EUROVISION returns to its spiritual home tonight as the Globe Arena in Stockholm hosts the 61st Song Contest, starting at 8pm.
Winners for the first time in 1974 when ABBA
launched their glittering careers with
Waterloo, Sweden have tasted victory another five times since.
Only Ireland, with seven wins following their domination of the competition in the 1990s, can beat the Swedes' overall total of six.
But, whereas Sweden has sustained its success and enjoyed two triumphs in the 21st century, Ireland's last win was still back in 1996.
That is something that will not change this year either as, for Ireland, the 2016 Contest is already over.
Former Westlife member Nicky Byrne
failed to negotiate his semi final on Thursday with his scratchy voice doing him few favours.
Yes - it was, sadly for him, a case of my lovely hoarse voice - and it did about as well as
the fictional Father Ted entry My Lovely Horse.
As one of the Big Five contributors to the European Broadcast Union, the United Kingdom faces no such semi final worries and receives a bye to the final each year along with France, Germany, Italy, and Spain.
Nevertheless,
duo Joe & Jake - a 21-year-old from Ruthin in Wales and a 20-year-old from Stoke-on-Trent - must turn around a dismal recent record of British failures.
Still in third place on the all-time winners list with five victories, the United Kingdom has finished in the top 10 only once since 2002 when Jade Ewen finished fifth in 2009 with
It's My Time.
Indeed, in the 14 years since the UK's last top-three place, we have had to endure the likes of Jemini, Scooch, Daz Sampson, Andy Abraham, and Josh Dubovie.
That hall of shame includes three last places including an infamous set of
nul points for the woefully out-of-tune Jemini.
But, at least Joe & Jake's youthfulness should ensure an energetic performance on
You're Not Alone - and that can only be an improvement on sending
Bonnie Tyler at the age then of 61, or a
76-year-old Engelbert Humperdinck.
In short, it would be a major surprise if Joe & Jake pulled off a victory - but there is genuine hope of the young lads achieving a respectable position.
That, at least, would be a step in the right direction. For many countries, the dire performance of the UK in recent years has come as little surprise considering the standard of entrants.
Frankly, the Eurovision is still considered a bit of a joke in the UK and some would argue that this is right to be the case.
But, for Sweden especially, the Song Contest is
a serious business, a part of their cultural milieu.
Every year, the most watched Swedish programme on television is Melodifestivalen, which is a bit like the X Factor, except the winner is selected to represent the country at Eurovision instead.
It certainly worked in 2012 when Loreen won with dance track
Euphoria and again last year when
Måns Zelmerlöw took top spot with
Heroes.
Unsurprisingly, this year's entry,
If I Were Sorry by Frans, has also been well-backed.
The
overwhelming favourites, however, are Russia. In fact, the Sergey Lazarev - with
You Are the Only One - is likely to start the night in the unusual position of actually being odds-on, and therefore holds little value for a bet at all.
Of course, we could all just sit back and enjoy the three hours of music on BBC One - and, for this year at least, remember the contribution which Terry Wogan made to the Contest.
Wogan
died from cancer in January this year, aged 77, having been the UK commentator every year from 1980 to 2008.
His successor Graham Norton has continued the tradition of adding Irish wit to the often bizarre occurrences on stage - and, this year, after Sweden sing the ninth song of the night, Norton
will pay tribute to Wogan and encourage everyone to raise a glass.
Sláinte, Terry - and good luck tonight to Joe & Jake.
EUROVISION 2016 RUNNING ORDER
Click on the links for the official Eurovision videos of each of the songs. Odds supplied by Ladbrokes, subject to change. See www.oddschecker.com/tv/eurovision/winner
| Country | Artist - Song | Odds |
| 01 | Belgium | Laura Tesoro - What's the Pressure | 40/1 |
| 02 | Czech Republic | Gabriela Gunčíková - I Stand | 200/1 |
| 03 | Netherlands | Douwe Bob - Slow Down | 50/1 |
| 04 | Azerbaijan | Samra - Miracle | 150/1 |
| 05 | Hungary | Freddie - Pioneer | 200/1 |
| 06 | Italy | Francesca Michielin - No Degree of Separation | 66/1 |
| 07 | Israel | Hovi Star - Made of Stars | 80/1 |
| 08 | Bulgaria | Poli Genova - If Love Was a Crime | 100/1 |
| 09 | Sweden | Frans - If I Were Sorry | 16/1 |
| 10 | Germany | Jamie-Lee - Ghost | 250/1 |
| 11 | France | Amir - J'ai cherché [I have searched] | 12/1 |
| 12 | Poland | Michał Szpak - Color of Your Life | 100/1 |
| 13 | Australia | Dami Im - Sound of Silence | 3/1 |
| 14 | Cyprus | Minus One - Alter Ego | 150/1 |
| 15 | Serbia | Sanja Vučić ZAA - Goodbye (Shelter) | 80/1 |
| 16 | Lithuania | Donny Montell - I've Been Waiting for This Night | 150/1 |
| 17 | Croatia | Nina Kraljić - Lighthouse | 150/1 |
| 18 | Russia | Sergey Lazarev - You Are the Only One | 4/6fav |
| 19 | Spain | Barei - Say Yay! | 100/1 |
| 20 | Latvia | Justs - Heartbeat | 50/1 |
| 21 | Ukraine | Jamala - 1944 | 15/2 |
| 22 | Malta | Ira Losco - Walk on Water | 33/1 |
| 23 | Georgia | Nika Kocharov & Young Georgian Lolitaz - Midnight Gold | 250/1 |
| 24 | Austria | Zoë - Loin d'ici [Far from here] | 66/1 |
| 25 | United Kingdom | Joe & Jake - You're Not Alone | 33/1 |
|
| 26 | Armenia | Iveta Mukuchyan - LoveWave | 28/1 |
