Fans in Ireland continue to back Ryan O’Shaughnessy to win the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest – even though Vladimir Putin has a better chance of landing the 2018 Nobel Peace prize (100/1).
Ireland has drifted from 150/1 to 200/1 (which represents a 0.5% probability) to win the contest outright, but that hasn’t stopped patriotic punters supporting the singer.
“Love it or hate it, we all know the Eurovision has a special place in people’s hearts in Ireland given our glory days in the competition,” Paddy Power spokesperson Rachael Kane explained. “And that could be colouring punters’ view of Ryan’s chances, which don’t look too hot. To put that in perspective, it’s shorter odds for Joe Brolly (100/1) to be the next president of Ireland after Micheal D, and on a par with the likelihood of Sinn Fein (200/1) having the majority in the next Irish Government.”
But there is still some hope, as Ryan has been backed in from 5/1 to 10/3 to get through the semi-final stage on Tuesday night.
“According to our in-house Eurovision experts, this is due to the fact that he’s put in some impressive performances during rehearsals, and the decision to include dancers in his video appears to have helped his chances massively and triggered further support.”
Also, we all know that everybody needs good neighbours when it comes to the Eurovision, but it appears that Irish aficionados are betting on the UK to make a swift Brexit in the contest.
“A significant chunk of Irish punters are backing the UK to finish on nul points (10/1), so that doesn’t bode well for our friends across the water,” she added.
In the outright betting market, Irish punters fancy the chances of Australia, France and Moldova in recent days.
The French song, ‘Mercy’ by Madame Monsieur, is inspired by the birth of a baby girl named ‘Mercy’ born to a Nigerian refugee, who gave birth to her just hours after being rescued by a humanitarian organisation having braved a crossing from northern Africa to Europe. The backstory has captured people’s imagination, and the hearts of Irish punters in the process.
Our support of Australia seems due to the fact that they are currently priced at enticing odds of 50/1, and Moldova has proven a popular selection across the board, following their impressive rehearsals last week.
Israel (15/8), Norway (6/1) and Estonia (6/1) currently head the betting as the most likely to win the contest outright in Saturday night’s finals.
Head over to PaddyPower.com for the latest betting on the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest