Eurovision Song Contest 2018: UK entry SuRie has less than 1% chance of winning, Bing predicts

The UK has a less than 1% chance of winning the Eurovision Song Contest this weekend, Bing has predicted.

The final of the annual singing competition is being held in Portugal for the first time on Saturday, and will feature artists from dozens of countries.

The UK will be represented by SuRie, a 29-year-old singer and songwriter from Harlow, Essex, who won a qualification round that was broadcast live on BBC Two.

She provided backing vocals and was a dancer for Belgium’s Eurovision entry in 2015, but this year will be singing a piano-led pop song entitled Storm for the United Kingdom.

She recently told Press Association that she was “so excited” about the final, adding: “It’s such a dream. Just stepping on that stage, as the lead artist representing the UK, I don’t think anything can beat that.”

However, Microsoft’s search engine believes SuRie’s entry will fail to hit the right note with the judges. Bing has given the song less than a 1% chance of winning, the same odds as Slovenia and Georgia, among others.

The UK’s chances of victory are far less than favourites Norway, whose entry has been given a 14% chance of taking the title. Alexander Rybak, a singer and violinist, is representing the Scandinavian country with a song called That’s How You Write a Song.

Second favourite is Netta, from Israel, who has a 13% chance of winning the competition with a song entitled Toy.

Cyprus and France are joint-third favourites with a 10% chance of victory.

Ireland have made it to the final for the first time since 2013.

The UK first entered the Eurovision Song Contest in 1957 and has taken part 60 times since then. The country has won the title five times – in 1967, 1969, 1976, 1981 and 1997 – but has struggled in recent years and failed to score a single point in 2003.

Many countries won’t be appearing in Saturday night’s final after being eliminated in the semi-finals earlier this week. Artists from Russia, Poland, Iceland, Greece and Belgium, among others, were knocked out and won’t be going to Portugal.

Lisbon won the right to stage this year’s competition after Salvador Sobral took the title at last year’s event in Ukraine.