Eurovision betting favourite romps home with records points haul
Eurovision betting favourite Alexander Rybak of Norway last night won the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow with a record 387 points, proving that his odds-on status with leading bookmaker Sky Bet was well deserved.
Norway had been 10/11 favourite going into Saturday night’s extravaganza in Moscow and Sky Bet’s Eurovision betting expert Helen Jacob said: “Norway was originally quoted at 2/1, which is a short price anyway but he was backed down to odds-on in the countdown to the contest. Alex was the strongest Eurovision betting favourite in many years and deservedly so. A catchy song, with a great, second-half performance slot, a charming, young Belarusian performer who united the Nordic and ex Soviet voting blocks, proved to be an unstoppable force and we had been resigned to paying out on Norway for some time.”
With antepost Eurovision betting favourites Greece (5/1) and the Ukraine (12/1) finishing down the table and countries like the UK, Estonia and Iceland, who have fared less well in recent years, ranking in the top 6, one can assume that Eurovision is once again a singing competition rather than a political popularity contest. The introduction of the national juries seems to have levelled the playing field which made for an exciting betting heat and good news for the United Kingdom.
The United Kingdom’s Jade Ewen just finishing out of the places in fifth was a great result for bookmaker Sky Bet as she had been extremely well supported and backed all the way down to 4/1 in-play from 33/1. However, Sky Bet faced a hefty payout on the United Kingdom finishing top of the ‘big four’ nations, beating nearest ‘big four’ rival France by 66 points.
As ever, in-play betting on Eurovision proved to be hugely popular with online betting firm Sky Bet betting on the winner right up until the scores came in.
The contest goes to Oslo next year and Sky Bet make the United Kingdom 10/1 to win and 2/1 for another top-five finish.