The Eurovision 2024 Song Contest, is happening tonight in Malmö, Sweden. This is the 68th time this show, which is one of the longest-running TV music competitions, is taking place. Malmö, a city in Southern Sweden, is hosting it for the second time in about 10 years.
Tonight, the semi-final will kick off the competition. There are 37 countries from Europe and even Australia taking part. This is the third time in 11 years that Sweden has hosted the contest.
Last year, Loreen’s ballad ‘Tattoo’ song narrowly beat Käärijä’s song ‘Cha Cha Cha.’ This win made Sweden tie the record for the most wins in Eurovision history. Now, they get to host this sparkly event for the 68th time, starting tonight in Malmö.
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More About Eurovision
Eurovision is a big music contest that happens every year and is organized by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Each country taking part sends in a song, and then everyone gets to perform and vote for their favorites. It’s not just about winning; it’s more about celebrating music together.
There are some rules, like songs can only be three minutes long, they have to be original, not about politics, and sung live with no more than six people on stage. The singers don’t have to be from the country they represent. For example, in 1988, a young singer named Celine Dion from Canada won for Switzerland.
The songs in Eurovision cover all kinds of music styles, and the performances can be creative, fun, or even a bit silly. In 2016, the hosts Petra Mede and Måns Zelmerlöw made a funny song that poked fun at some of Eurovision’s famous quirks.
Eurovision 2024 Tonight Show
Tonight, the 68th Eurovision Song Contest will have 37 countries taking part. The first fifteen countries will compete, and the top ten will move on to the Grand Final on Saturday, May 11, 2024. Petra Mede, who is a big Eurovision star and hosted the show in 2013, will host tonight along with Malin Åkerman. The slogan for this year’s contest is ‘United by music,’ and it’s going to be the permanent slogan from now on, as announced by the European Broadcasting Union last November.
The show will start with performances of past Eurovision hits by Eleni Foureira, Eric Saade, and Chanel. Then, there will be a medley of songs by Benjamin Ingrosso, who represented Sweden in 2018, and a performance by two-time Eurovision winner Johnny Logan from Ireland, who won in 1980 and 1987.
Each contestant tonight will be introduced with a short video that lasts for 40 seconds. This year, SVT, the Swedish broadcaster, is doing something new to help the environment. Instead of creating these videos themselves, they asked each country to send in their own videos.
Tonight’s contestants for the Eurovision 2024 Song Contest are
Cyprus – Silia Kapsis with the song Liar
Serbia – Teya Dora with the song Ramonda
Lithuania – Silvester Belt with the song Luktelk
Ireland – Bambie Thug with the song Doomsday Blue
Ukraine – Alyona Alyona and Jerry Heil with the song Teresa & Maria
Poland – Luna with the song The Tower
Croatia – Baby Lasagna with the song Rim Tim Dagi Dim
Iceland – Hera Björk with the song Scared of Heights
Slovenia – Raiven with the song Veronika
Finland – Windows95man with the song No Rules!
Moldova – Natalia Barbu with the song In the Middle
Azerbaijan – Fahree feat. Ikin Dovlatov with the song Özünlə Apar
Australia – Electric Fields with the song One Milkali (One Blood)
Noteworthy Returns
Luxembourg Returns to Eurovision:
Luxembourg is making a big comeback to Eurovision 2024 after a long break. They last took part in the contest in 1993. They announced their exciting return during last year’s final in Liverpool. Tali, a 23-year-old singer and songwriter, won the Luxembourgish national selection with her song Fighter. She will be the first representative of her country to perform at Eurovision in 31 years.
Returning Contestants:
This semi-final also marks the return of two former Eurovision participants. Natalia Barbu represented Moldova in 2007 with her song ‘Fight,’ where she made it to the final and finished 10th overall. Another returning artist is Hera Björk from Iceland. She won the Icelandic national selection last March and will represent her country for the second time. Hera is known as the ‘Eurovision Queen’ and previously competed in Eurovision 2010 with her iconic song ‘Je Ne Sais Quoi,’ which landed her in 19th place in the Grand Final in Oslo.
Eurovision 2024: The Voting Process
Televote Only:
Once again, the semi-finals of Eurovision 2024 will be decided solely by the televote, as decided by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) last year. This means that viewers from tonight’s participating countries will have the power to determine the outcome of the semi-final. Additionally, viewers from the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, and the Rest of the World will also be able to cast their votes in this first semi-final.
Changes to Voting Rules:
The EBU is introducing a new change to the voting rules this year. Instead of waiting until the end of the last performance, viewers will be able to cast their votes right from the beginning of the show. Furthermore, voters from the rest of the world will have their voting window open 24 hours before the show. Additionally, the three pre-qualified and voting countries will perform during tonight’s semi-final, in between the competing acts. The United Kingdom will perform between acts 4 and 5, Germany between acts 8 and 9, and Sweden between acts 11 and 12.
Advancement to the Grand Final:
The ten countries with the most televote points will advance to the Grand Final, while the remaining five will unfortunately have to leave the competition. The ten lucky entrants will be announced at the end of the show in random order. Stay tuned on ESCToday.com for the results!
How to Vote
To vote, check the information provided by your national broadcaster if you live in a participating country or are eligible to vote under the Rest of the World category. You can also download the official Eurovision app. Remember, you cannot vote for your own country.
If you want to watch the first semi-final of Eurovision 2024, it will be broadcasted live tonight at 21:00 CEST.
You have a few options to tune in: you can watch it on the national broadcasters of the countries taking part. They often provide local commentary, adding to the excitement. Alternatively, you can catch the live stream on eurovision.tv or the official Eurovision YouTube channel. These options allow you to enjoy the show from anywhere in the world.
How to Watch Eurovision 2024
If you want to watch the first semi-final of Eurovision 2024, it will be broadcasted live tonight at 21:00 CEST.
You have a few options to tune in: you can watch it on the national broadcasters of the countries taking part. They often provide local commentary, adding to the excitement. Alternatively, you can catch the live stream on eurovision.tv or the official Eurovision YouTube channel. These options allow you to enjoy the show from anywhere in the world.