Winning the Eurovision Press Poll - a recipe for success?

Courtesy: EBU / Thomas Hanses

The last four days have seen all semi-final acts take to the stage for their first run of rehearsals (excluding Australia of course).

At the end of each day the accredited press vote on the performances that most impressed them.

This year this is being done by a press member choosing three acts to vote on.

But does winning the Press Poll lead on to success at Eurovision itself?

Let's see what recent history has told us....

Below are the acts who received the highest points from their semi-final since 2015 with the final ranking in brackets:

2019

Australia: Kate Miller-Heidke - 'Zero Gravity (9th)

Switzerland: Luca Hanni - 'She Got Me' (4th)

2018

Cyprus: Eleni Foureira – Fuego (2nd)

Moldova: Doredos – My Lucky Day (10th)

2017

Armenia: Artsvik – Fly With Me (18th)

Bulgaria – Kristian Kostov – Beautiful Mess (2nd)

2016

Ukraine: Jamala – 1944 (1st)

Armenia: Iveta Mukuchyan – LoveWave (7th)

2015

Norway: Debrah Scarlett and Morland – A Monster Like Me (8th)

Russia: Polina Gagarina – A Million Voices (2nd)

So what are the key takeaways from this:

• Every country qualified for the Grand Final

• 9 of the 10 countries made the Top 10 in the Grand Final

• The average placing was 6th

• There was only 1 winner, but 3 acts finished runner-up

So press poll accolades usually lead to a good level of success, but rarely does it mean you'll win or come close to winning the Eurovision Song Contest.

The Netherlands for example finished 6th in the Press Poll from their semi-final in 2019, but of course went on to win the Contest. .

The two acts this year with the highest points from each semi-final were:

• Ukraine: Go_A - 'SHUM'

• Switzerland: Gjon's Tears - 'Tout l'univers'

Does these mean they are destined to a good result but will miss out victory?

Time will tell!