Eurovision 2024 Semi 2 takes place tonight, live from the Malmö Arena in Sweden!
Tonight, 16 countries will participate for the chance to qualify for the final. With just 10 spots remaining, this is their chance to progress to the all important show on Saturday.
Here’s your guide to Eurovision 2024 Semi Final 2!
Semi Final 1 Roundup
Semi Final 1 concluded on Tuesday night, with 10 artists qualifying to the final:
Croatia 🇭🇷 – Baby Lasagna – ‘Rim Tim Tagi Dim’
Serbia 🇷🇸 – Teya Dora – ‘Ramonda’
Luxembourg 🇱🇺 – TALI – ‘Fighter’
Cyprus 🇨🇾 – Silia Kapsis – ‘Liar’
Ireland 🇮🇪 – Bambie Thug – ‘Doomsday Blue’
Finland 🇫🇮 – Windows95Man – ‘No Rules!’
Portugal 🇵🇹 – Iolanda – ‘Grito’
Ukraine 🇺🇦 – Jerry Heil & Alyona Alyona – ‘Teresa & Maria’
Lithuania 🇱🇹 – Silvester Belt – ‘Luktelk’
Slovenia 🇸🇮 – Raiven – ‘Veronika’
That means we had to say goodbye to Azerbaijan, Poland, Moldova, Australia, and Iceland meaning we won’t be seeing them compete for the Eurovision Trophy this Saturday.
After Semi Final 1, the 10 qualifying artists pulled their Final halves at random. As it stands (along with the Big 5 who pulled their Final halves at the second rehearsal), the Grand Final will so far be as follows:
First Half – Sweden 🇸🇪, Germany 🇩🇪, Ireland 🇮🇪, Lithuania 🇱🇹, Luxembourg 🇱🇺, United Kingdom 🇬🇧
Second Half – Cyprus 🇨🇾, Finland 🇫🇮, France 🇫🇷, Slovenia 🇸🇮
Producers Choice – Spain 🇪🇸, Italy 🇮🇹, Croatia 🇭🇷, Serbia 🇷🇸, Ukraine 🇺🇦, Portugal 🇵🇹
The Hosts
Petra Mede & Malin Åkerman will return to host Semi Final 2. You can read more about them here.
Competing Entries and Running Order
Semi Final 2 features 16 contestants.
The three Big 5 countries that vote in Semi Final 2 will be performing for the first time in full during the live semi-final, between the competing semi finalists. The order is as follows…
France’s Slimane will perform ‘Mon Amour’ after Czechia, and before Austria.
Spain’s Nebulossa will perform ‘Zorra’ between Latvia and San Marino.
Italy will be on between Estonia and Istael. They’re represented by Angelina Mango with ‘La Noia’.
The running order for the show is as follows:
The Favourites
Only 10 countries will qualify for the final, meaning 6 countries will miss out on performing their entries again. The current favourites to qualify are:
The Netherlands 🇳🇱: Joost Klein – ‘Europapa’
It’s only been 5 years since we last saw The Netherlands take home the trophy with ‘Arcade’, but now it seems they’re going for it all over again with ‘Europapa’ by Joost Klein. Joost is a well known figure in The Netherlands, Germany and Belgium, and this has helped massively with the viral success of ‘Europapa’ since its release. However, don’t be fooled by the upbeat, 90s Eurodance vibe and fun staging and think it’s your typical “silly” Eurovision song. Joost tragically lost his father to cancer when he was just 12 years old, and his mother to cardiac arrest a year later. ‘Europapa’ acts as a letter to his dad, who taught him that the world has no borders and tells the story of an orphan travelling Europe to try and get his name out there. You’ll get to know this story more during the ending of the song, which takes the form of a ballad expressing a heartfelt message to his parents. He told his father he’d be at Eurovision one day and now here he is, and as a potential winner.
Switzerland 🇨🇭: Nemo – ‘The Code’
Switzerland haven’t won Eurovision since Celine Dion cinched the victory in the last second back in 1988, but that could all be about to change this year with Nemo. ‘The Code’ describes their journey to realising they are non-binary, and the freedom they felt when they realised how they truly identified. The staging for this requires a lot of stamina and skill, which Nemo effortlessly pulls off – keep an eye on this one.
Greece 🇬🇷: Marina Satti – ‘Zari’
Greece’s Marina Satti had one of the most anticipated releases this year, and she didn’t disappoint with ‘Zari’. Reflecting Greek culture and the mood of young Greek people, ‘Zari’ aims to break down stereotypes and mix old and new traditions. Greece failed to qualify last year for the final, but Marina could be just what they need to make it through to Saturday.
The Voting
Alongside the 16 competing countries voting, 3 of the Big 5 (plus the host) will also vote – these are France, Italy and Spain.
This year the voting will remain 100% televote only, with the ‘Rest Of The World’ vote returning. Countries who aren’t competing in the contest can use this to vote for their own favourites in the contest at a cost of €0.99. More information on this can be found at eurovision.tv.
The Intervals
Opening: ‘Tattoo’ by Petra & Malin
Semi Final 2 will begin with Petra & Malin performing last years winner ‘Tattoo’, but with some lyric changes describing how to get to Malmö from the Swedish capital, Stockholm.
Interval: ’We Just Love Eurovision Too Much’
Sweden are known for their Eurovision intervals – in the 2013 final we had ‘Swedish Smörgåsbord’, in 2016 we had ‘Love Love Peace Peace’ and the opening number ‘That’s Eurovision!’. This year we have ‘We Just Love Eurovision Too Much’, performed by Petra and featuring Lynda Woodruff and 2023 2nd placer Käärijä.
Interval: Charlotte Perrelli, Sertab Erener and Helena Paparizou
The interval will feature three Eurovision winners in a sing-along feature, which includes audience members both in Malmö and abroad. They’ll be performing their winning songs.
Charlotte Perrelli won Eurovision for Sweden in 1999 with ‘Take Me To Your Heaven’. She took part again in 2008 with ‘Hero’ which came 18th in the final.
Sertab Erener is the only person to win Eurovision for Turkey, who we haven’t seen in the contest since 2012. Her winning song is ‘Everyway That I Can’, which was victorious in 2003.
Helena Paparizou won Eurovision in 2006 with ‘My Number One’, the only Greek winner of the contest to date.
Closing: Herrey’s
This year we have a show closer for Semi Final 2! Herrey’s will take to the Eurovision stage once again to perform their 1984 winning song for Sweden, ‘Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley’. This will happen after the qualifiers are announced.
So that’s Semi Final 2 covered! There’s only one thing left to say…
Let The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 begin!
