Eurovision: Who are the five hot favourites for song contest glory?

euronews.com:

This year's Eurovision Song Contest in Italy is bringing joy and music to living rooms across the continent just when it's needed the most -- amid a devastating war in Ukraine and a cost of living crisis. 

The final takes place on Saturday, beamed live around the world from the PalaOlumpic Arena in the northern city of Torino. 

So which countries are hitting the high notes in this year's contest? The bookmakers have shortened the odds on these five acts: 

In a competition as heavily politicised as Eurovision, it comes as little surprise that Ukraine's entry would emerge as the bookies' favourite, with a whopping 8/13 odds.

This year’s Ukrainian Eurovision entry is an ode to maternal love from folk-rap group Kalush Orchestra, called Stefania (a tribute to frontman Oleh Psiuk’s own mother).

Members of Kalush Orchestra have said they want to “lift spirits” with their song, especially as members of the group -- including dancer Vlad Kurochka -- volunteered to stay in Ukraine and fight in the war. 

The United Kingdom has been accused of rarely taking the contest seriously over the last decades, and a string of calamitous results culminated in last year's entry getting the dreaded nul points from both the international juries, and voting public. 

But this year the UK seems to have turned things around with wildly popular social media star Sam Ryder possibly going to reverse the nation's Eurovision misfortunes, with odds of winning at 8/1.

Competing with glam rock anthem “Space Man”, Ryder’s powerhouse vocals on display in the song’s soaring chorus have drawn praise from music critics. 

And the singer already has a huge online presence with 12.4 million followers on TikTok and 3.4 million on Instagram. 

Sweden is a Eurovision powerhouse