Eurovision is finally here!
Kicking off tonight, this year’s competition promises to be as wacky as ever with countries battling it out with their quirky songs for victory and the chance to host next year’s competition.
The Queen of Pop herself Madonna will reportedly headline Saturday night's grand final, while Graham Norton and his acerbic wit are back to commentate for the BBC.
Will the United Kingdom finish with nul points? Will someone invade the stage again? Here is everything you need to know about Eurovision 2019:
Where is it being held?
The 64th annual Eurovision Song Contest is being held in Tel Aviv, Israel from May 14-18. Israel was awarded hosting rights last year when Netta won in Lisbon with TOY, a.k.a. “the chicken song”.
The five-day event - which features three televised shows - will be held at the Expo Tel Aviv (also known as the International or Tel Aviv Convention Centre), under the theme Dare to Dream.
Who are the hosts?
Eurovision will have four hosts this year: supermodel Bar Refaeli, television producer Erez Tal, Rising Star host Assi Azar and YouTube influencer Lucy Ayoub.
How do the semi-finals work?
Some 36 countries compete for their place in Saturday’s final over the course of two nights, with 17 on night one (Tuesday) and 18 on night two (Thursday). They’ll perform and nervously wait to find out if they’ve done enough to secure a place in the final. Only 10 will make it though each night, with those 20 acts joining the “Big Five” (we’ll get to that) and the host country in the final.
Tuesday performers: Slovenia, Belarus, Czech Republic, Montenegro, Cyprus, Serbia, Finland, Poland, Hungary, Estonia, Portugal, San Marino, Iceland, Georgia, Australia, Belgium, Ukraine and Greece.
Thursday performers: Switzerland, Sweden, Ireland, Austria, Moldova, Latvia, Romania, Denmark, Armenia, Albania, Azerbaijan, North Macedonia, Norway, Russia, The Netherlands, Croatia, Lithuania and Moldova.
Viewers in the United Kingdom will ONLY be allowed to vote during the second semi-final on Thursday night.
Who are the “Big Five”?
The Big Five - formally the Big Four - are the five countries that automatically qualify for the final without having to go through the midweek run due to the large financial contributions they make towards to EBU, who organise the contest.
Germany, France, Spain and the United Kingdom make up the foursome. They were joined by Italy when the country made it's return.
The host country - in this case, Israel - automatically gets a spot in the final as well. If a member of the Big Five wins the contest - as Lena did in 2010 for Germany - then the number of participants in the final is capped at 25.
Who’s going to win?
Currently, the Netherlands act Duncan Laurence’s Arcade is favourite to win with odds of 2/1, according to Betfair. Second in the odds is Russia at 5/1 followed by Italy at 6/1.
Azerbaijan and Sweden complete the top five at 8/1 and 9/1, respectively.
Will it be the United Kingdom?
Probably not. The UK entry Michael Rice – who won February’s You Decide selection show – is 150/1. With several countries placed at 200/1 or 300/1, it could be worse.
Rice will sing Bigger Than Us on the big stage next weekend.
How comes countries outside Europe can participate?
Participation in Eurovision isn’t actually anything to do with geographic location. Participating countries are all active members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) who organise the contest every year. Primarily, active members are within the broadcasting region or member states of the Council of Europe.
Each country wishing to participate must pay a fee to the EBU and agree to the rules of the contest, which include their broadcast plans for the actual competition. Cyprus and Israel are EBU members - allowing them to enter Eurovision - and Australia applied for associate membership to the competition.
So, can we compete after Brexit?
Yes, we can. As long as we continue to pay our EBU fees and enter before the deadline, no problem.
How can I watch it?
The two semi-finals will be broadcast live on Tuesday, May 14 and Thursday, May 16 on BBC Four, starting at 8pm. Scott Mills and Rylan Clark-Neal will provide the commentary.
The grand final - with commentary from Graham Norton - is on BBC One on Saturday, May 18 at 8pm.
