EntertainmentOdds Baku Bound

May 8, 2012 by Rob

Exciting news here at EntertainmentOdds. We will be making our ESC debut, reporting from the press centre next door to Crystal Hall in Baku each day, and covering the key rehearsal period which will get underway this coming Sunday,
It is sure to be an action-packed 2 weeks and our aim will be to deliver to you, as quickly as possible, all the most significant news emanating from each day’s rehearsals.
Baku is 4 hours ahead of the UK and looking at the rehearsal schedule the most vital suitcase item looks like being a crate of Red Bull, in preparation for the second week, with finishes, from Monday May 21 to the big final on Saturday May 26, of 2am or 3am local time!!
This is because Eurovision is funded by the EBU and the Big 5 – UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy – are the biggest contributors, and hence the timings revolve around the primetime television requirements of Western Europe.
As a rough sketch of when to expect our daily posts to appear (subject to change), during the first 8 days – from Sunday May 13 to Sunday May 20 – we will aim to post a summary of that day’s rehearsals as soon as possible after the close of play in Baku, as it were, which will equate to mid-afternoon UK time.
The second week is, of course, when the real fun (and the late nights in Baku) begin. Monday May 21 will see the first semi-finalists perform in front of the juries – this performance taking place from 8pm to 10pm UK time. The jury rehearsal, preceding the actual jury performance – 4pm to 6pm UK time – is also sure to be highly informative. We will aim to post news of these performances as soon as humanly possible following these rehearsals.
On Tuesday May 22 we will make a stab at predicting the 10 countries we think will quality from semi-final 1, and aim to point you in the direction of what we perceive as the wisest value trades on semi-final 1 ahead of the live semi-final (on BBC3) from 8pm to 10pm UK time. We will also post a post-semi-final 1 fall-out piece including an analysis of the running order of the 10 qualifiers who make it through to the final.
Wednesday May 23, and Thursday May 24 will mirror the same as above as the second semi-finalists perform in front of the juries on the Wednesday evening – 8pm to 10pm – and then in front of the live tv audience on Thursday evening, live on BBC3 – 8pm to 10pm.
Friday night will then see the 26 finalists perform in front of the juries – 8pm to 11pm UK time. This is a pivotal performance, and we will aim to post news of how these jury performances went immediately following this rehearsal.
On Saturday May 26, the biggest day of them all, Christmas Day for lovers of tv betting, we will post a betting preview of the final, and flag up what we perceive as the wisest bookie bets and Betfair plays and, naturally, we will try to add to our impressive record of picking the winner of Eurovision for the third successive year.
But as all wise ESC traders know, there is much value to be had outside of the Outright market, in the Top 10 market, Top 5 market, head-to-head bets, and backing/laying countries you think will out-perform or under-perform their market odds is the route to long-term ESC trading profitability.
The final itself will be on BBC1 from 8pm to 11pm. Can Humperdinck bring the big prize back to the UK for the first time since 1997? Will the scales finally fall from the eyes of Eurovision viewers regarding Jedward? Might Sweden supporters be tasting ESC betting euphoria, or despair?
It is sure to be a fun and informative couple of weeks and we will try and bring you some of the colour of the event together with the wisest betting advice we can muster.
We would also like to welcome Eurovision betting newbies as much as ESC aficionados to the site, and encourage one and all to post your thoughts, questions, opinions, queries, theories, and betting angles along the way in what is sure to be one hell of a ride.
We cannot wait for the action to get underway and look forward to guiding you through this year’s ESC from our enviable perch in the press centre in Baku. Be sure to check in here this Sunday when day 1’s rehearsal report will be posted some time after 3pm.
Rob Furber