Countries pre-qualified for the final Countries set to compete in the semi-finals Countries that participated in the past but not in 2024
Vote
Voting system
Each country awards one set in the semi-finals, and two sets in the final, of 12, 10, 8–1 points to ten songs. In all three shows, online votes from viewers in non-participating countries are aggregated and awarded as one set of points.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 is set to be the 68th edition of the
Eurovision Song Contest. It is scheduled to take place in
Malmö,
Sweden, following the country's victory at the
2023 contest with the song "
Tattoo" by
Loreen. Organised by the
European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Sveriges Television (SVT), the contest will be held at the
Malmö Arena, and will consist of two semi-finals on 7 and 9 May, and a final on 11 May 2024.[1] The three live shows will be presented by
Petra Mede and
Malin Åkerman, with the former having previously taken on the role in
2013 and
2016.
Thirty-seven countries will participate in the contest, with
Luxembourg returning 31 years after its last participation in
1993, while
Romania opted not to participate after doing so the previous year. The inclusion of
Israel among the participants in the context of the ongoing
Israel–Hamas war has been
met with criticism, with protests and petitions calling for its removal, and has pushed the organisers to
strengthen the security measures in place for the event.
Location
Location of host venue (red) and other contest-related sites and events (blue)
The 2024 contest will take place in
Malmö, Sweden, following the country's victory at the 2023 edition with the song "
Tattoo", performed by
Loreen. It will be the seventh time Sweden hosts the contest, having previously done so in
1975,
1985,
1992,
2000,
2013, and
2016. The selected venue is the 15,500-seat
Malmö Arena, the second largest multi-purpose
indoor arena in Sweden, which serves as a venue for
handball and
floorball matches, concerts, and a diversity of other events, noted for having already hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in 2013.[2]Malmö Live will accommodate the "Turquoise Carpet" event on 5 May 2024, where the contestants and their delegations[a] are presented before accredited press and fans, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies;[4][5] the venue will also offer screenings of the final.[6]
The host city also organises side events in conjunction with the contest. Folkets Park [
sv] will be the location of the Eurovision Village, which will host performances by contest participants and local artists, as well as screenings of the live shows for the general public.[5] Malmö Live will be the location of the EuroClub, which will host the official after-parties and private performances by contest participants. A "Eurovision Street" was also meant to be established in Friisgatan [
sv], between Folkets Park and Triangeln [
sv],[5] but this plan was ultimately scrapped for
security reasons, with the related programme transferred directly to Folkets Park;[7][8]Moriska paviljongen [
sv], located in the park, which had been set to host the
OGAE Euro Fan Café,[9] will also be shut down throughout the week.[10] To celebrate the 50th anniversary of
ABBA's – and Sweden's first – victory at the contest in
1974 with "
Waterloo", a special ABBA World exhibition will take place at Södergatan [
sv] between 29 April and 12 May 2024.[11]
Location of host city Malmö (in blue), shortlisted cities (in green), other bidding cities (in red) and cities and towns that expressed interest but ultimately did not bid (in grey)
Immediately after Sweden's win in the 2023 contest, the first cities to voice their interest in hosting the 2024 edition were
Stockholm,
Gothenburg and Malmö, the three largest cities in the country as well as the ones to have previously hosted the contest. Besides these, a number of other cities also expressed their intention to bid in the days that followed the 2023 victory, namely
Eskilstuna,
Jönköping,
Örnsköldsvik,
Partille and
Sandviken.[12]
SVT set a deadline of 12 June 2023 for interested cities to formally apply.[13] Stockholm and Gothenburg officially announced their bids on 7 and 10 June respectively,[14][13] followed by Malmö and Örnsköldsvik on 13 June.[15][16] Shortly before the closing of the application period, SVT revealed that it had received several bids,[17] later clarifying that they had come from these four cities.[18][19] Prior to this announcement, Sandviken and Jönköping had already declared to have opted out.[20][21] On 7 July, Gothenburg and Örnsköldsvik's bids were reported to have been eliminated.[22] Later that day, the EBU and SVT announced Malmö as the host city.[1][23]
Hosted the
Eurovision Song Contest 1985. Roof needed adjustments for the lighting equipment. Set for demolition after the construction of a new sports facility nearby is completed.
Proposal set around building a temporary arena in
Frihamnen [
sv], motivated by the production needs of the contest and difficulties in finding vacant venues during the required weeks.
Eligibility for participation in the Eurovision Song Contest requires a national broadcaster with an
active EBU membership capable of receiving the contest via the
Eurovision network and broadcasting it live nationwide. The EBU issues invitations to participate in the contest to all members.
On 5 December 2023, the EBU announced that 37 countries would participate in the 2024 contest.
Luxembourg is set to return to the contest 31 years after its last participation in
1993, while
Romania, which had participated in the 2023 contest, was provisionally announced as not participating in 2024;[43][44] this was subsequently confirmed on 25 January 2024.[45][46]
Active EBU member broadcasters in
Andorra,[87]Bosnia and Herzegovina,[88]Monaco[89] and
Slovakia[90] confirmed non-participation prior to the announcement of the participants list by the EBU. For financial reasons,
Romania was not included in the list of participants published on 5 December 2023, but its broadcaster
TVR remained in talks with the EBU beyond the deadline regarding its participation;[43] on 25 January 2024, TVR ultimately opted not to participate in 2024.[46]
Production
The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 is produced by the Swedish national broadcaster Sveriges Television (SVT). The core team consists of Ebba Adielsson as executive producer,
Christel Tholse Willers [
sv] as deputy executive producer, Tobias Åberg as executive in charge of production, Johan Bernhagen as executive line producer,
Christer Björkman as contest producer, and
Per Blankens [
sv] as TV producer. Additional production personnel includes head of production David Wessén, head of legal Mats Lindgren, head of media Madeleine Sinding-Larsen, and executive assistant Linnea Lopez.[91][92][93]Edward af Sillén and
Daniel Réhn [
sv] wrote the script for the live shows' hosting segments and the opening and interval acts,[94] while Robin Hofwander, Daniel Jelinek and Fredrik Bäcklund will serve as multi-camera directors.[95] Background music for the shows was composed by Eirik Røland and Johan Nilsson.[96][better source needed] A majority of the production personnel for 2024 previously worked in the previous three editions of the contest held in Sweden:
2000, 2013 and 2016.
On 14 November 2023, the EBU announced that "United by Music", the slogan of the 2023 contest, would be retained for 2024 and future editions.[99] The accompanying theme art for 2024, named "The Eurovision Lights", was unveiled on 14 December. Designed by Stockholm-based agencies Uncut and Bold Scandinavia, it is based on simple, linear gradients inspired by vertical lines found on
auroras and
sound equalisers, and was built with adaptability across different formats taken into account.[100][101][102]
Stage design
The stage design for the 2024 contest, revealed in December 2023, was devised by German production designer
Florian Wieder, who had previously designed the sets of six previous contests – the most recent being in
2021. Lighting and screen content was designed by Swedish designer Fredrik Stormby. The stage will feature five movable
LED cubes, floors and a backdrop screen along with other lighting, video and stagecraft technology, all set around a cross-shaped centre, with the aim of "creating a unique 360-degree experience" for viewers. Construction of the stage began on 2 April and concluded on 25 April.[103][104]
Postcards
The "postcards" are short video introductions shown on television whilst the stage is being prepared for the next entry. Filming began in February 2024.[105]
Swedish comedian and television host
Petra Mede and Swedish-American actress
Malin Åkerman were announced as the presenters of the 2024 contest on 5 February 2024. Mede had previously hosted both the 2013 and 2016 editions (solo and with
Måns Zelmerlöw, respectively), as well as the 2015 special anniversary programme Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits alongside
Graham Norton.[106]
Interval acts
In March 2024,
Sertab Erener (
2003 winner for
Turkey) stated that she had been invited to the 2024 contest to perform a ballad version of her winning entry "
Everyway That I Can" alongside
Sena Şener [
tr;
de] as an interval act in one of the shows.[107] Presenter Petra Mede will also perform an interval number, titled "We Just Love Eurovision Too Much", alongside one or more as yet undisclosed performers.[108]
After the outcome of the 2023 contest, which saw
Sweden win despite
Finland's lead in the televoting,
sparked controversy among the audience, Norwegian broadcaster
NRK began discussions with the EBU regarding a potential revision of the jury voting procedure; it was noted that Norwegian entries in recent years had also been penalised by the juries, particularly in
2019 and
2023, when the country finished in sixth and fifth place overall, respectively, despite coming first in 2019 and third in 2023 with the televote.[116] In an interview, the Norwegian head of delegation
Stig Karlsen [
no] discussed the idea of reducing the jury's weight on the final score from the current 49.4% to 40% or 30%.[117][118] No changes to the voting system were ultimately implemented.[119]
For 2024, the "Rest of the World" voting window will be open for 24 hours before each show as well as during each show. For participating countries, it will be open after the last song is performed – as in previous years – in the semi-finals, while in the final it will be opened just before the first performance and will close 25 minutes after the last performance.[d][120] The automatic qualifiers – the host country and the "
Big Five" – will perform their entries in full during the semi-finals, in between the competing acts.[120] Thirteen of the twenty-five open positions in the running order of the final will be subject to a "producer's choice" draw option, alongside six positions available each for the first half and second half of the show; for those countries which draw the "producer's choice" category, the contest producers will be able to place that country anywhere in the running order.[121] The runtime of the final was initially planned to be reduced by approximately an hour,[122][123] however, this was ultimately not a priority, with the final planned to be shortened by a maximum of five minutes.[124]
With the approval from the contest's reference group, Israel was allocated to the second semi-final following a request from Israeli broadcaster
Kan, as the rehearsal date for the first semi-final coincided with Yom HaShoah.[130]
The first semi-final will take place on 7 May 2024 at 21:00
CEST[131] and feature fifteen competing countries. Those countries plus
Germany,
Sweden and the
United Kingdom, as well as non-participating countries under an aggregated "Rest of the World" vote, will vote in this semi-final.[132] The running order (R/O) was determined by the contest producers and was announced publicly on 26 March.[133] In addition to the competing entries, the United Kingdom, Germany and Sweden will perform their entries during the show, appearing on stage after the entries from Ireland, Iceland, and Moldova, respectively.[120]
Participants of the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024[134]
The second semi-final will take place on 9 May 2024 at 21:00 CEST[131] and feature sixteen competing countries. Those countries plus
France,
Italy and
Spain, as well as non-participating countries under an aggregated "Rest of the World" vote, will vote in this semi-final.[132] The running order (R/O) was determined by the contest producers and was announced publicly on 26 March.[133] In addition to the competing entries, France, Spain and Italy will perform their entries during the show, appearing on stage after the entries from Czechia, Latvia, and Estonia, respectively.[120]
Participants of the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024[135]
The final will take place on 11 May 2024 at 21:00 CEST[131] and feature twenty-six competing countries, composed of the host country Sweden, the "Big Five", and the ten best-ranked entries of each of the two semi-finals. All thirty-seven participating countries with jury and televote, as well as non-participating countries under an aggregated "Rest of the World" online vote, will vote in the final. The running order (R/O) of the host nation was determined by a random draw on 11 March;[136] the running order for the remaining finalists will be determined by the contest producers following the second semi-final.
Participants of the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024[136][137]
The 12-point scores from the national juries will be announced by a spokeperson from each participating country. The following spokepersons have been announced as of April 2024[update]:
All participating broadcasters may choose to have on-site or remote commentators providing insight and voting information to their local audience. While they must broadcast at least the semi-final they are voting in and the final, most broadcasters air all three shows with different programming plans. In addition, some non-participating broadcasters air the contest. The Eurovision Song Contest
YouTube channel provides international live streams with no commentary of all shows.
The following are the broadcasters that have confirmed in whole or in part their broadcasting plans and/or commentators:
Broadcasters and commentators in participating countries
Since the outbreak of the
Israel–Hamas war on 7 October 2023, calls have been made for Israel to be excluded from the contest on the grounds of the
humanitarian crisis resulting from
Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip;[212][213] this has included protests and petitions directed at national broadcasters in a number of participating countries, notably in Finland,[214] Iceland[215] and Norway,[216] demanding that they withdraw or pressure the EBU to exclude Israel. The Icelandic broadcaster
RÚV opted to decide over its participation on 11 March 2024, at the meeting among the heads of delegations of participating broadcasters,[217] ultimately confirming its presence.[48] As of March 2024,[update] no other broadcaster has indicated its overt opposition to Israeli participation; however, in response to public calls in Slovenia, the country's broadcaster
RTVSLO asked the EBU to hold extensive discussions with its members over the issue,[218][219] receiving no response.[220]
In late February 2024, multiple Israeli media reports stated that two songs had been shortlisted for consideration as the Israeli entry for the 2024 contest, titled "October Rain" and "Dance Forever", and that both had been submitted to the EBU for evaluation but were rejected for containing political lyrics.[221][222][223] Israeli broadcaster
Kan confirmed these reports on 3 March, while also stating that it asked the writers of both songs to "make the necessary adjustments" in order for them to be eligible. The selected song, titled "
Hurricane", was approved by the EBU on 7 March and revealed three days later.[224][225][226]
On 9 April 2024, the EBU released a statement by deputy director-general Jean Philip De Tender condemning "targeted social media campaigns" against participating artists, reportedly over the insufficient pressure put on the union to exclude Israel, stating that the inclusion of a country in the contest "is the sole responsibility of the EBU's governing bodies and not that of the individual artists".[229][230]
Protest actions
A number of national selection events were disrupted by activists calling for a boycott in the lead-up to the contest. These included the first semi-final of Norway's Melodi Grand Prix, which saw a protester breaking on stage during the broadcast;[231] Spain's
Benidorm Fest winners' clip showing two people waving
Palestinian flags;[232] the second heat of Sweden's Melodifestivalen, which saw two audience members briefly shown wearing
watermelon costumes and holding up placards calling for attention to
the targeting of Palestinian children during the war;[233] and selection events in Denmark[234] and Finland,[235] which were targeted by demonstrators outside the venues calling for a boycott.
Demonstrations against Israeli participation have also taken place in the host city Malmö. In March 2024, the digital signage installed at
Malmö Live in preparation for the contest was splattered in red paint, and its base was spray-painted with the words "
Free Gaza".[236][237] In early April, posters carrying messages including "
Genocide Song Contest", "Malmö says no to genocide" and "Israel out of Eurovision or Eurovision out of Malmö", appeared in the city.[238] A demonstration took place outside the
Malmö City Hall [
sv], with protesters chanting "
long live Palestine" and "
Israel is a terrorist state", on 10 April, when the municipality was set to discuss a
popular initiative to rescind hosting duties due to Israel's participation; the city council unanimously voted to reject the proposal, with mayor
Katrin Stjernfeldt Jammeh reiterating that decisions regarding participating countries are the sole responsibility of the EBU, and clarifying that the municipality could not deal with matters of "foreign policy" without contravening the municipal charter.[239][240] In protest against Israeli participation, a number of artists cancelled their appearances in the Eurovision Village's events, forcing organisers to reschedule them.[7][8]
As of 22 March 2024,[update] Malmö police has received six requests for protests during the Eurovision week:[241] one against Israeli participation in the contest, planned to include 10,000 people in a walk from Stortorget to
Möllevångstorget [
sv];[242] another one against the war in Gaza, to be organised outside Malmö Arena; one to show support to the Israeli Eurovision delegation, set to be held on 9 May and include a few hundred people; and another three in opposition to Israel's participation and in support of Palestine.[242][243] An online song contest titled "Falastinvision" is also planned to be held on 11 May as an alternative to the Eurovision final.[242][244][245]
Official album
Eurovision Song Contest: Malmö 2024 is the official
compilation album of the contest, featuring all 37 entries. It was put together by the European Broadcasting Union and was released by
Universal Music Group digitally on 12 April 2024, in CD format on 19 April 2024, and will be released in vinyl format on 24 May 2024.[246][247][248]
Charts
Weekly chart performance for Eurovision Song Contest: Malmö 2024
^Karlsson, Samuel (16 May 2023).
"Här vill politikerna bygga nya Scandinavium" [Here is where politicians want to build the new Scandinavium]. Byggvärlden (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 May 2023.
^
abGuðmundsdóttir, Ingibjörg Sara (11 March 2024).
"RÚV sendir Heru í Eurovision" [RÚV sends Hera to Eurovision]. ruv.is.
RÚV. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
^Ljuština, Stevan (24 April 2024).
"Luke Black predao zastavu Teya Dori" [Luke Black passed the flag onto Teya Dora]. ESC Serbia (in Serbian (Latin script)). Retrieved 24 April 2024.
^Maatko, Alesh (16 April 2024).
"Mojca Mavec namesto Andreja Hoferja" [Mojca Mavec instead of Andrej Hofer]. Evrovizija.com (in Slovenian). Retrieved 16 April 2024.
^Edland, Gyrid Friis; Visker, Nora; Christensen, Siri B.; Hoen, Espen Sjølingstad (5 January 2024).
"Demonstrasjon utenfor NRK før MGP-slipp: Ingen sier noe" [Demonstration outside NRK before release of MGP artists: "Nobody says anything"]. VG (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 8 January 2024.
^Tjoflot, Eirin (13 January 2024).
"Raudt-politikar kuppa MGP-sendinga" [Red Party politician takes over the MGP broadcast] (in Norwegian Nynorsk).
NRK. Retrieved 14 January 2024.