It’s that time of year again – the Eurovision Song Contest returns next week.
After Italian rock band Maneskin won in 2021, this year’s event will be hosted by Italy, with 26 artists flocking to Turin to represent their countries in the grand final. This year’s UK entry will be Sam Ryder. Find out more about the musician here.
Rehearsals are currently underway for the competition, which will take place over three days. It will conclude with the grand final on Saturday (14 May).
Everything you need to know about the Eurovision 2022 schedule
Semi-final one will kick things off on Tuesday (10 May) with 17 countries battling it out to make it to the grand final.
The group consists of Albania, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Netherlands, Slovenia, Switzerland, Ukraine, Austria, Croatia, Denmark, Greece, Iceland, Norway, Portugal, and Armenia.
In February, it was announced that the European Broadcasting Union had barred Russia from participating.
“The decision reflects concern that, in light of the unprecedented crisis in Ukraine, the inclusion of a Russian entry in this year’s contest would bring the competition into disrepute,” said the EBU, who had earlier announced they had no plans to prevent Russia from taking part before backtracking on their statement.
The second semi-final will follow on Thursday (12 May) with another 18 countries competing against one another.
The group consists of Australia, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Finland, Georgia, Israel, Malta, San Marino, Serbia, Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, Ireland, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, and Sweden.
France, the UK, Germany, Spain, and Italy automatically qualify for the grand final on Saturday (14 May) and therefore do not need to compete in the semi-finals.
The grand final will take place on Saturday (14 May) when the winner will be announced at Pala Olimpico.
How can I watch Eurovision 2022?
All live events will begin at 8pm UK time. The Eurovision semi-finals (on 10 and 12 May) can be watched live on BBC Three, with Scott Mills and Rylan Clark commentating.
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