Eurovision 2024: What time is Eurovision Song Contest Semi-Final 1 on BBC and how to watch in the UK

The 2024 Eurovision Song Contest is almost here. Fans are descending on Malmo, Sweden to catch the semi finals and final which takes place this weekend.

But not all the performers will win a chance to make it to the grand final. Every year hopefuls are whittled down in the semi final stages, with the public voting for their favourite acts to make it through.

This year the UK’s entry is Olly Alexander with his song, Dizzy. However, according to the latest bookies odds, Croatia are the front runners with their song Rim Tim Tagi Tim by Baby Lasagne. Here’s everything you need to know about how you can watch the Eurovision song contest semi finals.

What time is Eurovision semi final on BBC?

The competition will be kicking off tonight (May 7), with the Eurovision semi final 1 on BBC One from 8pm and BBC iPlayer and will be hosted by Scott Mills and Rylan. Whilst on BBC Radio 2 and BBC Sounds, Richie Anderson will be providing live commentary for the first time.

The first Eurovision semi final will not feature the UK entry Olly Alexander’s performance of his song dizzy. The UK are already through to the grand finale. The 15 countries competing in Semi Final 1 are:

• Croatia
• Cyprus
• Ireland
• Lithuania
• Poland
• Serbia
• Ukraine
• Australia
• Azerbaijan
• Finland
• Iceland
• Luxembourg
• Moldova
• Portugal
• Slovenia

When is the Eurovision semi final 2?

But that’s not all, there will also be a second Eurovision semi final show airing this week on Thursday (May 9), with another set of musicians representing their country and hoping to make it through to the finale. The countries taking part in the second semi final are:

• Albania
• Armenia
• Austria
• Czechia
• Denmark
• Greece
• Malta
• Switzerland
• Belgium
• Estonia
• Georgia
• Israel
• Latvia
• Netherlands
• Norway
• San Marino

What countries automatically qualify for Eurovision 2024?

Six countries automatically qualify for Eurovision 2024, with the host country Sweden and the “big five” made up of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Spain guaranteed to make it through to the final. These five countries automatically go through as they make the biggest financial contributions to the competition.

The nations and performers joining them in the finale on Saturday (May 11) will be the top 10 performers from each semi final, with Croatia now reported to be the favourite to win the competition with their song Rim Tim Tagi Tim.

Sarah McCann is a Trends Writer for NationalWorld who specialises in stories around TV, Film and Health. If you liked this article you can follow Sarah on X (Twitter) here. You can also share your thoughts in the comment section below.