The Second Set Of Finalists For Eurovision 2023 Will Be Released This Afternoon

The Eurovision competition is in full swing and with the first batch of semi-finalists announced Tuesday. As for the second batch, they'll learn their fate today at 3pm Eastern. Not familiar with the contest? Let’s get you up to speed!

A Bit Of Background

• The annual song contest is in its 67^th year, making it the longest-running TV competition in history.
• Eurovision has launched the careers of some extremely popular acts like ABBA, Celine Dion, Olivia Newton-John and Måneskin. 
• This year’s lineup includes participation from 31 countries.
• Whichever country’s delegate wins the competition, that country gets to host the show the following year. However, since Ukrainian folk-rap group Kalush Orchestra won last year, England is hosting on their behalf due to the war with Russia.

The Show

• Eurovision’s semifinals and grand finale is held from May 9^th to May 13^th.
• This year’s contest features commentary from singer/rapper Alesha Dixon, veteran U.K. talk show host Graham Norton, Ukrainian singer Julia Sanina and “Ted Lasso” actress Hannah Waddingham.
• The first semifinals were broadcast Tuesday night and featured acts from Croatia, Ireland, Latvia, Malta, Norway, Portugal and Serbia, and the second half consists of performers from Azerbaijan, Czech Republic, Israel, Finland, Netherlands, Moldova, Sweden and Switzerland.
• The second semifinal airs today at 3pm ET and includes performers from Armenia, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Iceland and Romania, Albania, Australia, Austria, Georgia, Lithuania, Poland, San Marino and Slovenia.
• The theme for the second semifinal is “Music Unites Generations” which will put a spotlight on generations of Ukrainians and the music they love. Again, England is hosting on Ukraine’s behalf this year due to the war with Russia.

The big grand finale takes place Saturday May 13^th at 3pm ET and can be streamed, along with the semi-finals, here in the U.S. on Peacock.  

Source: Eurovision.TV