A GUIDE TO EUROVISION 2021 - The Grand Final. More tomorrow.

Everything You Need To Know About:

EUROVISION

2021

It’s 2021 and… Eurovision is back! The COVID-19 pandemic caused the cancellation of the 2020 Contest.

Europe’s favourite annual music event is set to start on May 18. Here’s a guide to how the Eurovision Song Contest works.

The Grand Final

With the introduction of Semi-Finals, 4 countries became exceptions. This was in recognition of France, United Kingdom, Spain and Germany being the biggest financial contributions to the European Broadcasting Union. In 2011, Italy was added to this group of pre-qualifiers. As a result, these so-called ‘Big 5’ countries do not compete in the Semi-Finals and are instead guaranteed a spot in the Grand Final.

On the big night, the 5 nations face off against the 10 highest scoring entries from Semi-Finals 1 and 2. This year, these 25 songs will also compete against the Dutch entry. As the winners of the previous Eurovision Song Contest in 2019, the Netherlands is also a pre-qualifier for the Grand Final. That brings the total for the 2021 Grand Final to 26. Assuming this year's Dutch entry fails to win, the Netherlands will need to compete in a Semi-Final again for the 2022 Contest.