Eurovision 2022 is finally here for another showstopping night of singing from the world's biggest and brightest musical competition.
40 countries entered, but only 20 have qualified for the Grand Final to compete alongside the Big Five countries (UK, Italy, Germany, Spain and France) for a chance to be crowned this year's champions.
Here's everything you need to know about Eurovision 2022...
When is Eurovision 2022?
The Eurovision 2022 Grand Final will be held on Saturday, May 14 at 3 pm ET / 8 pm UK time / 9 pm CEST.
The first semi-final took place on Tuesday, May 10, and the second semi-final was held on Thursday, May 12 at 3 pm ET / 8 pm UK time.
In the UK, Eurovision 2022 will air on the BBC and BBC iPlayer; the semi-final shows are being broadcast on BBC Three, but the Grand Final will take pride of place on BBC One on Saturday night.
Meanwhile, US readers will be able to stream the entire competition live and on-demand over on Peacock.
Where will Eurovision 2022 be held?
Eurovision 2022 will be held at Turin's Pala Olimpico (also known as Pala Alpitour) in Italy. The indoor venue was first opened in 2005, and has a capacity of 12,350.
It's always sunny in Turin! 🌞Here's your first look at the stunning #Eurovision 2022 stage! 🤩🌟 More info and photos here: https://t.co/ju170lGFVi pic.twitter.com/Sf9UzmKUShFebruary 18, 2022
Who is the UK entry for Eurovision 2022?
After the unfortunate turn that saw James Newman scoring nil points at last year's competition, the UK went a very different direction and chose Sam Ryder to represent the UK at Eurovision 2022.
Sam has racked up more than 12 million followers on TikTok, making the Essex-based singer TikTok's most-followed UK artist. For Eurovision 2022, Sam will be performing his single, "SPACE MAN", which was co-written with Grammy-winning songwriter Amy Wadge (Ed Sheeran, "Thinking Out Loud").
You can watch the official music video for the UK entry below:
Speaking about his feelings ahead of Saturday's Grand Final, Sam said: "I'm excited, I’m trying to be focused about it and just getting nice and practiced singing wise and getting in the right headspace for it.
"It’s really hectic in the lead up, so I think it's important just to try and find that focus and balance, and just remember that it's all about the singing, three minutes of singing!"
Eurovision 2022 - Grand Final running order
Now that the two semi-finals have taken place, we know which acts we'll be seeing this Saturday, and we've since learned the running order for the main event:
- Czech Republic - "Lights Off" by We Are Domi
- Romania - "Llámame" by WRS
- Portugal - "Saudade, Saudade" by MARO
- Finland - "Jezebel" by The Rasmus
- Switzerland - "Boys Do Cry" by Marius Bear
- France - "Fulenn" by Alvan & Ahez
- Norway - "Give That Wolf A Banan" by Subwoolfer
- Armenia - "Snap" by Rosa Linn
- Italy - "Brividi" by Mahmood & Blanco
- Spain - "SloMo" by Chanel
- The Netherlands - "De Diepte" by S10
- Ukraine - "Stefania" by Kalush Orchestra
- Germany - "Rockstars" by Malik Harris
- Lithuania - "Sentimentai" by Monika Liu
- Azerbaijan - "Fade To Black" by Nadir Rustamli
- Belgium - "Miss You" by Jérémie Makiese
- Greece - "Die Together" by Amanda Georgiadi Tenfjord
- Iceland - "Með Hækkandi Sól" by Systur
- Moldova - "Trenulețul" by Zdob şi Zdub & Advahov Brothers
- Sweden - "Hold Me Closer" by Cornelia Jakobs
- Australia - "Not The Same" by Sheldon Riley
- UK - "SPACE MAN" by Sam Ryder
- Poland - "River" by Ochman
- Serbia - "In Corpore Sano" by Konstrakta
- Estonia - "Hope" by Stefan
Which countries are taking part in Eurovision 2022?
40 countries participated in this year's Eurovision Song Contest, though only 20 of them will progress to the Grand Final alongside the UK, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy.
Below, you can find a list of the countries and their chosen artists.
- Albania - Ronela Hajati - eliminated
- Armenia - Rosa Linn
- Australia - Sheldon Riley
- Austria - LUM!X feat. Pia Maria - eliminated
- Azerbaijan - Nadir Rustamli
- Belgium - Jérémie Makiese
- Bulgaria - Intelligent Music Project - eliminated
- Croatia - Mia Dimšić - eliminated
- Cyprus - Andromache - eliminated
- Czech Republic - We Are Domi
- Denmark - REDDI - eliminated
- Estonia - Stefan
- Finland - The Rasmus
- France - Alvan & Ahez
- Georgia - Circus Mircus - eliminated
- Germany - Malik Harris
- Greece - Amanda Georgiadi Tenfjord
- Iceland - Systur
- Ireland - Brooke - eliminated
- Israel - Michael Ben David - eliminated
- Italy - Mahmood & BLANCO
- Latvia - Citi Zēni - eliminated
- Lithuania - Monika Liu
- Malta - Emma Muscat - eliminated
- Moldova - Zdob şi Zdub & Fraţii Advahov
- Montenegro - Vladana - eliminated
- The Netherlands - S10
- North Macedonia - Andrea - eliminated
- Norway - Subwoolfer
- Poland - Ochman
- Portugal - MARO
- Romania - WRS
- San Marino - Achille Lauro - eliminated
- Serbia - Konstrakta
- Slovenia - LPS - eliminated
- Spain - Chanel
- Sweden - Cornelia Jakobs
- Switzerland - Marius Bear
- Ukraine - Kalush Orchestra
- United Kingdom - Sam Ryder
Eurovision 2022: semi-final 1 results
17 acts entered the first semi-final, but only 10 could qualify for the next round of the competition. Below you can find the first 10 acts who you'll be seeing this weekend at the Eurovision 2022 Grand Final:
- Switzerland - Marius Bear
- Armenia - Rosa Linn
- Iceland - Systur
- Lithuania - Monika Liu
- Portugal - MARO
- Norway - Subwoolfer
- Greece - Amanda Tenfjord
- Ukraine - Kalush Orchestra
- Moldova - Zdob și Zdub and Advahov Brothers
- The Netherlands - S10
Eurovision 2022: semi-final 2 results
The remaining 18 acts who were yet to try and earn a space in the Grand Final competed in the second semi-final.
Here's who qualified in the second Eurovision 2022 semi-final:
- Belgium - Jérémie Makiese
- Czech Republic - We Are Domi
- Azerbaijan - Nadir Rustamli
- Poland - Ochman
- Finland - The Rasmus
- Estonia - Stefan
- Australia - Sheldon Riley
- Sweden - Cornelia Jakobs
- Romania - WRS
- Serbia - Konstrakta
Who's hosting Eurovision 2022 coverage?
As per usual, Graham Norton will be back again this year as our commentator for UK coverage on the BBC.
Talking about why he finds Eurovision so special, Graham said: "I've always loved Eurovision but somehow over the last few years it has become even more special. I find the idea of fans and families coming together during dark times to celebrate music across the continent extremely moving."
Strictly star and TV Presenter AJ Odudu will be serving as this year's Eurovision spokesperson and will deliver the UK's professional jury vote live from Salford.
Over in the US, Peacock's coverage will be hosted live from Los Angeles by former Olympic figure skater, NBC correspondent and self-professed Eurovision superfan, Johnny Weir.
Like Graham Norton in the UK, Johnny Weir will be popping up with commentary throughout the US stream.
Who are the presenters?
Eurovision 2022 will be hosted by three presenters: Laura Pausini, Alessandro Cattelan and Mika.
Mika is a Lebanese-British singer-songwriter who was been releasing music since his debut single "Grace Kelly" back in 2007.
Speaking to Eurovision.tv, Mika said: "More than ever I believe in the importance of an international community, in our common values. I believe in the union of people, in breaking down the walls to celebrate our similarities as much as our differences. We can do it thanks to music, which is the most universal form of expression. Eurovision is this and so much more!"
Laura Pausini is a hugely popular Italian recording artist; in 2021 alone, she won a Grammy, a Golden Globe and no less than four Latin Grammys, as well as receiving the first-ever Oscar nomination for a song sung completely in Italian.
Finally, Alessandro Cattelan is a highly recognizable face from Italian TV with 20 years' worth of presenting experience under his belt. He's created and hosted late shows, and entertainment evenings and has hosted The X Factor (Italy).
Who won Eurovision 2021?
Italian rock group Måneskin were crowned the winners of Eurovision 2021 in Rotterdam in the Netherlands with their song, "Zitti E Buoni". The band scored a total of 524 points, 25 points ahead of the second-place entry from France.
You can check out their winning entry below:
