to Israel or the third-placed entry, the Swiss act Nemo. The talented musician from Biel achieved 15 percent in the betting odds. In "The Code", the non-binary person sings about her personal self-discovery in an acrobatic performance including falsetto highs.
Nemo was followed by the French singer Slimane, who was far behind the leading trio with his powerful-voiced ballad "Mon Amour" with significantly worse odds of just 4 percent. After a long time, ESC 2024 was once again an event in which the winner's pendulum was still open before the start of the final.
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