Once more, musicians from Europe and around the world will be going head to head on Saturday, hoping to take home the glass microphone of the 68th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. Last year, Sweden's Loreen took home the trophy and pushed the Nordic country to a joint first rank with Ireland regarding Eurovision Song Contest wins.
According to the competition’s official website, Ireland is the only nation to have won three years in a row. Ireland’s last victory came when Eimear Quinn was crowned the winner with the song The Voice in 1996. Sweden's first win was achieved by ABBA back in 1974.
The UK, France, the Netherlands and Luxembourg all come in joint second place with five wins each. According to an average of the winning odds at 17 betting sites, Croatia could very well take home its first win this year. Other likely countries include Israel, which would raise its win count to five, and Switzerland, which could move up to joint fourth place with Italy, Denmark, Norway and Ukraine.
Started back in 1956, Eurovision is supposedly a non-political event, which was created to bring different countries together in a post-WWII world. Broadcasters and presenters are not meant to raise political or commercial interests throughout the show. However, in reality, politics seep into the event each year, with countries voting for their neighbors based on a show of good will or shunning other countries by leaving them out of the running.
