Ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest final, new research reveals Portugal is likely to sing its way to victory this year. The study by BonusCodeBets, examines the characteristics of all 68 previous winners, finding the average winner to be a 27-year-old female solo artist, singing in English about ‘love’.
And, at 27 years of age, Portuguese entrant MARO almost perfectly matches the formula for Eurovision glory – especially as she sings a large portion of her song in English. Come the end of the night, Cypriot artist Andromache may also be celebrating. At 27-years-old, she too matches a winning profile – albeit her song Ela is sung in Greek and English.
Though of the two nations, owing to Cyprus’ lack of historical success (no wins), Andromache is more likely to miss out on victory, with Portugal being the more successful nation (one win in 2017). Love is always in the air when it comes to Eurovision, as almost one-fifth of winning songs (18%) are lyrically focused on the topic. Moreover, of the previous champions, 50 are soloists, with 38 of those being female – including two of the five previous United Kingdom winners, Sandie Shaw (1967) and Lulu (1969).
Speaking of the UK, there’s set to be some ‘space’ at the bottom between their ‘man’ and first place, as 32-year-old Sam Ryder’s Space Man couldn’t be further from the ideal winner. It could always be worse for the Brits; they could have entered an all-female group. Only once in the history of the competition has one claimed victory, meaning Denmark’s Reddi and Iceland’s Systur could be in for a long night.
A BonusCodeBets spokesperson said: “Historical data shows a formulaic path for selecting a Eurovision entrant. English melodies are popular and can really set artists on a path to the lucrative crown. This year's bookie’s favourite, Kalush Orchestra from Ukraine could defy all odds and become only the fifth all-male group to win the prize. However, Portugal’s MARO is excellent value for punters at 159/1, if she pulls it off.
“As for the UK, though currently amongst the front runners, it’s probably set to end in tears… Sam really can’t do any worse than last year’s James Newman though, after his song Ember failed to light it up!”
