Betting markets keep Finland as Eurovision favorite after Semi‑Final 1

Eurovision betting markets kept Finland as the favorite to win the 2026 Song Contest on Thursday, a day after the first semi-final in Vienna. EurovisionWorld’s odds page listed Finland first in its outright winner market, ahead of Greece, Denmark, Australia and Israel. Finland’s act, Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen, also qualified from the first semi-final on Tuesday, keeping the bookmakers’ front-runner in the field for Saturday’s final. (eurovisionworld.com) EurovisionWorld showed Finland with a 37% winning chance on May 14, based on bookmaker prices displayed on its site. The same table listed Greece second on 13%, Denmark third on 11%, Australia fourth on 8% and Israel fifth on 6%. Betting markets are not official Eurovision results, but they are watched closely by fans and traders as a live measure of bookmaker expectations before the televised vote. ### How strong was Finland’s position after Semi-Final 1? (eurovisionworld.com) EurovisionWorld’s winner market put Finland clearly ahead of the pack on Thursday, with decimal odds clustered around roughly 1.91 to 2.26 across listed bookmakers. Greece, the nearest challenger on the page, was materially further back, with prices ranging from about 5.0 to 8.4. That gap left Finland as the most established favorite after the first semi-final rather than a narrow market leader. (eurovisionworld.com) ESCToday listed Finland among the 10 countries that advanced from the first semi-final, alongside Greece, Belgium, Sweden, Moldova, Israel, Serbia, Croatia, Lithuania and Poland. That meant the market leader avoided the main immediate risk facing pre-contest favorites: elimination before the grand final. ### Who is Finland’s act, and what song are bookmakers backing? (eurovisionworld.com) EurovisionWorld identified Finland’s entry as Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen performing “Liekinheitin.” The site placed the duo first in the outright market and attached the highest implied winning chance to their song among all listed acts. Search results tied to Finland’s 2026 entry also identified Lampenius and Parkkonen as the performers of “Liekinheitin,” reinforcing that the betting favorite is the Finnish duo rather than a solo act. (esctoday.com) EurovisionWorld’s odds page is the clearest source for the market ranking itself. ### Which other countries are near the top of the market? EurovisionWorld’s table on Thursday ranked Greece second, Denmark third, Australia fourth and Israel fifth in the outright winner market. (eurovisionworld.com) France, Romania, Italy, Malta and Ukraine rounded out the site’s top 10 at the time the page was opened. Israel’s presence near the top of the market came after it also advanced from the first semi-final, according to ESCToday’s results post. (en.wikipedia.org) Greece did the same, meaning two of the better-backed acts had already secured their places in the final before Thursday night’s second semi-final. ### What still has to happen before the winner is decided? EurovisionWorld said the second semi-final would be held on Thursday, May 14, at 21:00 CEST from Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna. (eurovisionworld.com) The site said 15 countries would compete for the last 10 places in the grand final, with hosts Victoria Swarovski and Michael Ostrowski leading the show. Eurovision’s official contest page gave the same timetable and said the grand final is scheduled for Saturday, May 16, at 21:00 CEST. (esctoday.com) The second semi-final lineup includes Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Romania, Luxembourg, Czechia, Armenia, Switzerland, Cyprus, Latvia, Denmark, Australia, Ukraine, Albania, Malta and Norway. Saturday, May 16, is the next point at which the betting market can be tested against the official result, when the grand final is held in Vienna after Thursday’s second semi-final fills the remaining 10 places. (eurovisionworld.com) (eurovision.com)