The 2023 Eurovision Song Contest will see a total of 31 countries take to the stage during the preliminary rounds, with 10 acts from each heat progressing to the Grand Final.
Fifteen acts will participate in the first Semi-Final with their respective countries, plus France, Germany and Italy, as well as non-participating countries under an aggregated vote as ‘Rest of the World’, allowed to vote, sending home five acts in the process.
For the second Semi-Final, the remaining 16 acts will participate to win the votes of their countries along with Spain, Ukraine and the United Kingdom, along with non-participating countries, and progress to the main event.
Joining them at the Grand Final will be reigning champions Ukraine and acts from the ‘Big Five’ countries: France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom.
In addition to each of the countries’ performances, both Semi-Finals are set to feature an electrifying line-up of guest performers, including Eurovision veterans and artists from Ukraine and the United Kingdom who have been ‘United By Music’.
Semi-Final 1
Tuesday, May 9
Norway
Malta
Serbia
Latvia
Portugal
Ireland
Croatia
Switzerland
Israel
Moldova
Sweden
Azerbaijan
Czechia
Netherlands
Finland
Opening the first show is host Julia Sanina, who will perform part of Маяк by her band The Hardkiss, translating from the Ukrainian for Lighthouse and symbolising how the UK and Ukraine are ‘United by Music’.
If that’s not enough, during the interval Rita Ora will deliver a show-stopping medley of some of her biggest hits along with her brand-new single Praising You, while Ukrainian singer Alyosha – who represented Ukraine in Eurovision 2010 and was forced to leave her country and loved ones behind to seek refuge – will perform alongside Liverpool’s Rebecca Ferguson on a haunting arrangement of Duran Duran’s Ordinary World.
Semi-Final 2
Thursday, May 11
Denmark
Armenia
Romania
Estonia
Belgium
Cyprus
Iceland
Greece
Poland
Slovenia
Georgia
San Marino
Austria
Albania
Lithuania
Australia
With two live interval performances, the second Semi-Final’s entertainment kicks off with ‘Music Unites Generations’, which explores the connection between generations of Ukrainians and the music they love.
Mariya Yaremchuk, who represented Ukraine in Eurovision 2014, leads a contemporary montage of some of the most well-known pieces of music from the country, ending with a stunning collaborative performance from rapper OTOY, 14-year-old Ukrainian Junior Eurovision representative Zlata Dziunka, and Mariya.
It’s followed by another performance called ‘Be Who You Wanna Be’, which celebrates how Eurovision is a place for everyone – no matter who you are – and sees three extraordinary drag performers lead into a jaw-dropping routine of high-end pop performances along with a troupe of eclectic dancers.
READ MORE: Meet The Contestants: Here are the 37 entries competing in Eurovision 2023
