Who will win the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest and what are the betting odds?

Eurovision ranking of all the songs — 26 acts will battle it out in the Grand Final, but who will win? (Picture: Shutterstock/Rex/Metro.co.uk)

Final tweaks are currently being made for the opening ceremony of the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest which will begin at 5pm today.

Artists have just two more days before they have to wow Europe with their performances and with 15 countries to be eliminated during the semi-finals – which take place on 14 and 16 May – every detail needs to be perfect.

As always, we can expect an extravagant affair with glittery outfits, elaborate dance routines and of course, some fantastic vocal skills.

Only 20 acts will be chosen to compete during the Grand Final on 18 May, but who will win?

Which countries are taking part in Eurovision 2019?

This year’s competition will be hosted in Tel Aviv, Israel, with 42 countries taking part.

Technically there are 26 spots in the final, but one spot is always held for the host country and the remaining are given to the so-called ‘Big Five’ (the countries who are the biggest financial contributors to the European Broadcast Union, including France, Germany, Spain, Italy and the UK).

That’s right, Britain is guaranteed a spot in the final for Michael Rice, a 21-year-old artist from Hartlepool. He has previously won BBC’s All Together Now and performed on ITV’s The X Factor.

And if he’s good enough for Simon Cowell, there’s a very strong chance that Michael could take home the glory.

Other guaranteed acts include Bilal Hassani (France), Miki (Spain), S!sters (Germany), Mahmood (Italy) and Kobi Marimi (Israel).

Netta at Eurovision — Netta Barzilai won with her song Toy at the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest in Portugal (Picture: Francisco Leong/AFP/Getty)

The pressure is on for Kobi; he’s taking over from last year’s Israeli contestant, Netta Barzilai, who won the competition with her song, Toy.

What are the winner odds for Eurovision 2019?

If you haven’t watched it before, here’s how it works: after their performance, each act will be given two sets of points ranging from 1 to 8, 10 and 12.

First, the judges – consisting of five music professionals – give their points, then it’s up to the viewers to vote. They can do so via phone, text or through the Eurovision Song Contest app.

Once the voting has finished, a representative from each country will announce the results. This year, television personality and presenter Rylan Clark has been given the honour on behalf of the UK.

Each stage of the competition is shown live, meaning it could become a humiliating and very public defeat for the performers, should it go badly.

Two of this year’s favourites to win include Sweden’s Måns Zelmerlöw, France’s Bilal Hassani, and Duncan Laurence from the Netherlands, according to William Hill.