Tonight: Semi-final 1 of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024

The 68th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest begins tonight!

15 songs will be performed, but only 10 will qualify for Saturday's Grand Final. The show starts at 21:00 CEST, live from Malmö Arena in Sweden. The hosts are Petra Mede and Malin Åkerman. The running order was decided by Swedish broadcaster and producer SVT based on an allocation draw.

On Thursday, Semi-final 2 will find the last 10 qualifiers out of 16 songs.

Lineup Semi-final 1

Opening: Eleni Foureira, Eric Saade and Chanel

Brace yourselves for fire, or in Eleni Foureira's words "Fuego," is about to break out. Just before the 2018 Cypriot representative takes the stage, memories of previous winners such as Céline Dion (Switzerland 1988), Kalush Orchestra (Ukraine 2022), and Loreen (Sweden 2012, 2023) are shown followed by a quick preview of this year's postcards with all the 37 contestants.

We travel from Liverpool to Malmö and it's time for Eleni Foureira to perform "Fuego," followed by Eric Saade who sings "Popular," and Chanel wraps up the opening act with "SloMo."

Petra Mede and Malin Åkerman are welcomed to the stage and, amid jokes, introduce the usual rules to the viewers. Including the fact that the qualifiers will be 100% decided by public voting and that the Big-5 and host country are performing in the Semi-finals.

It's time...

LET THE EUROVISION SONG CONTEST 2024 BEGIN!

12 minutes in, the first country on stage is Cyprus.

Postcards

Before each of the 15 songs we'll see a small "postcard" while the stage is being prepared for the song. Each of the 15 postcards feature the same idea:

We see two short clips of previous iconic Eurovision performances by the country.

They're followed by a small self-recorded video of the artist as if it were an Instagram story or TikTok video including short footages of emblematic places, food, and activities from the country.

At last, we see a professional slow-motion video of the artist along with the name.

Commercial Breaks

After song number four (Ireland), the evening's first commercial break takes place:

For the viewers without commercials, we have Petra Mede bragging about her Eurovision knowledge. She puts it to the test and fails miserably: Slovakia 1998? Ireland 2009? France 1983?

After that we have the very first pre-qualified finalist performing, it's Olly Alexander from the United Kingdom with "Dizzy."

After song number eight (Iceland), the second commercial break takes place:

It's Malin Åkerman who shares her love for Swedish cinema as well as Eurovision music. A segment that mixes classic Swedish movies such as "The Seventh Deal" and "Fanny Alexander" with Eurovision songs proceeds.

Interval Act: Johnny Logan and Benjamin Ingrosso

After all 15 songs have been performed, it's time to start the voting. All countries in Semi-final 1, along with the three pre-qualified countries (Germany, United Kingdom and Sweden) can vote in this Semi-final.

The two presenters explain the rules and are quick to open the voting:

START VOTING NOW!

A first recap takes place. Johnny Logan (Ireland 1980, 1987) is the first interval act and pays tribute to Loreen by covering "Euphoria."

The show goes on with Petra Made talking with Luxembourg's Tali and addressing the country's absence. Images of this Semi-final's contestants on the turquoise carpet follow.

The final recap is up.

STOP VOTING NOW!

The voting is now closed, but we still have to hang on for a few moments.

Moving on, the next Semi-final's artists are presented. Petra Made is now next to the fans and uses the moment to promote the Eurovision app, along with a few jokes.

From fun jokes, we move to a more serious moment. While Malin reminds the viewers who first acts to dance and sing at the same time were – Nicole and Hugo (Belgium 1973) – she also pays a quick tribute to Nicole, who passed away last year.

A compilation of multiple performances that featured dancing throughout the years is being shown. It's the legacy of dance.

Petra is back in the green room interacting with a few acts.

In the meantime, Benjamin Ingrosso (Sweden 2018), who has since his Eurovision participation become a massive star in Sweden, gets to perform a medley of his biggest hits.

Just before the results, the hosts highlight the many countries and languages that have taken part in the show, and another compilation takes place.

We're ready to find out who the 10 qualifiers are, and Martin Österdahl, the boss who oversees everything related to Eurovision, announces that all is set for the qualifiers announcement.

Just before they do so, the green room opens to the audience. Unlike previous years, the green room is located behind the main LED screen.

THE 10 SONGS QUALIFIED FOR THE GRAND FINAL ARE...

🏳️🏳️🏳️🏳️🏳️🏳️🏳️🏳️🏳️🏳️

GOOD NIGHT EUROPE!

Voting

The voting procedure follows the same recipe as last year. In the Semi-finals, there will be no juries. Viewers in some of the non-participating countries ("the rest of the world") will now be able to vote online. These online votes will have the same weight as one participating country in both of the Semi-Finals, as well as the Grand Final. Each country and "the rest of the world" will have one set of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 12 points to give.

• Voting will open after the last song has been performed, and will stay open for approximately 15 to 25 minutes.
• The 10 songs with most points will qualify for the Grand Final.
• Each of the 15 countries participating in Semi-final 1 will vote.
• The pre-qualified countries Germany, the United Kingdom and Sweden will broadcast and vote in Semi-final 1.
• Each country will have televoting, which results in a set of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 12 points.
• "The rest of the world" can vote online, which results in a set of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 12 points.
• The voting results will not be revealed before the Grand Final has finished on Saturday.
• Only the 10 qualified songs will be revealed, and in random order.

Eurovision Song Contest 2024

The 68th Eurovision Song Contest takes place on 7, 9 and 11 May 2024. The contest will be held in Malmö, Sweden, and produced by Swedish broadcaster SVT.

• Location: Malmö, Sweden
• Participants: 37
• Semi-final 1: 7 May – 15 participants: The 10 best songs qualify for the Grand Final
• Semi-final 2: 9 May – 16 participants: The 10 best songs qualify for the Grand Final
• Grand Final: 11 May – 26 participants: Sweden, Big-5 (Germany, Spain, France, Italy and the United Kingdom), 10 best from Semi-final 1, 10 best from Semi-final 2