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How to watch Eurovision 2021
You won't miss out on any of the BBC's coverage of Eurovision 2021 with this schedule to hand!
- Grace Henry
Published: Saturday, 22 May 2021 at 7:00 pm
It's time for the Eurovision 2021 final. The Eurovision 2021 semi-finals kicked off on Tuesday, 18th May and Thursday, 20th May and saw 20 countries in the Eurovision 2021 line-up join the Big Five and The Netherlands in the grand final. And now it's time to find out which country will take the title for the 65th Song Contest.
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Unfortunately, we've seen some acts and presenters have to pull out of the live shows due to the coronavirus and other illnesses.
Firstly, Rylan Clark-Neal had to withdraw from the semi-finals due to an illness, but he was present for Eurovision's Line of Duty spoof, which aired during the semi-final interval.
Super-fan Sara Cox stepped in to his role, however, telling her BBC Radio 2 listeners on 18th May: "I'm really excited, I've got a new little job this week. I will be co-hosting the Eurovision semi-finals on BBC Four tomorrow (Tuesday) night and Thursday night. Rylan is unwell so [obviously] we wish him better. So I'll be stepping into Rylan's sparkly tux [...] for all the action from the Eurovision semi-finals."
Just hours before the second semi-final, it was announced Iceland wouldn't perform live at Eurovision 2021 due to a positive coronavirus test.
Nevertheless, Iceland wowed at the Eurovision 2021 semi-finals as the show aired a rehearsal recording instead, and managed to secure a place in the final.
Similarly, Eurovision 2019 winner Duncan Laurence won't perform live at the final after testing positive to coronavirus.
The Grand Final will take place on Saturday 22nd May in Rotterdam, and lots of Eurovision 2021 COVID changes have been put in place to ensure the safety of all delegations.
And the BBC has got you covered for everything Eurovision, with their star-studded presenters bringing you all the action.
Here's how you can watch Eurovision 2021 and all of the BBC's planned coverage for this year.
How to watch Eurovision 2021
The 2021 Eurovision Song Contest will be broadcast live on the BBC.
See all the scheduled shows below.
Semi-finals
Tuesday 18th May, 8pm on BBC Four
In the first semi-final, the first group of countries in Eurovision 2021 line-up will compete for a place in Saturday’s Grand Final.
The 16 countries competing are: Lithuania, Slovenia, Russia, Sweden, Australia, North Macedonia, Ireland, Cyprus, Norway, Croatia, Belgium, Israel, Romania, Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Malta.
The Netherlands Duncan Laurence, who is the most recent winner, will open the show. You can also find out why Australia is in the Eurovision song contest.
Thursday 20th May, 8pm on BBC Four
The second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 will feature 17 different acts taking to the stage in the hope of securing a place in Saturday’s Grand Final.
Competing this evening are: San Marino, Estonia, Czech Republic, Greece, Austria, Poland, Moldova, Iceland, Serbia, Georgia, Albania, Portugal, Bulgaria, Finland, Latvia, Switzerland and Denmark.
Viewers in the United Kingdom are able to vote in this semi-final once all of the nights acts have performed.
Update: Ryan Clark-Neal won’t be hosting this week’s Eurovision Song Contest semi-final coverage for the BBC after dropping out due to illness.
Eurovision 2021 Finals
Saturday 22nd May, 8pm on BBC One
Graham Norton will provide the commentary on BBC One for Eurovision 2021.
Over in Rotterdam, the Eurovision Song Contest 2021, will be hosted by Chantal Janzen, Jan Smit, Edsilia Rombley and Nikkie de Jager (also known as NikkieTutorials) and broadcast live on BBC One and BBC Radio 2.
All the qualifying acts from the semi-finals will join hosts Netherlands plus the ‘Big Five’ countries France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom in the Grand Final of the 65th Eurovision Song Contest from The Ahoy in Rotterdam.
Graham Norton BBC
Interval performances will be brought to you by Dutch DJ Afrojack featuring Glennis Grace and Wulf. They will perform Music Binds Us, a specially commissioned piece for the Grand Final.
Duncan Laurence, the Eurovision 2019 winner, will also take to the stage as he performs his winning song Arcade. Plus, there will be a multi-act performance entitled Rock The Roof, which will feature six former Eurovision winners – Lenny Kuhr (1969), Teach-In (1975), Sandra Kim (1986), Helena Paparizou (2005), Lordi (2006) and Måns Zelmerlöw (2015).
Saturday 22nd May, 8pm on BBC Radio 2
Ken Bruce will be building up to the live Eurovision Grand Final on BBC Radio 2. He'll be live from Wogan House in London from 8pm, introducing the 65th Eurovision Song Contest.
Ken will be toasting Sir Terry Wogan before contestant number nine’s performance.
Other coverage on the day includes:
- Dermot O’Leary will be speaking to Irish singer and two times Eurovision winner, Johnny Logan (8-10am).
- Claudia Winkleman will be chatting to James Newman live from Rotterdam ahead of the final that night (10am-1pm).
- Ken Bruce reveals The UK’s All Time Eurovision Top 50, counting down the chart of favourite entries as voted for by UK Eurovision fans (available on BBC Sounds from Tuesday 18th May and on Radio 2 from 1-3pm today). (See how many times the UK has won Eurovision before.)
- Rylan and Scott’s Eurovision Party - The pair will be hearing from some of the contest’s commentators from across Europe and beyond and speaking to Michelle Visage (3-6pm)
- Sophie Ellis Bextor’s Eurovision Kitchen Disco will provide the ultimate warm up for the UK for the main event (6-8pm).
- Richie Anderson’s Eurovision After Party - Anderson will continue the celebrations for those who want to keep the party going (from the end of the Grand Final until 2am).
What channel is Eurovision on tonight?
The first Eurovision semi-final aired on BBC Four on Tuesday, 18th May at 8pm.
The next Eurovision semi-final will take place on BBC Four on Thursday, 20th May at 8pm.
We'll see 17 countries fighting for their place in the Grand Final, including Estonia, Czech Republic, Greece, Austria, Poland, Moldova, Iceland, Serbia, Georgia, Albania, Portugal, Bulgaria, Finland, Latvia, Switzerland, Denmark.
You can see who has already made it through to the finals with our Eurovision 2021 Semi-final results.
- For the latest news and expert tips on getting the best deals this year, take a look at our Black Friday 2021 and Cyber Monday 2021 guides.
Other Eurovision coverage
As well as the semi-final and final, viewers can also tune into some classic Eurovision coverage which will be broadcast across the BBC on Friday 21st May.
You can see a full list of shows below:
- The A-Z of Eurovision - Rylan Clark-Neal narrates a guide to all things Eurovision in this compilation of highlights, as he takes a sideways look at the greatest singing contest on the planet.
- Eurovision at 60 - This was first shown to celebrate the Eurovision Song Contest’s 60th anniversary in 2015. In this special, BBC Four joins the celebrations with an appreciation of the joy, fun, scandal and intrigue that has defined the Eurovision Song Contest.
- Abba at the BBC - The show charts the meteoric rise of the band with some of their greatest performances at the BBC, beginning in 1974 with their Top of the Pops appearance.
- Eurovision One Hit Wonders - In the weeks building up to the final, OJ Borg will be playing his very own show on BBC Radio 2, including some of the contest’s best one hit wonders that charted in the UK, including the last Eurovision song to get to number one. This will take place at midnight to 3am on Monday, 10th May
- Tracks Of My Years - From Monday to Thursday on The Ken Bruce Show (17th- 20th May), the UK's very own James Newman will be picking his favourite tracks. Duncan Laurence will also make an appearance on the show and we'll be hearing from two of the main presenters on the night - Jan Smit and Edsilia Rombley. Also that day, Ken will be looking ahead to some of the songs tipped to score big points in the final with broadcaster and self-confessed Eurovision super fan, Paddy O'Connell (9.30am-12pm, Friday 21st May).
- The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show - There will be lots of build up to the main event.
- The Steve Wright Show - Scott Mills and Rylan Clark-Neal will join Steve to look ahead to the semi-finals taking place that week (2-5pm).
- The Sara Cox Show - Cox will feature a Eurovision themed First & Last, chatting to a listener about their memories of the first and last Eurovision shows they attended (5-7pm, Thursday 20th May).
- Michael Ball will be closing the vote for the greatest Eurovision Song of all-time (10am-1pm, Sunday, 9th May).
- A Dance Through The Decades - a special edition of Vanessa Feltz’s show features classic Eurovision anthems from each of the last six decades of the contest (from Friday 14th May).
- Rylan’s Singalong Eurovision Anthems – There will be two editions of this - The Singalongadingdong Eurovision Mix featuring all the wild tracks and The Classics featuring all the best-known and much-loved entries, available from 8th May and both on BBC Sounds.
- My Life in a Mixtape Eurovision Special with Loreen - the Swedish winner of the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest will be playing the songs that have meant the most to her on BBC Sounds.
- Eurovision Collection - This will feature classic shows from the BBC archive from the past 20 years, including The Luck of the Irish with Terry Wogan and From Abba to Azerbaijan with Maria McErlane and will be available on BBC Sounds.
- Visage’s Eurovision Review - Also available on BBC Sounds, Michelle Visage will give her take on the grand final from the Sunday morning after the show.
- Eurovision 2021: The Road To Rotterdam - An iPlayer documentary from Radio 1 Newsbeat will provide exclusive access to James Newman as he prepares to represent the UK with Embers at the Song Contest. This will be available from Monday 17th May.
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The Eurovision Song contest 2021 will air on the BBC this May. Check out the full list of previous Eurovision winners here. If you’re looking for something to watch tonight, check out our TV Guide.
Authors
Grace Henry
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