The Eurovision Song Contest 2022 officially gets underway in Italy tonight but the bookies have revealed that Ireland are odds on NOT to make it past the semi-final stage.
Paddy Power has revealed that almost half (46%) of all their customers are backing Ukrainian folk-rap group Kalush Orchestra, who are huge favourites (1/2) to win the contest, followed by UK (10%), Sweden (8%), Poland (5%) and Spain (4%).
Meanwhile there is no such confidence being shown for the Irish entry by punters, with just 8% of those betting actually backing Ireland.
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In fact, according to Paddy Power, it’s a 1/5 shot, reflecting a probability of 83.3%, that 23-year-old Derry native Brooke Scullion and her song That’s Rich won’t make it out of her group on Thursday night.
So, it will come as no surprise to learn that the bookies make her a long shot at 300/1 to win this year’s contest.
Rachael Kane, spokesperson for Paddy Power said: “We hope we’re wrong, but it’s looking like That’s Rich could be a one hit wonder in that we’ll only get to see it performed on stage in Turin once.
“Brooke is as likely to belt out her song again in Saturday night’s final as Marty Whelan is of popping up as one of her backing dancers.”
Meanwhile, Kildare natives emerged as the most likely to bet on the song contest with the majority of Irish bets being placed on this week’s song contest hailing from the Lilywhites.
Across the water in the UK, punters from Dorset and Suffolk were identified by Paddy Power as being Eurovision hotspots in terms of customer interest. And in Scotland, less surprisingly, it’s Edinburgh City.
Rachael continued: “As for the Lilywhites being revealed as Eurovision Song Contest super fans, it’s hardly surprising that they’ve turned their attention towards Turin, given GAA supporters from that neck of the woods in particular have been starved of success for the last couple of decades.”
For the latest and most up-to-date odds on the Eurovision Song Contest, click here.
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