As surely as spring follows winter (in this hemisphere, at least), the attention of fandom is momentarily distracted when the next Eurovision host broadcaster pulls out none of the stops on a low-budget press conference to pick scrolls out of fish-bowls and declare who will sing when in the two semi-finals that foreshadow the main course of Eurovision fabulosity.
You can watch the full draw on the official YouTube channel.
Carolina Di Domenico and Mario Acampa randomly drew countries from six pots (based on historical voting patterns) to determine in which heat (and which half of the show) they would compete in.
The ‘Big 5’ countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) also get to hear in which of the two shows their viewers get to vote).
By tradition, this is also the time when true fans kick off about how Sweden is in the second half of the second show.
First Semi-Final
Tuesday 10 May, 21:00 CET
First Half of Show
- Albania – RTSH
- Bulgaria – BNT
- Latvia – LTV
- Lithuania – LRT
- Moldova – TRM
- Netherlands – AVROTROS
- Slovenia – RTVSLO
- Switzerland – SRG / SSR
- Ukraine – UA:PBC
Second Half of Show
- Austria – ORF
- Croatia – HRT
- Denmark – DR
- Greece – ERT
- Iceland – RUV
- Norway – NRK
- Russia – RTR
- Portugal – RTP
- Armenia – AMPTV
‘Big 5’ countries voting during First Semi-Final:
- Italy – Rai (Hosts)
- France – FT
Second Semi-Final
Thursday 12 May, 21:00 CET
First Half of Show
- Australia – SBS
- Azerbaijan – Ictimai TV
- Cyprus – CyBC
- Finland – YLE
- Georgia – GPB
- Israel – IPBC/Kan
- Malta – PBS
- San Marino – RTV
- Serbia – RTS
Second Half of Show
- Belgium – RTBF
- Czech Republic CT
- Estonia – ERR
- Ireland – RTE
- Montenegro – RTCG
- North Macedonia – MKRTV
- Poland – TVP
- Romania – TVR
- Sweden – SVT
‘Big 5’ countries voting during Second Semi-Final:
- Germany – ARD/NDR
- Spain – RTVE
- United Kingdom – BBC