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Eurovision semi final 2: Odds, how to watch and the five countries to look out for

Graham Norton will be back doing the UK commentary at the Eurovision final on Saturday 14 May

Jess Denham
Thursday 12 May 2016 12:47 BST
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Dami Im performs 'Sound of Silence' for Australia in the second semi final dress rehearsal
Dami Im performs 'Sound of Silence' for Australia in the second semi final dress rehearsal

Eighteen countries are preparing to do battle in the second Eurovision semi-final of 2016.

The UK’s entry Joe and Jake has a straight pass through to Saturday’s final as one of the five biggest economic contributors, but there are plenty of other acts competing for a shot at glory.

Only ten of Thursday night’s performers can score a place in the final. Professional juries from each of the countries, as well as those from the UK, Germany and Italy, voted on the dress rehearsals yesterday and will account for 50 per cent of the total votes. The other half will be decided by the public televote from the same countries.

Below is the running order for the second semi-final, decided by producers to make sure that each song stands out and makes the most exciting show possible. The best odds at the time of publication (to win, taken from oddschecker.com) have also been included for anyone planning on placing a cheeky bet:

Latvia: “Heartbeat” by Justs, 40/1

Poland: “Color Of Your Life” by Michał Szpak, 40/1

Switzerland: “The Last Of Our Kind” by Rykka, 300/1

Israel: “Made Of Stars” by Hovi Star, 22/1

Belarus: “Help You Fly” by IVAN, 200/1

Serbia: “Goodbye (Shelter)” by Sanja Vučić ZAA, 16/1

Ireland: “Sunlight” by Nicky Byrne, 200/1

FYR Macedonia: “Dona” by Kaliopi, 300/1

Lithuania: “I've Been Waiting For This Night” by Donny Montell, 200/1


Australia: “Sound Of Silence” by Dami Im, 10/3

Slovenia: “Blue And Red” by ManuElla, 300/1

Bulgaria: “If Love Was A Crime” by Poli Genova, 14/1

Denmark: “Soldiers Of Love” by Lighthouse X, 200/1

Ukraine: “1944” by Jamala, 8/13

Norway: “Icebreaker” by Agnete, 200/1

Georgia: “Midnight Gold” by Nika Kocharov and Young Georgian Lolitaz, 200/1

Albania: “Fairytale” by Eneda Tarifa, 300/1

Belgium: “What's The Pressure” by Laura Tesoro, 28/1

Ukraine is the favourite, closely followed by Australia, who returns to Eurovision for the second year running with new act Dami Im. Bulgaria, Serbia and Israel are also hotly-tipped based on the odds, while Westlife fans will be excited to watch former member Nicky Byrne sing “Sunlight” for Ireland. Have a listen to their songs here:

Ukraine

Australia

Bulgaria

Serbia

Israel


The second semi-final will be broadcast live from the Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden at 9pm CET (8pm here) on Eurovision.tv. It will air on BBC Four at the same time, with commentary from The Great British Bake Off’s Mel Giedroyc and BBC Radio 1 DJ Scott Mills.

Ten acts made it through to Saturday’s grand final on Tuesday - catch up on those results here.

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