It hasn’t even been a week since Måns Zelmerlöw won the 60th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, but Sweden and the rest of Europe (and Australia?) already want to know who will host the festivities. The bookmakers are wondering too, and have released their first set of odds. From former Eurovision winners to Melodifestivalen hosts to the presenter of Let’s Dance, here are the bookies Top 10 favourites.
Eurovision 2016: Who will host?
This much we know: At Eurovision 2016 someone — or maybe multiple people — will inevitibly say, “Ladies and gentlemen, let the Eurovision Song Contest begin!” But who has the best shot? Let’s take a look at the betting odds in reverse order, starting with…
10. Charlotte Perrelli
Odds: 25.00
Charlotte Perrelli won Melodifestivalen and Eurovision back in 1999. She then won melfest again in 2008, and placed 18th at Eurovision. La Perrelli tried for a third time in 2012 but couldn’t make the Melfest final. Luckily her song “The Girl” went on to become an evergreen within the Eurovision community. Charlotte has not done much work as a presenter, but we love everything and anything she does on stage. (Like when she entertained us on the Eurovision cruise to Estonia last year — yes!)
9. David Hellenius
Odds: 20.00
David Hellenius is the first of three charming men in the bookies’ Top 10. He hosted the first edition of the Swedish version of Idol and later Strictly Come Dancing, and the only season of X Factor. Since 2010 David has had his own talk show called Hellenius hörna (Hellenius corner), where he once interviewed Europe’s hottest prince Carl Philip, the Duke of Värmland. He won the Swedish Kristallen award for best male television presenter in 2010, 2013 and 2014. It seems like this guy could host the entire contest on his own like Petra Mede did in 2013.
8. Jessica Almenäs
Odds: 20.00
The eighth favourite is a true Renaissance woman. Jessica Almenäs isn’t just a TV personality. She represented Sweden at Miss World in 1998, studied science and media, is a basketball player and presents Let’s Dance, the Swedish version of Strictly Come Dancing. Along with David Hellenius, Jessica is the only contender who has no strong connection with Melodifestivalen or Eurovision. That’s not a problem. A lawyer hosted in Baku…
7. Shirley Clamp
Odds: 15.00
Shirley Clamp is a real Melodifestivalen veteran. She has entered the contest six times, placing fourth in 2005 and second in 2004. Besides that she also composed Pandora’s 2003 entry. The woman eats, sleeps and breathes music, so why not host the world’s biggest music show too?
6. Sarah Dawn Finer
Odds: 12.50
In the bookies’ sixth position we find Eurovision fan favourite Sarah Dawn Finer. Back in 2013 people were a tad dissappointed when the Swedish broadcaster chose Petra Mede over the SDF. But now SVT has a second chance to choose her. With Sarah having participated in and hosted the Swedish national selection she really knows the score. And of course we cannot wait to see Lynda Woodruff again next year.
5. Robin Paulsson
Odds: 6.00
Robin Paulsson rose to fame as a comedian and earned plaudits for his portrayal of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. In 2011 he presented the Swedish Athletes Gala and in 2015 he presented Melodifestivalen with Sanna Nielsen, so he isn’t unfamiliar with singing spectaculars.
4. Gina Dirawi
Odds: 5.00
Gina Dirawi hosted the Swedish national final twice in a row and, as you Eurovision fans know, it’s not easy to get that far in Sweden. Dirawi won the award for best female TV host in 2012 and 2013, which means the Swedish crowd loves this lady. Maybe they love her enough to let her host the contest next year?
3. Sanna Nielsen
Odds: 4.50
Sanna Nielsen can call herself Miss Melodifestivalen. She participated seven times and finished in the top three three times — and her worst result was eighth place. After finally winning in 2014, she managed to place third at Eurovision last year. Then she co-hosted with Robin in 2015. That was a good rehearsal for a potential hosting gig in 2016.
2. Petra Mede
Odds: 2.50
Everyone knows Petra Mede as the woman who presented Eurovision 2013 all by herself. She knows how it works. But if you watch Melodifestivalen, then you know that SVT likes to change presenters as often as possible, so presenting Petra at another Eurovision three years later seems unlikely. She recently co-hosted Eurovision’s Greatest Hits too. Surely SVT wants to show us a new face (even if Petra’s is glorious)?
1. Mans Zelmerlow
Odds: 2.00
Mans Zelmerlow — the man who has brought Eurovision back to Sweden — is himself at the top of the odds table. The bookies think the reigning king of Eurovision will follow in Conchita Wurst’s footsteps and host a part of the show on home soil. Letting the winner play a part in the show is a tradition we’re ready to get behind.
Some other names on the list include Marie Serneholt, who presented Melodifestivalen in 2011; Nanne Gronvall, who placed third in Eurovision 1996; Lena Philipsson, who placed fifth in Eurovision 2004; Martin Stenmarck, who placed 19th in Eurovision 2005; Danny Saucedo, who took part in and hosted Melodifestivalen; Andreas Lundstedt, who has competed at Melodifestivalen as a solo act and as a part of Alcazar; Anders Lundin, who presented Eurovision 2000; and Carola Haggkvist, who represented Sweden at Eurovision three times and won it once.
Interestingly Eric Saade, who called Petra Mede a MILF in front of 200 million people back in 2013, is not on the list.
Eurovision 2016 poll
Of all the bookies top picks, who is your favourite? You can vote for as many potential hosts as you would like, but you can only vote one time. Make it count!
[polldaddy poll=8898141]
I have absolutely no idea what is so funny about Lynda Woodruff. She’s boring and the whole joke is so dry and primitive. I want Petra Mede to host once again.
Sean Banan baby! Sean Banan! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoJD61akby4
SANNA please! <3 It could be her along with Sarah Dawn Finer 😀
Definitely just guys:
Mans, Robin and Danny Saucedo as main hosts
Eric Saade in the Green Room
My dream for Eurovision 2016 Hosts is : 2 regular hosts and 2 for the green room. If i’m not mistaken, this format was already used in 2007 and 2008. I want the regular hosts to be Sanna Nielsen and Sara Dawn Finer while Green Room hosts should be Gina Dirawi and Mns Zelmerw. I’m quite sick of Petra Mede…..the last time she hosted was Eurovision’s Greatest Hits. I think that it would to early to send Petra as host again. Despite that, if Sweden win in maybe, 5 years time, she would fit as a host but not in… Read more »
My ideal host combos are:
1 – Andreas Lundstedt, Mans Zelmerlow & Danny Saucedo
2 – Gina Dirawi, Mans Zelmerlow (or Danny Saucedo) & Sarah Dawn Finer
3 – Gina Dirawi, Sanna Nielsen & Sarah Dawn Finer
However, for me the SVT will pick 1 or maximum 2 hosts for ESC 2016, I don’t think that they’ll follow the trend stablished by Norway in 2010 with three hosts, that for me, it’s much better than two or one host. Lol.
Hmm, I fully understand why Eurovision’s fans opt for Petra. She was one of the greatest hosts in the history. However, I would defend the approach that each edition should present something and somebody new. I don’t take seriously the argument about languages. Ireland is a smaller country than Sweden and hosted Eurovision 7 times. As i remember correctly, they didn’t have many problems with that. Mans is a clear candidate. Maybe it is time for three guys? No, I’m joking 🙂
OR Björn Gustafsson… he’s brilliant and hilarious! But he’d need another host beside him due to his carachter being a little ”whimsy”, a host that can bring seriousness to the contest lol.
I definitely want to see Sarah Dawn Finer somewhere in the 2016 contest!!! I will also like to see Sana Nielsen!! And Carola..!! I don’t want Måns to be a host..!! Even though I think he would be very good as a host…i don’t like it when the winner of the previous year is a presenter….I also want to say that I loooove Petra Mede!!! But I want to see someone else now….I don’t think SVT will pick her..:/
Are people serious? Petra Mede has the most votes? I’m from Sweden myself and I just can’t stand that woman… she tries too hard and her facial expressions make me uncomfortable, plus who wants to see the same host over and over again. My vote goes to either Måns Zelmerlöw, Gina Dirawi, David Hellenius or Sarah Dawn Finer.
Mans and Eric hosting together would be pretty cool–oh, imagine if they did a duet! I loved Gina and Danny hosting together back in 2013–they had great chemistry and were funny together! I like so many of these options, but I’m sure SVT has one or three other choices up their sleeve that we haven’t even thought of.
SVT need to get Bjorn Gustavsson back. His hosting of the Melodifestivalen 2008 final was hilarious!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhxATq7Q5Qo
Lynda Woodruff should host completely alone!!! <3
SVT were unable to find a presenter as they were all fighting each other, so the EBU appointed Lynda to step in.
I hope Sarah Dawn Finer will be the host or one of the hosts. 🙂
I would also argue that the Eastern European circus act who won for Norway in 2009 and the generic formular pop song of 2013 were far from deserved winners.
The most deserving winners were Germany in 2010 and Austria 2014. In 2009 still a Nordic country should have won – Iceland, but in 2013 Netherlands or Ukraine were criminally underrated. (Although another Nordic country, Norway, appears stronger than Denmark to me).
So in the record book of winners, Nordic countries since 2009 are overstated, whereas other Western European countries qualify for the final only every other year.
I wouldn’t call politically motivated killings by jurors of favourites other than Sweden “fair and square”. 36 million televotes for Italy sacrificed on the altar of Nordic partisanism. Sanna Nielsen also had a better jury result than televote last year, whereas corrupt jurors tried to deliberately kill Conchita whose gap between jury and televote was also roughly 100 points. This year is even more outrageous. Zelmerlöw’s score looks better than it is because the combination of votes is higher than either televote or jury vote, and his televoting result is remarkably low for 39 countries voting, trailing Conchita’s televote by… Read more »
@Oostenrijk
Sweden won fair and square this year; it all went by the current rules (50/50 jury/televote). It would in fact be a rule breach if Italy was declared winner.
Also, please note this: this is the first occasion when a Nordic winner gets higher jury placing than televote placing (i.e. wins thanks to juries). In 2009, 2012 and 2013 a Nordic country was the winner and was the number one favourite among both voting groups on each occasion. Thus, the Nordic winning stream is, for the most part, coincidental.
Mans, Sarah Dawn Finer or Sanna!
@Oostenrijk The reason why Scandinavia wins Eurovision so much is because: 1. They focus heavily on their selection methods so they can bring the very best songs and artists to the contest. 2. Public interest is very high in all 5 countries. All of them have a share hold of 80% or more in the sharehold markets. So of course with high public interest comes a desire for high quality entries and the desire to win. 3. Yes it’s true that Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland all vote for eachother. But that’s a cultural thing. They all have very… Read more »
Robin Paulsson and Petra Mede would be great together. As it’s unlikely SVT will hire Graham Norton to be Petra’s co host.
Although I like the idea of Måns and Sanna hosting together.
I doubt we will have 3 female presenters again.
Sarah Dawn Finer
Gina Dirawi
Helena Bergström
I doubt Anders Lundin will host it again.
Sentence in Swahili. JUST IN CASE. (Eurovision 2000)
This year there is so much more choice with regards to presenters than last year. I thought that Andi Knoll was the only viable choice. But we now know that there’s more than just him.
My picks:
Sarah (as Lynda) for the greenroom
Måns, Petra for the main hosts
Sanna for host, but the main(s) hosts
I still hope Italy gets declared as winner and will be the next host. With juries Scandinavia wins 75% of all ESC, with televoting it was former Communist Europe . So juries didn’t make ESC fairer at all .
The rest of Europe gets steamrolled by the Nordic and Eastern blocks.
Please chuck Mans in the green room and let Petra do what she was born to do, thanks bye.
Mans should definitely host, he is awesome.
There will be some hate towards Sweden don’t think that Mans will help diminish it but who knows.
Måns and Gina are my power host couple. Petra could be an additional one; even though I love her and think she is possibly the best ESC host ever, she has already had her time in the spotlight, now it’s others’ turn.
You forgot to mention that Måns has hosted Sweden’s most popular summer show “Allsång på Skansen”. I think he did that 2-3 years in a row. He’s a veeeery good host as well.
Gina Dirawi and Danny Saucedo
I would to have Petra back… but I would rather have someone new 😛 I liked Gina in 2013, but not Danny please.
Anyway, I don’t care much who hosts AS LONG AS WE HAVE LYNDA WOODRUFF BACK! Presenting Mens Saramaloof…
I want Mans
i wish it will be a comedian hosting eurovision next year. the jokes in this year’s edition felt so…. rehearsed just like in 2012. with that said, gina or sdf please!
This would just make Mans a jack of all trades. Stick to singing instead.
I definitely think Mans Zelmerlow should host Eurovision alongside Sanna Nielson, they already would make a glorious couple, so I think they would look well together hosting Eurovision. Sarah Dawn Finer could return as Lynda Woodruff, but this time, instead of having her show us Sweden, she could host the green room. Also wouldn’t say no to Petra Mede and Eric Saade either, but I dont think this will happen. I also hope the contest is in Stockholm and Loreen makes some kind of appearance, maybe as an interval act in the final, singing new material from Paperlight.
Sanna did a great job in MF. I think is gonna be her! *Crossing fingers*
I wanna see Gina and Måns host together. I loved the two person man/woman hosting combination ESC used to use but ever since 2010 they never do that, plus it’ll be nice to have two young hosts. Petra was great but she hosted in 2013, she doesn’t need to host it again and I doubt she will.
I agree with some of the comments made below: Petra was by far the best host Eurovision has had in recent years! I think seeing Lynda Woodruff in the green room would be great. And, of course, Carola has to make an appearance of some sort.
Anyone but the abomination that was Petra Mede!
I swear, if Eric Saade ever returns to Eurovision in any shape or form, I will punch all of the walls!
PETRA. Has to be. End of.
Petra Mede was the best host of Eurovision ever. Please bring her back!!
eh what about dolph lundgren
Gina and Danny were great presenting Melfest! Please bring them back!!!
Espero y deseo que nos den una buena realizacion TV.Este año el trabajo de las camaras en Viena…?
Please not Måns. He’s nice but I can’t stand his English. Awful american accent
remember the host or one of the hosts always must know french language .. it will be mans with someone else most likely ..
Can’t believe that Eric is even on this list omg please remove him. Sanna and Robin were perfect. I would like them to host!
Sarah Dawn Finer with Måns for then main thing and Filippa Bark for the green room.
That would be amazing. Petra was an amazing hostess and I would love for her to come back but I know that is a bit unrealistic.
@Oostenrijk
They have had one bloke host it before. I think it might have been the first one in 1956, but I’m not sure. But we do need a solo man. However Petra Mede and Sarah Dawn Finer would be amazing.
Petra Mede for sure, probably the best host ever (or atleast in the 21st century).
I’d like to see SDF too, so maybe they could do it together and Måns can host the green room.
Petra and SDF!