The is bringing the party to the UK this year, with on behalf of 2022 winners .
This year’s show is set to be a spectacular affair, with former Swedish champion only the second act in contest history to win twice – her song Tattoo being the hot favourite to take the crown.
The UK, meanwhile, is pinning its hopeswith the London-born than Sam Ryder did when he took Space Man to the runner-up slot in Turin in 2022.
As the host nation Mae already has her position in the running order of the grand final – a privilege given to those who are hosting the show, with the other finalists having to wait until the day before the contest to find out when they will be singing.
But just where is she in the running order? Here’s what you need to know…
Where is the UK in the final running order?
If you’re tuning into the final to see Mae, you’re going to have to wait quite a while – as she’s going to be the last act of the night.
Mae will be performing her up-tempo bop in the 26th slot, meaning she will round things off when the grand final airs on Saturday May 13.
She drew her slot in the running order back in March when Ukraine – – also picked theirs, following the deadline for all of this year’s entries to be submitted to the European Broadcasting Union.
This privilege is given only to the host nation and previous year’s winner – normally these are one and the same, meaning only one act gets their running order spot ahead of time.
However this year, as the UK is hosting on behalf of Ukraine, they also got to draw their running order place early. The remaining 24 finalists won’t learn theirs until the day before the final once all competing acts are confirmed.
The last time the UK performed as the final song of the night was in 2014, when that year’s representative Molly rounded things off at the Copenhagen contest with the song Children Of The Universe.
In that instance she finished in 17th place with just 40 points from both jury and televoting.
While nabbing a spot in the second half of the final is often seen as an advantage, especially if your song is among the favourites – as folks may be more likely to remember it when the time comes to vote – singing last can have variable results.
Both Germany’s Nicole in 1982 and Luxembourg’s Corinne Hermes in 1983 won the contest from last position – but it’s been quite some time since an act closing the show took the title.
However, Katrina and the Waves did perform second from last when they won for the UK in 1997 with Love Shine A Light.
When is the running order decided?
The running order for the final won’t be available until all of the finalists have been decided – which won’t be until after the second semi-final on Thursday, May 11.
Of the 37 countries taking part this year, 31 will be taking part in the two semi-finals on May 9 and 11, with the top 10 countries from each semi making it to the grand final on the Saturday night.
They will join the six countries who are already in the final.
These are UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain – known as the ‘Big Five’, who automatically pass to the final on account of being the contest’s biggest financiers – along with last year’s winners Ukraine.
The running order will be decided by show producers, with each of the qualifying acts taking part in a draw after reaching the final to determine whether they will perform in the first or the second half of the show.
The four pre-qualified countries who do not yet have their place in the running order – France, Germany, Italy and Spain – will draw for a spot in the first or second half prior to the semi-finals.
The Eurovision Song Contest semi-finals are on May 9 and 11 on BBC One at 8pm. The grand final is on Saturday May 13 on BBC One at 8pm.
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