Waterloo is best Eurovision song

Abba's Waterloo is the perfect Eurovision song, according to experts.

It contains the ideal combination of seven crucial ingredients to make it the best Eurovision song of all time.

Dr Harry Witchel, physiologist and music expert at the University of Bristol, came up with the recipe for Eurovision perfection to mark its 50th anniversary.

He has come up with seven crucial elements - pace and rhythm; an easily memorable song; the perfect chorus; key change; a clearly defined finish; dance routine and costume.

The expert put this year's competitors through his criteria and found that Bosnia and Herzegovina had the best chance of winning, with the song Call Me.

British entry Javine was seventh in the list of singers most likely to take the Eurovision crown this weekend.

Celine Dion's Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi, which won the contest in 1988, came second in the list of perfect songs.

Her song was followed by the UK's 1967 entry, Puppet on a String by Sandie Shaw.

Under the system, compiled for the digital broadcaster Music Choice, it was found that the 1980s were the Golden Age of Eurovision, with four winners in the top ten.

Dr Witchel said: "For any music fan it should come as no surprise that Waterloo is the perfect Eurovision song.

"The main thrust of the song, the word Waterloo, is just three syllables long and then there's a lot of space for it to become both memorable and emotionally evocative.

"It's completely different from most other songs in terms of harmonies and rhythm.

"I don't think there will be too many tracks of its quality in the next 50 years of Eurovision."