"Hooray! There's finally some structure to this year's Eurovision Song Contest, as the 43 competing countries have received their semi-final assignments.<!--more-->
Kyiv, Ukraine was buzzing Tuesday morning as the Eurovision Song Contest held the 2017 semi-final allocation draw. In this process, the 37 countries competing in the two semi-finals were placed in pre-determined bowls based on previous voting history, then randomly assigned either the first or second half of one of the semis.
Make that 36 countries: Switzerland requested and received placement in the second semi-final.
Also, the Big 5 countries--France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and United Kingdom--along with host country Ukraine learned which semi-final in which each country will vote. Germany also requested and received placement in the second semi-final.
Here is how the allocation shook out:
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These tables will fill out over the next two months as more national finals are held and internal selections are made. The next organizational deadline for the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest will be in mid-to-late March, when participants will need to have their artists, songs, and a video available.
By late March or early April, we should know the precise running order for each semi-final, as determined by the Contest producers. We will also learn where in the Grand Final running order Ukraine will draw.
Rehearsals for the Eurovision Song Contest should take place at the beginning of May, with the clock ticking down to the first semi-final on Tuesday, May 9."