The 67th annual Eurovision Song Contest kicked off on Tuesday, May 9, in Liverpool.
The first semi-final took place on Tuesday night, and saw Croatia, Czechia, Finland, Israel, Moldova, Norway, Portugal, Serbia Sweden, and Switzerland go through to the grand final.
The second semi-final, which took place on Thursday night, saw a further ten countries – Albania, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Cyprus, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland and Slovenia. secure their place in the final.
The UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy – known as ‘The Big 5’, automatically qualify for the final each year, as well as last year’s winner: Ukraine.
This year’s Eurovision is being held in Liverpool; however, the UK’s entry is not tipped to win.
So, when was the last time Eurovision was won by the country it was hosted in?
The answer is almost 30 years ago when Ireland hosted the contest in 1994.
Ireland selected Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan to represent them in Dublin in 1994.
Paul and Charlie won with their song Rock n Roll Kids, which was the first ever song performed at the Eurovision without orchestral accompaniment.
It was also the first ever song to score over 200 points in the competition.
Ireland had won Eurovision the previous two years; in 1992 with Linda Martin’s Why Me, and in 1993 with Niamh Kavanagh In Your Eyes.
