The day is finally here. After months of planning and excitement it's finally time for the 26 acts and bands take to the stage in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. It is the first time in 25 years that the event is being held right here in the UK.
The juggernaut that is Eurovision has been calling Liverpool its home for the past few weeks with the grand final taking place at Liverpool's M&S Bank Arena on Saturday night. Traditionally, the massive event wouldn't have happened this year due to the country finishing in second place during last year's competition.
Eurovision 2022 winners Ukraine would have hosted this year's event after Kalush Orchestra stormed to victory in both emotional and joyful scenes in Turin back in May 2022. But the ongoing Russian invasion resulted in the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) deciding it was not a 'viable option' for the country to host the contest.
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And with the UK's entry Sam Ryder coming second at last year's event, the broadcaster decided we would be the best fit to host the 67th Eurovision Song Contest on Ukraine's behalf.
Earlier this week, the finalists were confirmed following two semi-finals with a further 20 acts joining reigning champions Ukraine and the "big five" - the UK, Spain, France, Germany and Italy.
But who appears to be favourite to take the title this year? According to Betfair, Sweden, who are being represented for the third time by Loreen, are the 4/9 favourites to win Eurovision 2023, having been 8/13 mid-week.
The United Kingdom, who is being represented by Mae Muller, were 7/1 when Liverpool was confirmed as the host city last October, but are now big 66/1 outsiders. Meanwhile, odds on Ukraine winning for a second successive year have drifted to 12/1 from 15/2 during the week.
The full list of odds at the time of writing:
- Sweden 4/9
- Finland 5/2
- Ukraine 12/1
- Norway 14/1
- France 16/1
- Spain 18/1
- Israel 19/1
- Austria 55/1
- Italy 60/1
- United Kingdom 66/1
- Armenia, Australia 75/1
- Czech Republic, Belgium, Croatia 100/1
- Switzerland 150/1
- Slovenia, Cyprus 200/1
- Serbia, Poland 225/1
- Germany, Moldova, Portugal 250/1
- Estonia, Lithuania 300/1
- Albania 500/1
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