Eurovision Song Contest 2024: Everything you need to know

It's that time of year again - the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 is right around the corner!

Millions of people around the globe had their eyes on Liverpool last year as it played host to the world's biggest music competition. This year, 37 countries will battle it out for the Eurovision crown in Malmo, Sweden.

The Grand Final will be in the Malmö Arena on Saturday 11 May. The semi-finals took place on Tuesday 7 and Thursday 9 May, find out below who made it through to the final.

So how does it all work and why is Eurovision so massive? Here's our complete guide to the contest!

Are you a Eurovision fan? How well do you think the UK will perform? Let us know in the comments below!

The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual international song competition which mainly features a mix of European countries.

A few non-European nations - such as Australia and Israel - also take part.

The contest has become known for its loyal fans as well as some very flamboyant and sometimes bonkers performances!

It's helped launch the careers of some famous musicians over the years, including ABBA, Céline Dion and Måneskin.

Pop star Olly Alexander is representing the UK at the 2024 contest, with his song Dizzy.

He said it was a dream come true to compete: "I love Eurovision so much."

He'll be crossing his fingers for a better result than last year, when the UK's Mae Muller came second to last.

Olly is a multi-award winning singer and actor from Harrogate in North Yorkshire.

He was the frontman of the band Years and Years, known for hits including Desire, King and If You're Over Me.

Olly has headlined arenas and festivals worldwide and collaborated with other artists such as Kylie Minogue and Sir Elton John. He is also a Bafta-nominated actor!

Sweden will be hosting Eurovision this year - for the seventh time!

All the action will take place in the city of Malmo, after Sweden's act Loreen won last year with her pop anthem Tattoo. She is the first woman to win twice, following her 2012 win with her song Euphoria.

It is tradition that the song contest is hosted by the previous year's winner.

But 2023 was an exception, with the UK hosting on behalf of Ukraine due to the ongoing war with Russia.

The official handover of hosting duties from Liverpool to Malmo took place earlier this year.

Swedish celebs Malin Åkerman and Petra Mede presented the semi-finals from Malmö itself. They'll be on duty for the grand final as well.

On UK TV, Graham Norton will commentate on the final on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

A total of 26 countries will be competing for the Eurovision crown in the final on Saturday 11 May.

Five countries automatically qualify for the grand final each year: France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.

This is because they pay the most towards the Eurovision Song Contest organisers, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).

Sweden, as host and last year's winner, also gets an automatic place in the final.

Thirty one countries competed in the two semi-finals, with 20 making it through to the final.

Semi-final one on Tuesday 7 May included Cyprus, Serbia, Lithuania, Ireland, Ukraine, Poland, Croatia, Iceland, Slovenia, Finland, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Australia, Portugal and Luxembourg.

With Moldova, Iceland, Australia, Poland and Azerbaijan all eliminated from the competition.

Semi-final two saw Latvia, Austria, The Netherlands, Norway, Israel, Greece, Estonia, Switzerland, Georgia and Armenia make it through to the final.

Which means the six countries eliminated were Malta, Albania, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark and San Marino.

The winner of the Eurovision Song Contest is decided by all of the countries involved, with each nation getting to award points to the other countries that they want to win.

Every country in the final awards two sets of scores: One from a jury of experts and one by fans.

They pick their 10 favourite songs in order - but you can't vote for your own country's song.

The act they enjoyed the most is awarded the maximum 12 points, followed by 10 points for their second favourite song, then eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two and one point.

Since 2023 there is also a "rest of the world" vote, with points given to the 10 most popular songs worldwide.

Twenty-seven countries have won the contest since it first started.

However, the countries with the highest number of wins are Ireland and Sweden - with seven.

The UK has won the contest five times - in 1967, 1969, 1976, 1981 and 1997.

It has also finished second a record 16 times, including Sam Ryder's performance in 2022 with his hit Space Man.