Betting on Eurovision Exceeds Expectations

The Eurovision Song Contest is nearing its final stages with the first semi-final taking place last night in Düsseldorf, Germany and selecting 10 finalists from the 19 countries that participated in the first leg of the semi-finals.

The second leg of the semi-final will take place tomorrow Thursday 12th May 2011 and will see other 10 countries making it through to the sensational final taking place on Saturday 14th May 2011 in Düsseldorf, Germany.

The Eurovision contest has been a vibrant celebration of music and European tradition and unity in post-WW2 Europe since 1956 and has continuously excited millions of European viewers and fans of the competition the world over.

Over the years the competition changed a lot; from a small event with only Western European countries participating, in an all encompassing European competition in later years.

Its popularity has also experienced ups and downs, depended on musical trends and suffered a un-cool image for many years.

However in recent years there seems to be a resurgence in the fortunes of this traditional singing competition with more countries than even competing for the honor of Eurovision song of the year and the betting frenzy online knows no bounds.

All major bookies are offering odds on winning songs and reporting a big turnout of punters interested in making a bet for their country's song.

William Hill is reporting to have already reached a £100,000 turnover in wagers made on the Eurovision song contest, and this is before the second semi-final has taken place so the complete list of competing countries in Saturday's final is not yet finalized.

William Hill is predicting that the Eurovision betting frenzy will reach the £1 million mark by the big final this upcoming Saturday.