Norway and Sweden will meet in the first semi-final, while Greece and Cyprus this year are in each their semi-final. Host country the Netherlands will be able to vote for their Belgian neighbours in the first semi-final. Today, the semi-final allocation draw took place.
It’s time to for the first predictions to start. Which countries are likely to qualify from their semi-final and who might struggle to do so? Today, the traditional semi-final allocation draw took place. It has now been determined which countries will compete in which semi-final, whether or not they start in first or second half of their semi-final and which finalist countries will vote in which semi-final.
Big 5 + host country
The so-called Big 5 countries which consists of Germany, France, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom are automatically qualified for the final together with host country, which this year is the Netherlands. These six countries will still be broadcasting and voting in one of the semi-finals. Which one was also decided via draw today:
- Italy, Germany and the Netherlands will vote in the first semi-final
- France, United Kingdom and Spain will vote in the second semi-final
Semi-final 1
| First half | Second half |
| North Macedonia | Norway |
| Belarus | Cyprus |
| Lithuania | Croatia |
| Sweden | Azerbaijan |
| Slovenia | Malta |
| Australia | Israel |
| Ireland | Ukraine |
| Russia | Romania |
| Belgium |
Semi-final 2
| First half | Second half |
| Austria | Denmark |
| Moldova | Bulgaria |
| Poland | Switzerland |
| San Marino | Finland |
| Serbia | Armenia |
| Iceland | Latvia |
| Czech Republic | Georgia |
| Greece | Portugal |
| Estonia | Albania |
An actual running order will be decided by the producers – with approval from EBU’s Reference Group.
The first semi-final will take place on the 12th of May, the second on the 14th – and finally, Saturday the 16th, we’ll see the final. Ten countries from each semi-final will join the six countries automatically qualified for the final. Hosts of the three shows are Chantal Janzen, Edsilia Rombley and Jan Smit. This year’s slogan is Open Up.
