Odds Review: Week Ending 29/01
As we exit January, our first updates this week come from the ongoing national finals in Norway and Lithuania.
Ulrikke's path to victory is more clear following the NQ of Maria Cellin in semi 3 seemingly leavng Allesandra and outsiders Atle and Jone to battle it out. The results and performances of semi 3 caused another flip in the market as Norway just can't sit still. They've not turned down a winner mind or anything close so it's all pretty irrelevant.
Speaking of turning down potential winners, that's what Lithuania might be up to. If they wish to see whether their voting is on the right track they need only look at the odds drift. It's probably time to break cover in saying 'Love of My Life' has (or maybe now had) immense potential and judging by the pile of money desperate to exit the market I'm not the only one who felt that. Unfortunately, this song may have emerged from just too far down the list of names in Pabandom Is Naujo. Petunija will be needing a hard and fast momentum shift or Lithuania will be in their usual 13th- 20th spot once again.
Yesterday also saw Iceland reveal their songs with nothing standing out. Germany went earlier in the week and offers a potentially unpredictable national final. As often for Germany, there's some decent options in there, it's choosing right and developing on that which proves their downfall more than anything. It’s probably best to re-assess both after they’ve selected.
Of course, Austria's almost certain entry of 'Edgar Allan Poe' has been doing the rounds too and, well, it's almost a song.
Finally, because the Eurovision God's would hate for me to be able to draft these in advance, we also have big movement in the Czech Republic this evening with Vesna getting some attention.
For full disclosure, I've been backing the Czech's over the past week because 100+ on them with half the field d.o.a is too big. I don't see a winner or a top 5 but I intend to sit on that green for now as this is already seeming like a year in which I am massively out of touch with the consensus. I find everything usually falls into place once the full field is out but right now, I'm finding much less to be excited about than most.
The escbetting hot-take: From all the hyper-camp entries floating around, those looking for Ukraine-related support, and those being more 'out there' (of which there's plenty of crossover) - an entirely more 'normal' and palatable entry is going to take the win this year.
The next week brings Fests of both the Mel and Benidorm variety with Spain also selecting their act, as do Ireland and Norway. We will also be 'treated' to Slovenia's entry and we also expect the preiously mentioned Austria to officially quoth their plans.
