One of favourites, Estonia, will compete from the first half in the final, while two others, Cyprus and Israel, drew second half. Shortly after the first semi-final ended, we now know now where the lucky ten qualifiers will appear in the grand final on Saturday.
Most still prefer a starting position in the second half, but does it really make a difference? Out of the past ten winners, only three won from first half, but as those three all are recent, from 2014, 2015 and 2017, we can conclude that the right song can win from first half as well – although none of those three started early in the competition.
At the press conference following tonight’s first semi-final, the qualifiers drew themselves into either first or second half. Added the automatically qualified countries as well, the list looks as follow:
| First half | Second half |
| Portugal | Italy |
| United Kingdom | Cyprus |
| Spain | Israel |
| France | Czech Republic |
| Germany | Bulgaria |
| Austria | Finland |
| Estonia | Ireland |
| Lithuania | |
| Albania |
The actual running order will be determined by the producers – and approved by the Reference Group and the EBU. It will usually be announced within hours after the second semi-final as it needs to be ready in good time for the first dress rehearsal for the final on Friday afternoon.
