It is decision time for the Juries

09 May 2016 at 23:00 CEST

Anna Velikova (EBU)

Although the live show for the first Semi-Final takes place tomorrow evening, when viewers in 21 countries will have their opportunity to vote to decide the ten qualifiers. It is worth remembering that this evening's show is of equal significance, as this is the show that the professional juries will be watching and voting on, and they are responsible for 50% of the total points.

18 Songs: 21 Juries

Eighteen songs will participate in the first Semi-Final, and professional juries in each of the participating countries, as well as in France, Spain and Sweden, will be voting on tonight's show. They will account for 50% of the overall total.

Each jury will be comprised of five members, (including a chairperson) who will be the same jurors who will also be voting in the Final. They will monitored by an independent notary in each country. The jury consists of a variety of members in terms of age, gender, and background. They are all citizens of the country they are representing.

The juries vote tonight, so that the EBU has a valid voting result before tomorrow's live show. Should any unexpected problems occur in the televoting, the jury votes can be used as back-ups. This setup also allows the EBU and PwC, who carefully monitor the voting, to assure the validity of the jury voting before the live show. In case of apparent irregularities, a national jury vote may be discarded.

None of the jury members are connected with any of the participating songs or artists, in order that they can vote independently. All jury members have made signed declarations stating that they will vote independently.

You can find out who is in each national jury below.

The Jury Voting

Each jury member will rank all the songs in the show by judging each song, each jury member will focus on the vocal capability of the artists, the performance on stage, the composition and originality of the song, and the overall impression by the act.

You can see a further explanation of the voting in the short video below.

The first Semi-Final contenders

Finland: Sing It Away sung by Sandhja
Greece: Utopian Land sung by Argo
Moldova: Falling Stars sung by Lidia Isac
Hungary: Pioneer sung by Freddie
Croatia: Lighthouse sung by Nina Kraljić
Netherlands: Slow Down sung by Douwe Bob
Armenia: LoveWave sung by Iveta Mukuchyan
San Marino: I Didn't Know sung by Serhat
Russia: You Are The Only One sung by Sergey Lazarev
Czech Republic: I Stand sung by Gabriela Gunčíková
Cyprus: Alter Ego sung by Minus One
Austria: Loin d'ici sung by ZOË
Estonia: Play sung by Jüri Pootsmann
Azerbaijan: Miracle sung by Samra
Montenegro: The Real Thing sung by Highway
Iceland: Hear Them Calling sung by Greta Salóme
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Ljubav Je sung by Dalal, Deen, Ana & Jala
Malta: Walk on Water sung by Ira Losco

Gallery: First Semi-Final Dress Rehearsal

The live show of the first Semi-Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 will take place on Tuesday 10th of May at 21:00 CET and will broadcast live on Eurovision.tv.

Which songs do you think the juries favour over the televoters?