The first semi-final of the 59th annual Eurovision Song Contest takes place tonight in Copenhagen.
It’s Denmark’s turn to host the competition this year, following Emmelie de Forest's win in 2013 with the song ‘Only Teardrops'.
The second semi-final will take place on Thursday, with the final taking place on Saturday. Thirty-seven countries will be participating this year.
Euro-what?
If you’re not up on your Eurovision knowledge, here’s a quick guide:
What is the Eurovision?
It’s an annual song competition that’s been held among the member countries of the European Broadcasting Union since 1956. Each member country submits a song to be performed live at the event, and each country casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition. It’s one of the longest-running television programmes in the world, and one of the most watched non-sporting events in the world.
Who decides the host country?
The winning country hosts the contest the following year.
How well has Ireland done?
Ireland has the best overall performance by any country in the history of the Contest and has won seven times:
- 1970 Dana - All Kinds of Everything
- 1980 Johnny Logan - What's Another Year?"
- 1987 Johnny Logan - Hold Me Now
- 1992 Linda Martin - Why Me?
- 1993 Niamh Kavanagh - In Your Eyes
- 1994 Paul Harrington & Charlie McGettigan - Rock 'n' Roll Kids
- 1996 Eimear Quinn - The Voice
Who is Ireland sending this year?
Irish group Can-Linn featuring Kasey Smith will be flying the flag for Ireland with song ‘Heartbeat’. They will be performing on Thursday at the second semi-final.
Why don’t some countries go through the semi-final stages?
The ‘Big 5’ countries (UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy) are rewarded with automatic spots in the final as they are the 5 largest economic contributors to the contest. The ‘Host Broadcaster’ is also guaranteed a place in the final.
When can I watch it?
The first semi-final will be shown live on RTÉ Two tonight at 8pm. The second semi-final will be shown live on RTÉ Two at 8pm on Thursday. The final will be shown live on RTÉ One at 8pm on Saturday.
Here’s a recap of the previous 10 winners of the Eurovision Song Contest:
2004 Ukraine – Ruslana – Wild Dances
2005 Greece - Helena Paparizou - My Number One
2006 Finland - Lordi - Hard Rock Hallelujah
2007 Serbia - Marija Šerifović - Molitva
2008 Russia - Dima Bilan - Believe
2009 Norway - Alexander Rybak - Fairytale
2010 Germany - Lena - Satellite
2011 Azerbaijan - Ell/Nikki - Running Scared
2012 Sweden - Loreen - Euphoria
2013 Denmark - Emmelie de Forest - Only Teardrops
