Olly Alexander has been urged by fans to pull out of the Eurovision Song Contest just hours before the UK representative takes to the stage. The former Years and Years singer, 33, has been told it’s not too late “to do the right thing and boycott Eurovision” amid protests outside the Malmo Arena in Sweden regarding Israel‘s involvement in the competition.
Olly’s Eurovision stint has been shrouded in controversy due to Israel‘s participation in the contest amidst ongoing military actions by Benjamin Netanyahu against Palestine.
The singer found himself at the centre of a social media storm as fans implored him to take a stand, with one fan pleading: “@ollyalexanderr what’s more important, a performance, or the lives of millions? “
Another urged the Years & Years frontman: “@ollyalexanderr You know the right thing to do, please have the courage to make a stand.”
While a third added: “@ollyalexanderr don’t sacrifice your integrity for mainstream financial gain. stand with your queer community in solidarity with Palestine.”
Last October, in a gesture of solidarity with the Palestinian cause, Olly voiced his concern over the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, the de facto ruling authority of Gaza.
He supported a letter from LGBT group Voices4London that branded Israel an “apartheid regime” and accused it of trying to “ethnically cleanse” Palestinian territories.
Despite escalating calls to join the BDS movement’s boycott against Israel‘s involvement in Eurovision, Olly has since described the issue as “an incredibly complicated political situation, one that I’m not qualified to speak on.”
The calls from fans came after Olly reportedly dropped out of the Eurovision media conference.
The bookmakers have also been coming up with their own odds and predictions about how well Olly will do in the Song Contest – and it doesn’t look good.
The latest odds have Olly at a massive 250/1 to win on Saturday, translating into a 0.4 percent implied probability of victory.
As well as being shown no faith by the bookmakers, the sentiment is shared with Eurovision bettors in the United Kingdom.
Only two percent of bets on the Eurovision winner market this week have backed the United Kingdom to win, compared to 2023, where nine percent of the bets had backed the UK.
Compared to Ireland, the trends are the polar opposite, 31 percent of the bets placed in Ireland on Oddschecker have backed their nation to win on Saturday.
Ireland currently stands as sixth-favourites on Oddschecker at odds of 25/1, implying a 3.8 percent chance of victory.
Croatia is the betting favourites as it stands at 10/11, followed by Israel (3/1), Switzerland (7/1), France (14/1), and Ukraine (20/1).
