Well, we made it! It’s finally here! The Eurovision Song Contest 2022 officially gets underway from the PalaOlimpico in Santa Rita, Turin, following Måneskin’s triumph in last year’s contest in Rotterdam.
Tonight marks the first semi-final of the contest, with seventeen countries getting ready to perform their hearts out for the European public. Here’s everything #YOU need to know about tonight’s show!
Participants
The seventeen countries performing in tonight’s first semi-final are as follows. Click on the artist and song title to see our rehearsal review;
- 🇦🇱 ALBANIA – Ronela Hajati – Sekret
- 🇱🇻 LATVIA – Citi Zēni – Eat Your Salad
- 🇱🇹 LITHUANIA – Monika Liu – Sentimentai
- 🇨🇭 SWITZERLAND – Marius Bear – Boys Do Cry
- 🇸🇮 SLOVENIA – LPS – Disko
- 🇺🇦 UKRAINE – Kalush Orchestra – Stefania
- 🇧🇬 BULGARIA – Intelligent Music Project – Intention
- 🇳🇱 NETHERLANDS – S10 – De Diepte
- 🇲🇩 MOLDOVA – Zdob și Zdub and Frații Advahov – Trenulețul
- 🇵🇹 PORTUGAL – MARO – Saudade, Saudade
- 🇭🇷 CROATIA – Mia Dimšić – Guilty Pleasure
- 🇩🇰 DENMARK – REDDI – The Show
- 🇦🇹 AUSTRIA – LUM!X ft. Pia Maria – Halo
- 🇮🇸 ICELAND – Systur – Með hækkandi sól
- 🇬🇷 GREECE – Amanda Georgiadi Tenfjord – Die Together
- 🇳🇴 NORWAY – Subwoolfer – Give That Wolf a Banana
- 🇦🇲 ARMENIA – Rosa Linn – Snap
Ten of the countries in tonight’s semi-final will qualify for Saturday’s final, following a combination of jury votes from yesterday’s second rehearsal and the result of the televote from tonight’s live show. Snippets of the performances from France’s Alvan and Ahez with “Fulenn” and Italy’s Mahmood and Blanco with “Brividi” will also be shown, with the full performances available on YouTube following the show’s conclusion.
The Show
Alongside the competing songs this evening, tonight’s show will also see various performances and opening/interval acts to whet the appetite, as Italy kick off their first hosting since 1991.
The show will begin with a fun video of an Italian engineer creating this year’s postcard mascot, Leo the Drone, before he flies out into the Turin landscape and eventually into the open doors of PalaOlimpico, joining the stage inside the arena. There will then be a number showcasing the “ingenuity and creativity” of Italy. Dancers will play a version of “Nessun Dorma” on laser harps before a guitarist launches into an instrumental version of “Zitti e buoni”, last year’s winning song. There will then follow a dance number before we are introduced to this year’s three hosts; Alessandro Cattelan, Laura Pausini and Mika.
Two interval acts will be held during the voting sequence; one will celebrate the influence of Italo Disco on Europe, with acclaimed Italian producer Dardust performing, as well as the DJ Benny Benassi performing his iconic song “Satisfasction”. They will then be joined by British singer Sophie & The Giants.
The second interval act will see Diodato finally take to the Eurovision stage, after he was unable to perform at the cancelled 2020 contest. His performance of “Fai rumore”, which became an Italian anthem during the first COVID lockdowns, will be sure to be both poignant and mesmering.
Diodato is now on the #eurovision stage performing his 2020 entry “Fai Rumore.” #esc #esc2022 pic.twitter.com/2JR7YaThih
— escYOUnited (@ESCunited) May 9, 2022
How to watch the contest
There will be a live broadcast of the contest from the official Eurovision Song Contest channel on YouTube from 21:00 CET. Click HERE to watch from this stream. This stream is unavailable in the Czech Republic, Greece and the United States due to geoblocking.
There will also be a live broadcast from the official TikTok account for Eurovision, including additional backstage footage, as part of the EBU’s partnership with the social media company.
All participating countries in this year’s contest, as well as Peacock in the US, will broadcast the first semi-final. Click HERE to find out the local details of broadcasts in your country.
ESC United coverage
Make sure to stay tuned to ESC United as we bring #YOU all of the coverage surrounding the live show. Matt will be live from the press centre with a pre-show before the semi-final, and then immediately after the results are announced for all of the reaction as it happens.
#YOU can follow the live streams on YouTube HERE or on Twitch HERE.
Who are #YOU rooting for in tonight’s first semi-final? Where will #YOU be watching from? Share your thoughts with us on our forum HERE or join the discussion below and on social media!
