The Eurovision Song Contest is already warming up and Europe’s big five are preparing to take the stage this coming weekend in Sweden. Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Spain, known collectively as the Big Five, already know the order of performance in the final to be held at the Malmö Arena.
This year, the order of performance was determined through a novel drawing system that took place in a public session on Reddit. During this event, each Big Five country drew a ballot that would decide their fate on the big night of May 11. While some countries were awarded a fixed position, others, such as Spain and Italy, left their fate in the hands of the Eurovision producers.
The decision to incorporate a producer’s choice option into this year’s draw, approved by the European Broadcasting Union Reference Group, adds a bit more intrigue.
Under this system, producers have the power to decide the order of action of the countries that obtained blank ballots. Thus, Nebulossa, like the Italian candidacy, will have to wait to find out when it takes the stage in Malmö. The final decision on Spain’s performance will be announced in the second semi-final, on the night of May 9-10.
Meanwhile, the rest of the members of the Big Five have already been assigned their positions. Sweden, as the host country, was already set to open the festival, followed by Germany and the United Kingdom in the first half, and France, which will perform in the second.
