By Melanie Arnost

The Eurovision Song Contest semi-finals begin in Germany on Tuesday with France tipped as the favourite to win by bookmakers.

David Knox, the official SBS Eurovision blogger, says bookies have been accurate at picking the winners in the past.

“The bookies have been pretty right for the last few years,” he said.

“They picked Moscow, they picked Norway to win, they picked Germany.”

But the costs involved in staging the contest mean winning is not necessarily the best thing, according to media commentator Steve Molks.

“The catch with Eurovision is that the winning country hosts the Eurovision Song Contest the following year,” he said.

“The smart countries are the ones that will put forward songs that sound just good enough to be there, but not good enough to win.”

The finals will be held on May 14.