1. The Great Boycott Crisis
Israel's participation in the contest has once again sparked heated debate this year. The EBU's decision to allow the country to compete despite the war in Gaza has led Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain and Iceland to withdraw from the contest.
Recently, more than 1,100 artists, including Brian Eno and Massive Attack, called for a boycott of this year's competition. Swedish artists such as Olof Dreijer from The Knife and Marit Bergman also signed the petition.
The EBU stands by Israel's participation but has introduced new voting rules following Israel's controversial marketing campaign last year.
2. Odds favorite: Finland
Earlier this spring, artist Pete Parkkonen, together with violinist Linda Lampenius, won a crushing victory in the Finnish equivalent of Melodifestivalen.
This means that they are competing in Vienna with "Liekinheitin", and the song is by far the favourite on the betting sites to win the contest.
Their entry features pyrotechnics, stormy winds, intense violin playing and strong emotions.
3. Will Denmark be the big shock of the year?
Denmark is this year's big "dark horse" and is currently third on the betting odds. The neighbouring country is sending Søren Torpegaard Lund with the song "Før vi går hjem".
The song is performed entirely in Danish, which has been praised by international fans. Swedish singer Felicia is a big fan of the entry; she thinks it is the best in this year's competition apart from her own.
4. Sweden's Felicia and "My system"
Felicia, who previously competed in Melodifestivalen as Fröken Snusk, travels to Austria with the clubby EDM song "My system." The song is not among the betting favourites, currently in tenth place, but is one of the most played entries with over 18 million streams.
5. The listening top list
As you know, anything can happen in Eurovision, and having a good entry in terms of odds does not automatically mean that you will win. The most listened-to entry in advance by far is Italy's "Per sempre si" by Sal Da Vinci. The song has been streamed over 25 million times on Spotify, but is "only" ninth on the betting sites.
Second is Felicia's "My system", with over 18 million streams, followed by Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen's "Liekinheitin", which clocks in at over 12 million streams.
Corrected version: In a previous version, the number of streams reported for Felicia's song was different.
