Joost Klein is the bookmaker's sixth favorite to win the Eurovision Song Contest
Dutch Eurovision contender Joost Klein is in sixth place on the latest ranking of contestants with the best chance at winning Eurovision 2024 in Malmo, Sweden, according to Eurovision World. Klein and his song, "Europapa," has a 5 percent chance at winning, according to the website's aggregate of 16 different gambling websites' favorites.
Croatia is the bookies' favorites to win the competition. The Croatian entry is by Baby Lasagna, and is called "Rim Tim Tagi Dim." Swiss entry Nemo has a 15 percent chance at winning, followed by Italy's Angelina Mango. The Ukrainian act, a. alyona & J. Heil, is ranked fourth, followed by Bambie Thug from Ireland. After the Netherlands, France, Israel, Greece and the United Kingdom round out the top ten.
No Dutch gambling companies offered odds for the Eurovision Song Contest, as betting on the competition is prohibited in the Netherlands. The government and gambling authority have concerns about attempts at match-fixing, and has prohibited betting on the event.
The first Eurovision semi-finals are on Tuesday evening. Klein will perform in the second semi-final round on Thursday. His song is more popular on Spotify than any other entry in the competition this year. By Tuesday afternoon, the song had been listened to almost 45 million times, 20 percent more listens than second-placed Italy. The Swedish duo Marcus & Martinus was third in the number of Spotify listeners.
Klein made Europapa as a tribute to his father. The 26-year-old from Leeuwarden wrote the song with rap musician Donnie and Tim Haars, who played Gerrie in the New Kids television shows and films. "Europapa" was produced by Teun de Kruif, better known as Tantu Beats. Happy hardcore DJ Paul Elstak also contributed.
The semi-final broadcast will start at 9 p.m. on Tuesday on NPO 1, with a build-up starting at 8:33 p.m. The other Semi-Finals on Thursday also begin at 9 p.m., with build-up starting at 8:28 p.m.
