Eurovision starts today with Iolanda taking the stage

The 68th edition of the event, which this year will be held in Malmo, Sweden, has the semi-finals scheduled for the 7th and 9th, with the final to be played on Sunday, the 11th. The Eurovision festival will be organized, as usual, by the European Broadcasting Union and takes place in the Scandinavian country after the victory of artist Loreen, with the theme “Tattoo”, in the 2023 edition.

The event will feature 37 participating countries, but only 26 will be able to guarantee their passport to next Saturday’s final, through the semi-finals. Ten countries will be chosen today, while another ten will see their tickets stamped on Thursday. Among the finalists are the so-called “Big Five”: the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Italy and France, which this year are joined by hosts Sweden.

Iolanda is the Portuguese representative at the festival with the theme “Scream”, performing in 14th place this Tuesday. The 29-year-old singer was the winner, on March 9th, in an edition that celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Festival da Canção, managing to collect 22 points in the final.

Tonight, 15 countries will take the stage: Cyprus, Serbia, Ireland, Lithuania, Ukraine, Poland, Croatia, Iceland, Slovenia, Finland, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Australia and Luxembourg and Portugal.

Next Thursday, Malta, Albania, Greece, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Austria, Denmark, Armenia, Latvia, San Marino, Georgia, Belgium, Estonia, Israel, Norway and the Netherlands are the countries that will fight for the last ten places in the Grand final.