Eurovision Song Contest 2019: All this year's entries and their chances of winning

Eurovision Song Contest 2019: All this year's entries and their chances of winning
Copyright Reuters
Copyright Reuters
By Euronews
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To warm-up for the annual music extravaganza, we've charted all the countries taking part and their chances of coming home with the title.

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Twenty-six countries will battle it out to be crowned Eurovision champion on Saturday. 

To warm-up for the annual music extravaganza, we've charted all the countries taking part and their chances of coming home with the title. 

France, the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain qualify automatically for final, as do the hosts of the competition, Israel.

Earlier this week we had the first and second semi-final, which saw 15 countries bowing out, including seven-time winners Ireland. 

Neither Bulgaria, for financial reasons, nor Ukraine, because of a contract dispute, will take part in the contest. 

Chances of winning are according to bookmakers' predictions, as available here, and are subject to change.

Australia

Jo Duck
Kate Miller-HeidkeJo Duck

Artist: Kate Miller-Heidke, who co-wrote the music and lyrics for the stage production Muriel’s Wedding: The Musical – which also features, of course, music from Eurovision royalty Abba.

Song:Zero Gravity

Chances: 11% chance of winning

Public reaction: Kate was crowned the winner of Eurovision – Australia Decides after running away with the points from both public and jury.

Running order: 25

Greece

Efi Gousi
Katerine DuskaEfi Gousi

Artist: Katerine Duska, often referred to as the "Greek Amy Winehouse". This Greek-Canadian singer-songwriter based in Athens rose to fame with her cover of the Arctic Monkeys' hit Do I Wanna Know.

Song:Better Love

Chances: 1% chance of winning

Public reaction: Duska was very well received by bloggers after the first rehearsals in Tel Aviv, although Pink Floyd legend Roger Waters did ask her not to participate in the contest due to the conflict in the Middle East.

Running order: 13

Israel

Ronen Akerman

Artist: Kobi Marimi, is an actor who began his singing career only recently. He won the sixth season of HaKokhav HaBa, an Israeli interactive reality singing competition, which earned him the right to represent the country in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019.

Song: &nbspHome

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Chances: Less than 1%

Public reaction: Marimi won his place at Eurovision through a reality singing contest, Rising Star, so it's fair to say he's a hit with the public, becoming something of a nation's sweetheart. His song Home, however, received mixed reviews. In response to the criticism, last year's Eurovision winner Netta came out in support of the singer on social media, saying she had a similar experience with her contest-winning song Toy.

Running order: 14

Albania

Edvina Meta
Jonida MaliqiEdvina Meta

Artist: Jonida Maliqi is also a presenter on Albanian television.

Song:Ktheju tokës

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Chances: Less than 1%

Reaction: After the first rehearsals in Tel Aviv, Eurovision bloggers said Maliqi had one of the best voices in the competition. The rehearsal was beset with technical problems however, so hopefully the team will have better luck in the semi-finals.

Running order: 2

Azerbaijan

Alexandr Porubaymykh
ChingizAlexandr Porubaymykh

Artist: Chingiz, who was born in Moscow and moved to Azerbaijan when he was six years old. Chingiz won the Azerbaijani version of Pop Idol and participated in The Voice: Ukraine.

Song:Truth

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Chances: 4%

Public reaction: Chingiz had tremendous support from the jury and viewers of the show.

Running order: 20

Belarus

BTRC
ZENABTRC

Artist: ZENA, who is a social media star with more than 93,000 subscribers on Instagram and more than 15 million views on YouTube. She was a finalist at the 2015 Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Minsk and came in third place in 2016.

Song:Like It

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Chances: Less than 1%

Public reaction: Zena dances in her performance as well as singing, which has apparently won her many fans at home.

Running order: 19

Cyprus

Kynthia Kindeli
TamtaKynthia Kindeli

Artist: Tamta, who was born and raised in Georgia and moved to Greece at the age of 22. She first became popular participating in Super Idol Greece in 2004. By 2014 she was a judge on X Factor Georgia and judged The X Factor Greece in 2016, making her well known in both countries.

Song:Replay

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Chances: 1%

Public reaction: A party song, perfect for a night out in Tel Aviv.

Running order: 11

Czech Republic

Tomas Gal
Lake MalawiTomas Gal

Artist: Lake Malawi are an indie-pop band, founded by Albert Černý in 2013. The band's name was inspired by a Bon Iver song, strengthening their indie credentials.

Song:Friend of a Friend

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Chances: 1%

Public reaction: A clean performance at rehearsals had reviewers predicting the group will do well.

Running order: 3

Denmark

Thomas Cato
LeonoraThomas Cato

Artist: Leonora, a woman of many talents. As a figure skater, she has won the Danish championship three times and also participated in the Junior World Championship and Nordic Championship. She will sing her song Love is Forever in four languages.

Song:Love Is Forever

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Chances: 1%

Public reaction: Audiences said the song was cute with a nice vibe and a positive message that we could all do with right now, but not quite catchy enough.

Running order: 6

Estonia

Stina Kase
Victor CroneStina Kase

Artist: Victor Crone, who is actually a Swedish musician, but currently based in Estonia. He says he hopes to make his adopted country proud.

Song:Storm

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Chances: Less than 1%

Public reaction: Crone feels Storm should be open to the interpretation of the listener but says the song is about "weathering hard times, and knowing that they will eventually come to an end". Reviewers seem to agree that it has a deeper meaning than its lightness would suggest.

Running order: 18

France

Fifou
Bilal HassaniFifou

Artist: Bilal Hassani

Song:Roi

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Chances: 2%

Public reaction: Bilal, 19, is already an online star with a huge community of followers and millions of song views. But since being selected for Eurovision he has been the target of cyber harassment over his sexuality as well as his wigs and makeup, and his Moroccan origins. But Bilal says the only thing that scares him is to sing in front of 200 million people.

Running order: 21

North Macedonia

Cedomir Popovski
Tamara TodevskaCedomir Popovski

Artist: Tamara Todevska, one of the best-selling female artists in her country. She says she will dedicate her song Proud to her two children.

Song: Proud

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Chances: 1%

Public reaction: Both the song and Todovska's performance received excellent reviews from the audience.

Running order: 8

Germany

NDR/Hendrik Lüders
S!stersNDR/Hendrik Lüders

Artist: S!sters, consists of Carlotta Truman and Laurita Kästel, who are not in fact sisters.

Song:Sister

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Chances: Less than 1%

Public reaction: The jury and public both voted for the song during the national competition to represent Germany in Tel Aviv, however, it gets mixed reviews among audiences. Some say it isn't a "Eurovision song" while others applaud its message about female friendship.

Running order: 4

Iceland

Lilja Jóns
HatariLilja Jóns

Artist: Hatari, a BDSM, techno-dystopian, performance art collective founded in 2015 in Reykjavik are an ambitious bunch, saying they are entering Eurovision to bring down capitalism.

Song:Hatrið mun sigra (Hate Will Prevail)

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Chances: 3%

Public reaction: Already easily the most extreme of Eurovision performances this year.

Running order: 17

Italy

Attilio Cusani
MahmoodAttilio Cusani

Artist: Mahmood, whose real name is Alessandro Mahmoud, was born in Milan to an Italian-Egyptian family and won the prestigious Sanremo festival with the song he will sing at Eurovision.

Song:Soldi

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Chances: 4%

Public reaction: After Sanremo, the track immediately became a mega-hit in Italy, topping the charts.

Running order: 22

Malta

Jonathan Brincat
MichelaJonathan Brincat

Artist: Michela, who has only just turned 18, performs in a wide range of genres from pop and country to soul.

Song:Chameleon

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Chances: 1%

Public reaction: The colourful performance Malta has in store for the Eurovision audience this year is very likely to get its attention.

Running order: 1

The Netherlands

Paul Bellaart
Duncan LaurencePaul Bellaart

Artist: Duncan Laurence, who won a talent show when he was 16, landing the opportunity to record his first demo.

Song:Arcade

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Chances: 47%

Public reaction: The bookies' favourite to win.

Running order: 12

Norway

Julia Marie Naglestad
KEiiNOJulia Marie Naglestad

Artist: KEiiNO was founded in 2018 specifically to compete for the chance to represent Norway at Eurovision, and consists of Sami songwriter and rapper Fred Buljo, and Norwegian singers Alexandra Rotan and Tom Hugo.

Song:Spirit in the Sky

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Chances: 2%

Public reaction: Spirit in the Sky has rocketed to the top of the Norwegian charts.

Running order: 15

Russia

Daniil Velichko
Sergey LazarevDaniil Velichko

Artist: Sergey Lazarev, who will represent Russia for the second time. He started his music career as a child and later formed a popular duo called Smash! with his friend Vlad Topalov. Lazarev finished in third place at Eurovision 2016 in Stockholm.

Song:Scream

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Chances: 4%

Public reaction: Bloggers say the performance is modern and well staged and the song has been well received by journalists in Tel Aviv.

Running order: 5

San Marino

Cem Talu
SerhatCem Talu

Artist: Serhat, who is of Turkish origin, is a singer, songwriter, music producer, and television producer and presenter. He's back at Eurovision for the second time and wrote the song he performs this year.

Song:Say Na Na Na

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Chances: Less than 1%

Public reaction: The song has had very mixed reviews, but since Serhat's new album has been released in Sweden, Germany, Belgium and France, he'll be a familiar face to many.

Running order: 7

Serbia

Alek Živković
Nevena BožovićAlek Živković

Artist: Nevena Božović, who took third place at the 2007 Junior Eurovision Song Contest and sang with the band Moje 3 which represented Serbia at the 2013 contest. Nevena was also a jury member in the Serbian national finals to choose the country’s 2015 Eurovision entry.

Song:Kruna (The Crown)

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Chances: Less than 1%

Public reaction: Her confident voice has found her many fans, even if the bookmakers aren't convinced.

Running order: 23

Slovenia

Ana Šantl
Zala Kralj & Gašper ŠantAna Šantl

Artist: Zala Kralj & Gašper Šantl are a singing duo and a couple, who first met on Instagram.

Song:Sebi

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Chances: 1%

Public reaction: The song has had a mixed reception but reviewers think the couple are cute.

Running order: 10

Spain

José Irún
MikiJosé Irún

Artist: Miki, who is frontman of a cover band formed of his high school best friends.

Song:La Venda

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Chances: 1%

Public reaction: An uplifting song, La Venda will certainly cheer up Eurovision, but critics say it's more suitable for a village fiesta than an international competition.

Running order: 26

Sweden

Janne Danielsson/SVT
John LundvikJanne Danielsson/SVT

Artist: John Lundvik represents Sweden as a singer, and is also a songwriter and composer who worked on the United Kingdom's entry Bigger Than Us. He's also a former sprinter.

Song:Too Late For Love

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Chances: 7%

Public reaction: The song hit number 1 in Sweden and is currently one of the most played on Swedish radio. When this year's participants were asked which song they would sing if not their own, this was a popular answer.

Running order: 9

Switzerland

Lukas Maeder/SRF
Luca HänniLukas Maeder/SRF

Artist: Luca Hänni, who won the Deutschland sucht den Superstar TV talent show. He was the first non-German and the youngest ever contestant to do so.

Song:She Got Me

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Chances: 6%

Public reaction: Going on audience reaction we are highly likely to see Switzerland in the final this year, which is not the usual state of affairs.

Running order: 24

United Kingdom

Joe Giacomet/BBC
Michael RiceJoe Giacomet/BBC

Artist: Michael Rice, who is known to the UK public as the winner of the first series of BBC Entertainment show All Together Now 2018. Growing up he worked at McDonalds, but always dreamt of being a singer. His career started when a video of him singing a Years & Years song went viral. Rice is currently working on his debut EP.

Song:Bigger Than Us

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Public reaction: Rice's talent and his charm is well received by the public. But will the song stand out enough?

Running order: 16

Countries that did not progress from the semi-finals

Hungary

Artist: Joci Pápai, who is heading to Eurovision for the second time, after finishing in 8th place in 2017.

Song: Az én apám (My Father)

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Public reaction: Both the professional jury and the public voted for this song in the national competition.

Romania

Artist: Ester Peony, who studied jazz in Bucharest. She composes for mainstream and underground musicians and is also famous for her covers. Her first single Sub aripa ta got 16 million views on YouTube.

Song: On a Sunday

Public reaction: Peony tells a sad love story with class, and Eurovision's audience might give it more love than the bookmakers.

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Poland

Artist: Tulia's fame began in 2017, when Depeche Mode published the band's folk version of their Nineties hit Enjoy the Silence on their official fan page. The band sings in a unique style of Polish folk called śpiewokrzyk – which means screaming sing.

Song: Fire of Love (Pali się)

Public reaction: Audiences have been going mad for it.

Portugal

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Artist: Conan Osiris, a regular polymath, is a singer, dancer, songwriter, composer and producer.

Song: Telemóveis

Public reaction: Telemóveis won the competition with the maximum number of points from both the jury and the audience.

Montenegro

Artist: D mol is a young Montenegrin music group formed at a private music school. Their mentor Daniel Alibabic is a former member of No Name, Montenegro's participant for the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest in Kyiv.

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Song: Heaven

Public reaction: The song doesn't seem to be making much impact on the audience or the bookmakers.

Moldova

Artist: Anna Odobescu, who previously performed with a jazz orchestra before becoming a vocal coach.

Song: Stay

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Public reaction: Odobescu's performance gets great reviews from the Eurovision fans and bloggers, however the song itself is not thought to be that strong.

Latvia

Artist: Carousel, a band founded in 2015.

Song: That Night

Public reaction: According to bloggers, a beautiful tune and great lyrics still might not be enough to get Latvia to this year's final.

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Lithuania

Artist: Jurij Veklenko, who rose to fame via a number of Lithuanian TV shows. It's not his first time at the Eurovision Song Contest either – he has twice performed as a backing vocalist.

Song: Run With The Lions

Public reaction: Run With The Lions gained the highest points from both the jury and the viewers in Lithuania's national competition.

Ireland

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Artist: Sarah McTernan

Song: 22

Public reaction: Audiences have enjoyed this memorable, positive song and McTernan's performance but, according to the odds, it doesn't stand much of a chance.

Georgia

Artist: Oto Nemsadze, who won this year's Georgian Idol.

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Song: Keep on Going

Public reaction: While a powerful song for the Georgian audience, this might not necessarily be the case for international Eurovision fans.

Belgium

Artist: Eliot, who is 18, was discovered as a musician in season 7 of The Voice Belgique. A veritable Morrissey in the making, he says his passion is for English pop and melancholy songs.

Song: Wake Up

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Public reaction: Eliot says Wake Up is a call to young people to rally together for a better world. Reviewers got his point, calling the song meaningful as well as catchy.

Croatia

Artist: Roko, who has just turned 19, started his career at an early age, participating in Croatia's Got Talent.

Song: The Dream

Public reaction: The song might not be for everyone, but reviewers agree Roko sounds great.

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Armenia

Artist: Srbuk, a star of X Factor Armenia and The Voice: Ukraine, has become one of the most popular musical acts in Armenia, and is a familiar face at music festivals and public events.

Song: Walking Out

Reaction: Reviewers say Srbuk's voice is powerful – the song, however, has had mixed reviews.

Austria

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Artist: PAENDA, whose style is a mix of electro, hip hop, pop and techno.

Song: Limits

Public reaction: Reviewers say the song, written by PAENDA, works well with her singing style. But critics think there is not enough going on in the song itself.

Finland

Anton Sucksdorff

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Darude feat. Sebastian Rejman Anton Sucksdorff

Artist: Darude, one of the most successful of modern Finnish artists and writer of the 2000 international mega-hit Sandstorm will perform with singer and actor Sebastian Rejman.

Song: Look Away

Public reaction: This mutli-talented pair have been very well received by the Finnish public.

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