All things Eurovision Song Contest are ramping up ahead of the 2023 grand final which will take place on Saturday, May 13. However, before the big day, two semi-finals will be held as 31 countries compete for a place.
The allocation draw, which sees the European Broadcasting Union divide the participating nations between two semi-finals, took place in January, with the running order for each semi-final confirmed last month.
The semi-finals will take place at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, the city is this year's Eurovision host on behalf of 2022 winners Ukraine. The first semi-final will take place on Tuesday, May 9 and will be broadcast on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from 8pm, while the second will go ahead at the same time on Thursday, May 11.
Read more: Eurovision 2023 TV schedule from opening ceremony to semi-final dates and grand final
Those tuning into the semi-finals, however, which will be presented by Alesha Dixon, Hannah Waddingham and Julia Sanina, while Rylan and Scott Mills commentate, might be wondering why the UK, whose entry this year is Mae Muller, France, Spain, Germany and Italy are not competing.
Why does the UK automatically qualify for the grand final?
Along with Ukraine, who qualify for the final after Kalush Orchestra won last year, France, Spain, Germany, Italy and the UK are also through because they pay more to organisers. Named the Big Five, the countries, along with the host country, go straight through to the grand final.
Explaining the Big Five, the official Eurovision website explains: "The Big Five are the participating broadcasters from France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom - the group of countries who via their broadcasters make the biggest financial contribution towards the organisation of the Contest."
And while the Big Five will not perform in either of the semi-finals, their domestic audiences will get to vote in one of them. For more showbiz and television stories get our newsletter here.
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