Liverpool is all set to welcome the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest. The Semi-final Allocation Draw and official Host Insignia Handover Ceremony will be held in Liverpool on Tuesday 31 January at 20:00 PM CET. The EBU has revealed the semi-final allocation pot distribution.

Host Insignia Handover Ceremony

The Mayor of Turin, Mr. Stefano Lo Russo, will officially hand over the keys to the Mayor of Liverpool, Joanne Anderson, at St. George’s Hall.

A grand ceremony will be organized for the occasion where Liverpool will officially take over from Turin as the Eurovision host city.

The ceremony will be carried out in the presence of Mr. Martin Osterdahl (EBU’s executive supervisor for the Eurovision Song Contest) who will give a short speech on behalf of the EBU.

The Host Insignia Handover Ceremony will be followed by the semi-final allocation draws. Both the draws and Host Insignia Ceremony will be hosted by Rylan and AJ Odudu.

Semi-final allocation draw: Pot allocation

A total 31 countries have been divided into 5 pots and will be distributed equally into each of the 2 semi-finals by a draw. The draw will determine which country will compete in which semi-final.

Pot 1

• Albania
• Austria
• Switzerland
• Croatia
• Serbia
• Slovenia

Pot 2

• Denmark
• Australia
• Finland
• Iceland
• Norway
• Sweden
• Estonia

Pot 3

• Armenia
• Azerbaijan
• Georgia
• Israel
• Latvia
• Lithuania

Pot 4

• Cyprus
• Greece
• Ireland
• Malta
• Portugal
• San Marino

Pot 5

• Belgium
• Czech Republic
• Netherlands
• Moldova
• Poland
• Romania

16 countries will compete in one semi-final whilst 15 countries will compete in the other. The draw will be supervised by EBU’s Executive Supervisor Mr.Martin Osterdahl.

First/second half of semi-final allocation draw

During the draw we will also get to know if the participating countries will perform in the first half or second half of their respective semi-final. As in previous years, the exact running order will be determined by the producers of the show.

From each semi-final, ten countries will proceed to the Grand Final on 13 May, joining the six pre-qualified countries (Ukraine, Spain, United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy).

In total, 26  countries will be represented in the Grand Final.

Big 5  semi-final voting draw

The Big 5 (Italy, France, UK, Spain and Germany) countries and Ukraine (Eurovision 2022 winner) will vote in the semi-finals too.

A draw will also determine which country will vote in which semi-final.

Running order to be determined by late March

A total of 37 countries will compete at the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool next May.

The exact running order of the 31 countries competing in the 2 semi-finals on 9 and 11 May will be determined by the producers of the show by late March.

The Big 5 (Spain, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy) and Ukraine  are automatically qualified to compete in the Grand Final on 13 May.

The 2023 Eurovision Song Contest is scheduled to be held on 9, 11 and 13  May at the M&S Arena in Liverpool, England.

Source: eurovision.tv