Christmas number one: Who is favourite to top UK festive charts in 2024 - latest odds and bookies' favourite

This year is no different, with the festive race ramping up ahead of the huge chart announcement later this week. There are multiple songs knee-deep in the battle it claim the coveted position on the chart.

Here’s everything you need to know about the current bookies’ favourite and who is in the running.

Who is bookies’ favourite to cinch Christmas number one 2024?

At the time of writing, 80s icons Wham! are favourite with the bookies to claim the 2024 Christmas number one with their festive classic ‘Last Christmas’. The song reached Christmas number last year for the very first time and currently sits at the top of the charts coming into Christmas number one week.

The band’s ascent to Christmas number one in 2023 marked the first time the song had topped the Christmas charts in its 39-year history. Now in 2024, ‘Last Christmas’ is celebrating its 40th anniversary and has a chance of claiming the coveted number one spot for the second year in a row and could become the very first song to hold the Christmas number one in consecutive years.

What are the latest bookies’ odds on Christmas number one?

Wham! are currently sitting comfy at the top of the bookies’ odds at the time of writing, with odds of 1/7 according to bet365.

The closest competitor comes in Tom Grennan, who currently sits on odds of 6/1 with his song ‘It Can’t Be Christmas’. The singer-songwriter follows in the footsteps of Eurovision hopeful Sam Ryder by releasing the song exclusively via Amazon Music, with Ryder coming close to pipping Wham! to the post last year.

The Queen of Christmas, Mariah Carey, sits third in the betting odds at 20/1 with her huge Christmas classic ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’. The 1994 festive hit has never hit number one in the Christmas charts in the UK as of 2024.

Outside of the Christmas-themed tune, singer-songwriter Gracie Abrams is fourth in the bookies odds at 33/1 with her song ‘That’s So True’. The song, which has become a hit online, is currently second in the charts behind Wham! - could it overtake the festive hit to claim the number one spot later this week?

Brenda Lee’s song ‘Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree’ sits at 40/1. Meanwhile, ‘APT’ by Blackpink star Rose and Bruno Mars also has odds of 40/1.

When is the Christmas number one announced?

The Christmas number one will be announced on Friday, December 20 by the Official Charts Company.

The company said: “Whoever you’re backing in this year’s race, you’ve got until 23.59pm Thursday 19 December to make your sales and streams count. The Top 40 will be counted down on Friday 20 December on BBC Radio 1’s The Official Chart with Jack Saunders from 4pm, with the full Top 100 singles and albums published on OfficialCharts.com.”