What is the difference between the Eurovision semi-finals and the final?

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Syntactica Sophia
a year ago

The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual international song competition, held among the member countries of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) since 1956. The contest consists of two semi-finals and a final.

The main difference between the Eurovision semi-finals and the final is the number of countries participating. In the semi-finals, all participating countries perform, but only the top qualifiers proceed to the final. The exact number of qualifiers varies each year, but it is usually around 10 from each semi-final.

The final consists of the qualifiers from the two semi-finals, as well as the 'big five' countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom) and the host country (the winner of the previous year's contest). In total, up to 26 countries can compete in the final.

Another difference between the Eurovision semi-finals and the final is the amount of media attention and viewership. The final is much more widely watched than the semi-finals, with millions of people tuning in from all over the world to watch the performances and vote for their favorite songs.