A GUIDE TO THE ESC - 2 Semi-Finals. 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.

2 Semi-Finals

The inaugural Eurovision Song Contest back in 1956 consisted of songs from 7 different countries. Recent years has seen the number of participating nations rise to over 40.  Originally, all competitors performed a song on the one night. With the increased interest, a show packed with all of the entries is not viable. The idea of Semi Finals was introduced to address this.

In 2021, Semi Final 1, held on May 18, will see 17 songs performed and then a jury and the public will select the 10 entries that will progress through to the Grand Final. The same process will take place on May 20 where another 10 will be selected (based on the number of votes received by the 17 songs) in Semi Final 2.

In the end, the remaining 7 songs from each Semi Final will be culled. The 20 top scoring songs from both Semi Finals will compete again at the Grand Final with another 6 songs that have already pre-qualified (this will be explained tomorrow) for the big night.