Eurovision 2026 Betting Odds, Predictions and Favourites
From 12 to 16 May the jubilee 70th Eurovision will take place. After the victory of Austrian JJ in the previous edition, the 2026 contest is being held in Vienna, where 35 participants will compete for the prize. Despite the numerous scandals preceding the draw, bookmakers have not changed the top three favourites.
Who will win Eurovision 2026?
In this article we will examine all the scenarios ahead of the main song contest and note what to pay attention to when betting on such an unusual event.
Who will win Eurovision 2026: Predictions
After the announcement of the participants, legal bookmakers determined the odds on victory. The main favourite is Finland with the song “Liekinheitin”. Austria, the host and last year’s winner, is third from last at
184/1
The curse of the host country and the far from convincing track Tanzschein did their work.
Eurovision 2026 Winner Odds
This year we will not see Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain — these countries are boycotting Eurovision for political reasons.
The biggest blow Eurovision suffered was Spain’s absence — the country was a member of the “Big Five”, automatically qualifying for the final and contributing a significant financial input to the contest’s organisation.
Finland: Cha Cha Cha and 2023
Linda Lampenius and Pit Parkkonen will perform the track “Liekinheitin”, which translates as flamethrower. The mood of the track is appropriate — strings and dense stadium rock.
Already during the national selection there were flashbacks to 2023, when Käärijä went to Eurovision with the track “Cha-cha-cha”, winning the semi-final by a large margin and taking silver in the contest. Lampenius and Parkkonen also confidently won the Finnish selection, receiving 52% of the votes (compared to only 19% for the nearest competitors).
Bookmakers promptly reacted and made Finland the main favourite of the contest.
France: Focus on the Jury
The French focused on the technical component: the song “Regarde !” (Look!) is a love ballad in Versailles style, which captures not with drive but with intimate atmosphere and Monroe’s vocals.
France did not hold a public selection, choosing the performer and composition internally. Considering the technical difficulty of the song and Monroe’s abilities, the French are almost certainly going to be among the leaders in professional jury voting.
Denmark: Returning to the Favourites Race
The Danes have returned to the contest victory race after frankly weak performances in recent years. Soren Lund will perform the song “Før vi går hjem” (Before We Go Home).
The song references early 21st-century Scandinavian pop, and Soren, with excellent vocals and charisma, perfectly reached the audience, confidently winning the national selection.
United Kingdom: No Computer, Mum
The most unusual and technological performance is expected from the United Kingdom — Sam Battle, known as Look Mum No Computer, will go to Eurovision. He is famous for homemade synthesizers and other instruments built from scratch in his garage. He also used them to record and perform the track “Eins, Zwei, Drei”.
The UK also follows an internal selection process, so this experimental choice can be seen as a deliberate decision. There is plenty of risk involved — a track of this nature could come across as unusual to the average viewer, but it also has the potential to become a cult favourite.
Bookmakers agree that the number will be niche, so Sam is not considered a favourite —
66/1
for his victory.
Schedule, Draw and Changes in Eurovision 2026
Eurovision will take place in three stages:
-
First semi-final — 12 May. 15 participating countries;
-
Second semi-final — 14 May. 15 participating countries;
-
Final — 16 May. Top 10 from each semi-final, Austria (host) and the “Big Four” — Germany, France, Italy, United Kingdom.
In 2026 the voting system has also changed. Each country’s jury increased from five to seven members, with at least two aged 18–25.
The number of votes that can be sent using one payment method has been reduced from 20 to 10. This was done after the scandal with Israel’s victory in 2025: the country is suspected of inflating votes using the same payment methods, and citizens were encouraged to vote by state structures, which is prohibited by contest rules.
Interestingly, ahead of Eurovision, Israel is leading in televoting odds — bookmakers offer
3/2
for the Israelis’ victory.
Eurovision 2026 Prediction
Considering that interest and positive emotions from any of the contest songs are purely subjective, and victory will be decided by combined audience and jury scores, it makes sense to consider the favourites in terms of popularity and technical aspects of their tracks.
It is possible to analyse how much audiences like the songs using YouTube — comparing likes and views.
YouTube Metrics Comparison of Eurovision 2026 Favourites
|
Country |
Views (million) |
Likes (thousand) |
|
Finland |
2,4 |
34 |
|
France |
1,8 |
25 |
|
Denmark |
2,1 |
27 |
Technically, the French vocal performance is ahead of the northern competitors. On the other hand, juries also pay attention to the quality and character of the performance. In terms of performance, the French ballad is far behind most top-five competitors, which is noticeable by the number of views on video platforms.
The balanced option appears to be the Danish representative — with strong vocals and excellent stage presence, Soren presented a technically deep track in a simple, radio-friendly package.
Denmark offered a similar format in 2013 and won. Slightly more relaxed, but similar in style, was Maneskin’s performance in 2021 — and again gold. Possibly next year the contest will be held in Copenhagen for the first time in almost 15 years.
Frequently Asked Questions
Eurovision 2026 will be held from 12 to 16 May 2026.
According to bookmakers, the main favourite is Finland with the song “Liekinheitin”.
In 2025 Austria won: JJ with the song “Wasted Love”.
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