There are two months left until the Eurovision Song Contest, and the list of representatives and songs from the 37 countries competing is now official. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), organizer of the music competition for European public and associated television stations, closed it on Monday. Now, the bettors who bet their money on who will win the grand final on May 11 in Malmö (Sweden) know – and have been able to listen to – all the candidates, so the rankings of favorites offered by the betting houses take on a real meaning.
Right now, European bettors point to the song sent by Croatia, Rim Tim Tagi Dim, by Baby Lasagna, the stage name of the singer and composer Marko Puriši?, as a potential winner. The second country in preferences is Ukraine, with the Teresa theme
If Baby Lasagna manages to win the festival this year, it would be Croatia’s first Eurovision victory, although the Croatian band Riva won in 1989 with Rock me when Yugoslavia still existed, so the 1990 festival was held in the Croatian capital, Zagreb. Mixing elements of techno, heavy metal, pop, trap and traditional Croatian dance, and seasoned with humor, the song Rim Tim Tagi Dim is inspired by the exodus abroad of young people from Croatia: the protagonist says goodbye to his cow, his cat and other familiar elements in their town to set sail for another destination in the city.
Ukrainian song Teresa
If Ukraine wins – as happened in 2022 – and if the war continues, the scheme of granting the organization of the next festival to the second classified country would most likely be repeated, as was done last year, when Liverpool hosted it thanks to the silver. by the British Sam Ryder. Since it began competing in Eurovision in 2003, Ukraine has always obtained very good results and has three victories: Ruslana with Wild dances (2004), Jamala with 1944 (2016) and Kalush Orchestra with Stefania (2022).
In third place, the Italian Angelina Mango, winner of the Sanremo festival, defends the benefits of boredom in her cumbia La noia. Italy, in addition to the 2021 victory of the rock band Måneskin with Zitti e buoni, previously won the award in 1964 (Gigliola Cinquetti, Non ho l’età) and in 1990 (Toto Cutugno, Insieme: 1992).
The fourth favorite, the Swiss Nemo (his last name is Mettler) tells in The code his process of self-understanding as a non-binary person. Switzerland is a veteran with honors: it hosted the first Eurovision Song Contest in history, which was held in Lugano in 1956, and won it thanks to Lys Assia with the song Refrain. The second Swiss victory came in 1988 at the hands of a then unknown Céline Dion (Ne partez pas sans moi).
The favorite quintet is closed by the Dutchman Joost Klein with a song that is somewhere between hooligan and endearing, Europapa, a praise to the advantages of being an EU citizen, very timely in view of the European elections next June. The Netherlands has won Eurovision five times: 1957, 1959, 1969, 1975 and 2019. In this 68th edition, the competition is strong again; The bets draw a highly plausible scenario, but it is up to the voting to make the final decision.