Song Contest in Malmö:

Eden Golan catapults herself to the top!

(Bild: APA/AFP/Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard)

Europe is not letting Israel down. After the Israeli Song Contest participant was clearly voted into Saturday's grand final on Thursday evening, despite the protests and hate threats, the bookmakers now even see Eden Golan in the lead. The 20-year-old will therefore fight for victory like a "hurricane".

Since Thursday night, the field of participants in the grand final of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday has finally been determined - and now the favorites are on the move again. Great for us: Austria's candidate Kaleen is slowly moving up in the international bookmakers' favor with her techno-inspired dance number "We Will Rave".

Kaleen ranked in 11th place
Looking at the big 16 providers, Austria is in 15th place of the 26-strong field on the day before the final. Things look even better for the 29-year-old Kaleen if six smaller betting shops are included. On average, the Upper Austrian is ranked 11th among the 22 providers.

Israel just behind favorite Croatia
Things are also in flux when it comes to the places on the podium. Baby Lasagna from Croatia with the Rammstein paraphrase "Rim Tim Tagi Dim" is still at the top and thus in the role of top favorite. However, the gap between him and his rivals is shrinking - and there is a new face among them.

Israel's candidate Eden Golan has started a race to catch up with "Hurricane" and has now worked her way up from a mere top 10 place to second place.

The 20-year-old is under massive pressure in Malmö due to the Gaza war. The singer was repeatedly booed by parts of the audience in the hall, and numerous protest events against Israel's admission to the competition are planned in Malmö during the ESC week. These included a demonstration on Thursday with thousands of participants, including "Fridays for Future" icon Greta Thunberg. Another is to follow on the final day.

Eden Golan and her team celebrate reaching the final after the semi-final.

(Bild: APA/AFP/Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard)

Upward trend
This unwanted attention doesn't seem to be hurting the entry, however, and who knows whether Israel could pull off a sensation, even if Croatia's probability of victory is currently put at around 42%, compared to 19% for the country currently at war. However, the trend for Israel is upwards and for Croatia downwards.

In this new duel, the third favorite seems to be falling behind somewhat. The Swiss entry Nemo with "The Code" was long considered the top favorite, but is currently "only" in last place on the podium with a 12% chance of winning. But of course everything can still change. France and Ireland complete the top 5 as things stand.