Here are my last few thoughts about each of the Final competitors - in the order they will appear tonight.
Austria
Austria have possibly one of the most odd song themes of the night. Not as odd as Serbia's insistence on hygiene last year but to have Edgar Allen Poe as a ghost influencing what you write is weird enough for me. Having said that Serbia did very well last year and Austria's two women can sing well and the whole thing is well-constructed. Not enough to win, though, despite the attempt at a catchy Poe Poe Poe which just sounds wrong to me in English!
Portugal
One of those songs that grow on you. This started off at 1000-1 and no-one expected it to qualify but the singer keeps putting on good performances and it could be quite classy if she gets it all right on the night. She is known to miss notes and it can get messy in the middle so who knows what will happen? Not a lot, I suspect.
Switzerland
Another that was not expected to make the final. The song builds up but the singer hasn't much personality and I'm not so sure that its pacifist text will suit the mood at the moment. Forgettable and, whilst it may appear quite high in Jury votes at the start, don't expect a huge number of extra votes later from the public.
Poland
Now here's a good pop song - first of the night that you could imagine hearing on your radio, if anyone has a radio these days. A commercial number that is going to get plenty of public votes but probably very few from the national juries. So expect to see this leap up from the right side of the board to a fairly high finish position.
A bit of a poor copy of Cyprus from a couple of years ago and the girl is inclined to make mistakes too which may reduce her chances but I am expecting a Top 10 for her.
Serbia
This is pretty awful and I never expect much from a bloke lying on his back either. It's another track that had no right to get past the Semi Final stage but, as part of a group of totally useless entries, it somehow was less bad than enough of the others to get through. Forget this one and go make some tea or something until it's finished.
France
A class act from France. If the girl gets all the notes right and puts on one of her better performances then this should go down well. Expect to see her right up there with the leaders on the left hand side of the board at the start, with good national jury votes. Everything depends on how much support she then gets from the public at large. I don't think she'll get enough but should make Top 5.
Cyprus
Big ballad and this is a difficult song to sing so the bloke will get some decent votes from juries but I suspect very little more after that. One to forget.
Spain
Spain try a bit of ethnic stuff to pull in a few more votes and this should get plenty of support from the East and some Balkan places. It is quite a complex construction, certainly not very sing-a-long and that may damage its final result as it isn't something we'll remember when it comes to making the call. It deserves Top 10 but that's as far as it's likely to get.
Sweden
By far and away the favourite to win this year, it seems that everyone is expecting another Euphoria. It does have distinct similarities too but it remains just a shadow of that song. Despite Loreen's excellent performance and vocals - and she is head and shoulders and finger nails above almost everyone else in this competition - this is not something you'll be singing in the weeks ahead or seeing high in the charts. Having said that, a second-rate Euphoria is quite capable of winning tonight with such generally lousy competition.
Albania
This song has lurked at the bottom of all the betting lists at 1000-1 ever since betting on the track began. I don't really know why as is it not that bad and nothing like as tedious as many that you'll hear tonight. It's not something I particularly like but the family do make a decent job of hitting the notes and it is well-constructed and performed. No, it's not going to win but it won't come bottom either.
Italy
This was my original tip to win. I am still hopeful as it is an excellent, if slightly old-fashioned, ballad and the guy can sing well. Unfortunately, he doesn't always have the dramatic presence which he has had in early shows and in his YouTube version. Live on stage he often loses confidence and it hurts the song which has to be spot-on to work. If he got things right last night (when the Jury Vote took place) then I would expect to see him near the top of the table when voting starts. He is also likely to be a big hit with the public and is one of the very few rivals that Loreen has this year.
Estonia
This is quite a good performance of a reasonably good song. The National Juries will like it and it should start with a position not far out of the Top 10 on the board. However, I don't see many votes coming in from the public afterwards so it will slowly drift down and land up in the rather forgettable area in the bottom half of the competition.
Finland
According to the bookies, if Sweden don't win then Finland will as they are the only act anywhere close in betting odds terms. I don't like this at all and it doesn't even strike me as good Eurotrash, as Eurotrash it certainly is with the bizarre green outfit, very ugly supporting act with what could be some of the most awful dental replacements in history. Naturally, it will get bags of votes from those who do like this sort of stuff and there can be enough of them some years to make the difference between coming 5th and 1st. This year, I feel that the public will still prefer Loreen or even Ukraine to this appalling act but I have to recognise that the bookies do do their research and have a good reason for the odds being so low.
My guess is that Finland will be way out of the running when the results are first shown but, like Moldova last year, will fly into third or fourth place, maybe even take the lead briefly when the public votes are announced.
Czechia
Here is a group singing in close harmony and that can either work very well or not at all. With some modern break-like stuff in the mix and even a bit of Netta's song from a few years ago thrown in for good measure, this track has a chance of doing well. Not that well, though. It has a great atmosphere when presented well and that may attract a good Jury vote. For the public, though, I see this as finishing just outside the Top 10.
Australia
A bunch of old blokes doing old bloke music, the heavy stuff, like old blokes do. They look pretty awful but don't sound that bad. Australia have tried every genre so far as they attempt to score in Europe but so far they seem to be going from bad to worse. Not memorable, not particularly likely to score and not something that's going to win so go make tea or something.
Belgium
For some reason this has become popular overnight. Belgium were in the 1000-1 club a few days ago and expected not to be in the Final at all. However, somehow, possibly because everyone else is so bad, this bloke gets through and starts getting a lot of support. Imagine Boy George crossed with a few other gay icons from the 80s and this is your guy tonight. Very average singing a very average song but maybe there is nothing else for the gay community to root for tonight. Eminently forgettable but expect to see him get a good public vote but very little from the juries first.
Armenia
One of the other good pop songs from an attractive and talented girl. Armenia tend to do well with this sort of track and I would expect to see them at the bottom of the Top 10 or thereabouts when all is said and done tonight.
Moldova
We rely on Moldova to give us something by way of a surprise or just good fun at Eurovision. Not so much by way of good fun as this is actually a ballad and not some people messing around as usual. It could be a good ballad too if the bloke is sober and on the ball this evening. He's done some good performances but also some pretty useless ones so who knows what he'll manage tonight. Jury-wise, I suspect that he won't have had much credit so much will depend on the public. In the past Moldova have had a massive amount of support but this year I don't see them giving enough to put Moldova higher than around 5th or 6th at best.
The bookies still have them at 1000-1,
Ukraine
Last year's winners do not have a great entry this year. It's a pity as they could have won again with something impressive. Whilst the National Jury will not reward them at all highly for the performance or vocals the public will probably give them another massive amount of support and we should see them hoisted right up in the first three. There is just a chance that this could be enough to beat Sweden and Finland. Finland, maybe, but Sweden I think unlikely. It could all come down to just how many votes separate them at the start. Whatever the case, though, Loreen has by far the better song, as do Spain, Poland, France, Italy, Israel and even UK.
Norway
This has always been high in the bookies' lists - consistently around 6th. It is a quite anthemic type of track from a quite aggressive-looking girl and has a catchy type of chorus as it goes. It just doesn't strike me as a winning song. It will get good votes from the National Juries but not a lot after that. Top 10 maybe but I feel the bookies are optimistic there.
Germany
Awful loud rubbish I don't want to watch or listen to.
Lithuania
Despite this being in the 1000-1 club, I have a feeling that Lithuania could be one of those 'dark horse' entries which surprise us by getting lot more support than we expect. I think it deserves a top 10 position. Not a winner, I guess, but there is something quite strong about this which I believe could come across on the night and have some influence on people as they decide to vote. Coming, as she does, near the end is a bonus too and likely to mean she stays in voters' minds.
Israel
The other genuine pop song tonight. And it's quite good although the lyrics are a bit weird. The girl is a talented and experienced performer and should be relied upon to put on a good show and stay pretty much in tune. She'll get good votes from the National Jury people and I expect to see Israel right up there at the start of voting. Israel may not attract that much support after that, though. so may drift down the table a bit. I would still say they ought to be Top 5 but it may be that the idiot Finland group or sympathy for Ukraine edges out Israel.
Slovenia
This is really the only 'normal' group in the competition that, coupled with their position near the end, could be helpful in getting plenty of public votes. I don't expect they'll start off with many from the National Juries and will not be able to amass enough extra from their group supporters out there to take them into the Top 10 but maybe they'll have a decent finish at around 11th.
Croatia
This is the other Eurotrash entry this year and will be well supported for its stance on weapons and all that jazz. Pretty much rubbish but it this stuff always gets votes. I suspect they have zero from the National Jury vote at the start and then we'll see a good hefty number added which might catapult them to the left hand side of the board for a while. that's about it, though.
United Kingdom
Mae Muller has a reasonable enough single which made about 27 in the charts here. If that's all it can do here, though, then don't expect it to do much more abroad. We should get some credit for the help we're giving Ukraine and also as hosts - that's just the way it goes as the public tend to think about the host country and decide to give them a few points almost regardless of the quality of their entry.
This is not great and Mae is not a great singer and lacks the sort of personality needed to attract people back to voting for us. I don't hold out much hope, I'm afraid, but we won't come last, at least.
Winner
Sweden or Ukraine
Top 5
Italy Finland Israel
Top 10
France Poland Spain Armenia Moldova
Dark horses
Lithuania Czechia
Other possible top half
Austria Norway Estonia Portugal Slovenia Albania Belgium
No hope
UK Australia Cyprus Croatia Switzerland Serbia Germany
