/ Eliot Pollak / 10 May 2011 / Leave a Comment 
Ell and Nikki from Azerbaijan are fancied to go well - and why not - they make a lovely couple don't they?
"Whilst there is obviously a wee bit of glory in winning the semi, the aim for each ‘artist’ would be simply to reach the final. Think of Usain Bolt jogging towards the line in a 100m Olympics heat, before ploughing your earnings into a Semi-Final ‘Winner’ bet."
Europe is such an unwieldy beast that we have to split the Eurovision hopefuls into two - but that shouldn't endanger the fancied countries, says Eliot Pollak
With the big five of Spain, Italy, Germany, France and the old UK all bulldozing their way straight through to the final, our Eurovision attention turns to the two semi-finals, from which ten nations will emerge from each, for the dubious honour of competing in Saturday night's Dusseldorf showdown.
The first point to consider in the betting is the markets themselves. Whilst there is obviously a wee bit of glory in winning the semi, the aim for each 'artist' would be simply to reach the final. Think of Usain Bolt jogging towards the line in a 100m Olympics heat, before ploughing your earnings into a Semi-Final 'Winner' bet. It is little surprise therefore, that most of the liquidity can be found in the 'To Qualify' market.
It is no surprise to see Russia and Azerbaijan as the two favourites to go through - the Azerbaijani entry is hotly fancied to win the whole thing (more of which later in the week).
The long shots to qualify (aside from San Marino) are the Portuguese, possibly due to being one of only two countries in this semi, to risk singing in their native language - the other being Poland. Opting to warble in any language other than English is Eurovision suicide - after all, there has only been one winner since 1998 who has completely shunned our mother tongue.
Having had your bet, BBC3 at 20:00 on Tuesday night is your place to watch the first Semi-Final, where Sara Cox will be revealing to the nation that she is still alive, by ramming a commentary down our necks, in her usual subtle, dulcet tones.
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Germany will be wheeling out last year's winner Lena Meyer-Landrut while Britain has employed the 'talents' of ageing 'boy' band Blue, even Ireland are putting their faith in the star names with Jedward preparing to perform. But can the proven...
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