Skip to main content

Semi-Final running orders revealed

30 March 2021 at 12:00 CEST
Eurovision 2020 Semi-Final Allocation Draw pots Stijn Smulders
The running orders of the two Semi-Final shows have been decided by the producers at Host Broadcasters NPO/NOS/AVROTROS, and approved by Martin ร–sterdahl, the Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Running orders of the Eurovision Song Contest Semi-Finals

First Semi-Final (Tuesday 18 May)

The running order of the First Semi-Final EBU

  1. ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡น Lithuania
  2. ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Slovenia
  3. ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บ Russia
  4. ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ช Sweden
  5. ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ Australia
  6. ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฐ North Macedonia
  7. ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ช Ireland
  8. ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡พ Cyprus
  9. ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ด Norway
  10. ๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ท Croatia
  11. ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ช Belgium
  12. ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Israel
  13. ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ด Romania
  14. ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Azerbaijan
  15. ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Ukraine
  16. ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡น Malta

Second Semi-Final (Thursday 20 May)

The running order of the Second Semi-Final EBU

  1. ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฒ San Marino
  2. ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ช Estonia
  3. ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Czech Republic
  4. ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ท Greece
  5. ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡น Austria
  6. ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฑ Poland
  7. ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Moldova
  8. ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ธ Iceland
  9. ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ธ Serbia
  10. ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ช Georgia
  11. ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Albania
  12. ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡น Portugal
  13. ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฌ Bulgaria
  14. ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Finland
  15. ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ป Latvia
  16. ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ญ Switzerland
  17. ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Denmark

Grand Final (Saturday 22 May)

From each Semi-Final, 10 countries will qualify for the Grand Final on Saturday 22 May. They will join the Netherlands (our hosts), and fellow automatic qualifiers, the โ€˜Big Fiveโ€™: France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom.

๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฑ The Netherlands (hosts)
๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท France
๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช Germany
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น Italy
๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ Spain
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง United Kingdom

A total of 26 countries will compete in the Grand Final.

How is the running order decided?

In advance of the Contest, competing countries are allocated different pots and then randomly assigned an appearance in either the first or second Semi-Final. They are then randomly drawn into either the first or second half of the Semi-Final they'd just been placed into.

This system has been used since Malmรถ 2013, and ensures that while there's still a fair element of randomness in the competition, it's less likely that two or more songs performed successively will be similar.

The intention behind moving away from an entirely randomised draw is to craft a more entertaining, better paced show, that allows different styles of song their space to shine.

The Semi-Final allocation draw for this Contest took place at Stadhuis Rotterdam in January 2020. It was originally intended to be used for the cancelled 2020 Contest, and remains in place for the 2021 Contest.

After each Semi-Final, successful qualifiers will randomly draw from 'a hat' whether they'll perform in the first or second half of the Grand Final. The full running order for the Grand Final will be confirmed by producers in the wee hours of Friday 21 May, after both Semi-Finals are complete.