
This year’s Eurovision Song Contest is coming to the United Kingdom, with Liverpool hosting the annual event on behalf of 2022 winners Ukraine.
This year’s programme is shaping up to be a spectacular occasion, with previous Swedish winner Loreen predicted to become only the second artist in contest history to win twice, with her song Tattoo the hot favourite to capture the title.
Meanwhile, the UK is banking on Mae Muller’s I Wrote A Song, with the London-born singer seeking to outperform Sam Ryder, who brought Space Man to second place in Turin in 2022.
Mae already has her place in the running order of the grand final since she is the host nation – a luxury granted to nations that host the competition, with the other finalists having to wait until the day before the contest to find out when they would be performing.
But where does she fall in the pecking order? Here’s what you should know…
Where is the UK in the final running order?
The last time the UK performed as the night’s final song was in 2014, when Molly, that year’s representative, closed up the Copenhagen contest with the song Children Of The Universe.
In that case, she ended 17th with only 40 points from the jury and televoting.
While being in the second half of the final is frequently considered advantageous, especially if your song is one of the favourites, as people are more likely to remember it when it comes time to vote, singing last can have varying outcomes.
Both Germany’s Nicole in 1982 and Luxembourg’s Corinne Hermes in 1983 won the competition from the bottom – but it’s been a long time since the show’s closing performance claimed the crown.
Katrina and the Waves, on the other hand, finished second from last when they won for the UK in 1997 with Love Shine A Light.
When is the running order decided?
The running order for the final will not be available until after the second semi-final on Thursday, May 11.
This year, 31 countries will compete in the two semi-finals on May 9 and 11, with the top ten from each semi-final advancing to the grand final on Saturday night.
They will join the six other countries currently in the final.
The UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain – known as the ‘Big Five’ – as well as last year’s champions Ukraine – will compete in the final.
event producers will select the running order, with each qualifying act participating in a draw after reaching the final to choose whether they would perform in the first or second half of the event.
Prior to the semi-finals, the four pre-qualified countries who do not currently have a position in the running order – France, Germany, Italy, and Spain – will draw for a slot in the first or second half.
The Eurovision Song Contest semi-finals are on May 9 and 11 on BBC One at 8pm. The grand final is on Saturday May 13 on BBC One at 8pm.