OGAE poll 2018: Italy gives France its first douze points…as Israel maintains lead

Seven OGAE fan clubs from across Europe have already revealed their Eurovision 2018 points. And today we fly to Rome to admire the beauty of the Colosseum whilst enjoying Italian exquisite cuisine….and a new set of voting results.

Thus far Israel’s Netta has swept the board, receiving top scores from seven fan clubs in a row. But today Italy is going against the tide. They have awarded their top marks to France’s Madame Monsieur — their first win thus far. Are things about to get much more interesting?

Italy’s 76 voters may have disagreed with the other clubs about their top act. But Israel’s Netta hasn’t been forgotten, and secures an impressive 10 points from the Italian club. It’s not a perfect score, but it’s enough to keep her at the top of the overall poll.

Greece’s Yianna Terzi receives 8 points in the voting — and surely she’ll be happy to feel the love from Italy. Greece is holding strong, having previously received 7 points from the OGAEs in Albania and Hungary.

Italy gave six points to Austria. It’s Cesar’s highest points grab yet, as he had been totally blanked by half of the OGAE clubs that have voted. The rest of the Italian points went to Australia, Denmark, Finland, Belgium, Estonia and Bulgaria, all of which are already on the overall scoreboard.

Interestingly, Cyprus, who received 10 points from OGAE Czech Republic, didn’t receive any points from Rome. Estonia, OGAE Hungary’s second favourite, only received two points here.

Denmark scores 5 points for the third time this year.

OGAE Poll 2018: Italy vote

1. France – 12 points
2. Israel – 10 points
3. Greece – 8 points
4. Australia – 7 points
5. Austria – 6 points
6. Denmark – 5 points
7. Finland – 4 points
8. Belgium – 3 points
9. Estonia – 2 points
10. Bulgaria – 1 point

OGAE Poll 2018 total so far

The fact that Israel didn’t receive 12 points shouldn’t be a cause for concern. Israel still leads — and by some distance — when we look at the overall tally. It will soon become the first country to crack 100 points. The real story here is France’s slow and steady rise. They debuted in joint fourth with Finland. But are now safely ensconced in second position.

Many fans are puzzled that The Netherlands — currently the 12th favourite to win Eurovision 2018 — still  hasn’t received any points. But countries that the bookies put lower — Denmark and Cyprus, in 18th and 19th in the odds respectively — are doing rather well in the OGAE voting.

And while there’s quite a bit of distance separating the Top 3 leaders from one another, things get much closer after that. Just five points separate Mikolas Josef in sixth from Benjamin Ingrosso in 13th.

You can see the full leaderboard below:

• 1. Israel – 94 points
• 2. France – 52 points
• 3. Finland – 40 points
• 4. Australia – 37 points
• 5. Greece – 27 points
• 6. Czech Republic – 24 points
• 7. Estonia – 23 points
• 8. Italy – 23 points
• 9. Bulgaria – 22 points
• 10. Denmark – 22 points
• 11. Cyprus – 21 points
• 12. Belgium – 19 points
• 13. Sweden – 19 points
• 14. Austria – 14 points
• 15. Norway – 8 points
• 16. Spain – 6 points
• 17. Germany – 5 points
• 18. Belarus – 5 points
• 19. Ukraine – 3 points

The following countries have not yet received any points: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Croatia, F.Y.R Macedonia, Georgia, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovenia, Switzerland, The Netherlands and United Kingdom.

And remember: the OGAE Poll 2018 results should be taken with a hefty pinch of salt. They’re a more accurate barometer of fan opinion than how acts will actually fare during the semi-finals and Grand Final, when a professional jury, casual Eurovision fans and indeed people who aren’t even fans of Eurovision vote in the contest.

GET MORE OGAE POLL 2018 NEWS HERE