Semi-Final Allocation Draw: Tuesday 25 January, 12:00 CET 🇮🇹

The Allocation Draw will determine whether countries participate in the First Semi-Final (Tuesday 10 May at 21:00 CEST) or the Second Semi-Final (Thursday 12 May at 21:00 CEST). Also randomly allocated is whether a country will perform in the first or second half of the Semi-Final they’ve drawn.

The draw will be hosted by television presenters Carolina di Domenico and Gabriele Corsi. In attendance will be the Mayor of Rotterdam Ahmed Aboutaleb and the Mayor of Turin Stefano Lo Russo.

Fans will be able to watch the draw on the official Eurovision YouTube channel or on Rai’s streaming service.

Semi-Final Allocation Draw: How does it work?

Italy, as the Host Country, along with the other 4 members of the so-called ‘Big 5’ participating countries (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom) do not compete in the Semi-Finals but their domestic audiences do get to vote in one of them… so before the competing countries are allocated a place in a Semi-Final, it will be randomly determined which of the Semi-Finals the Big 5 will each be allowed to vote on.

The next part of the draw will determine in which Semi-Final and in which half of the respective Semi-Final the other 36 participating countries will perform in.

The 36 semi-finalists are picked from 6 different pots.

Semi-Final Allocation Pots

The 36 semi-finalists have been allocated across 6 pots based on historical voting patterns as calculated by Eurovision’s official televoting partner Digame.

Pot 1

• Albania
• Croatia
• Montenegro
• North Macedonia
• Serbia
• Slovenia

Pot 2

• Denmark
• Australia
• Finland
• Iceland
• Norway
• Sweden

Pot 3

• Armenia
• Azerbaijan
• Georgia
• Israel
• Russia
• Ukraine

Pot 4

• Cyprus
• Greece
• Malta
• Bulgaria
• Portugal
• San Marino

Pot 5

• Estonia
• Lithuania
• Latvia
• Moldova
• Poland
• Romania

Pot 6

• Austria
• Belgium
• Switzerland
• Czech Republic
• Ireland
• Netherlands

Drawing countries from different pots helps to reduce the chance of so-called neighbourly voting and increases suspense in the Semi-Finals.

You can get a good idea of how it will all work by watching the 2020 Allocation Draw on the official Eurovision YouTube channel.

📺 Watch: Eurovision Song Contest 2020: Allocation Draw and Host City Insignia Ceremony

The Eurovision Song Contest is due to take place on 10, 12 and 14 May 2022 in Turin, Italy thanks to Måneskin winning what was one of the most hotly contested Eurovision Song Contests ever.

Switzerland won the jury vote in which Italy came fourth, but the 4-piece Italian rock band won the public vote by a landslide, scoring a total of 529 points and leaving Switzerland in 3rd place behind France.

📺 Watch: Måneskin – Zitti E Buoni – Grand Final 2021

Måneskin is a critically acclaimed band featuring vocalist Damiano, bassist Victoria, guitarist Thomas and Ethan on drums. They took their band name from the Danish word for ‘moonlight’, as a tribute to their bassist Victoria’s home country.

Join in the conversation over on the official Eurovision Song Contest Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook channels.