Just when we thought that the annual Eurovision Song Contest couldn’t get any bigger, today it was confirmed that a whopping forty-three countries are set to take the stage in the annual competition which will take place in May 2017.
In its 62nd year, the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 will take place at the International Exhibition Centre in Kiev, Ukraine. This comes after the country’s stunning victory at this year’s competition which took place in Stockholm, where singer Jamala reigned with the song, “1944”. The venue will hold around 11,000 attendees so the show is definitely going to be jam packed in every way.
Although there have been some changes in the line-up of the upcoming competition, with Bosnia and Herzegovina having to withdraw due to financial difficulties, the forty-three countries which are set to participate have now been confirmed. The last time the singing contest had this many participants was back in 2011.
Jon Ola Sand, the EBU’s Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest, recently expressed his delight at the number of countries participating. He said, “We have not had this many countries in the contest since 2011 in Dusseldorf. The Eurovision Song Contest unites audiences like no other show, reaching over 200 million people in 2016. We are looking forward to three great shows in Kiev next May.”
So which countries are taking part in the contest? We have checked, and there are definitely forty-three!
Albania
Armenia
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Belgium
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Georgia
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
F. Y. R. Macedonia
Malta
Moldova
Montenegro
The Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
San Marino
Serbia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Ukraine
The United Kingdom
The Eurovision Song Contest 2017 will consist of two exciting semi-finals which will take place on Tuesday 9th and Thursday 11th May, and a glittering final which will be live on Saturday 13th May.
Will you be tuning in and rooting for your favourite country? Tweet us, at @CelebMix.