On Tuesday, January 30, the first solemn event of Eurovision 2024 took place in Malmö, Sweden: the ceremony of handing over the symbolic keys to the host city of this year's contest and the draw of the semifinalists. According to the results of the draw, the representative of Ukraine will perform in the first part of the first semifinal on May 7, UNN reports with reference to Suspilne.
The Mayor of Liverpool, the host city of last year's contest, Steve Rotheram, handed over the official Eurovision keys to the Mayor of Malmö, Katrin Stjernfeldt Jammeh, marking the official handover to the new host city of the Eurovision Song Contest. Among the keys in the bundle was a "Liverpool key" in the shape of an anchor, a symbol of Odesa, the twin city of the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest capital, to commemorate the fact that last year's Eurovision Song Contest was hosted by the United Kingdom on behalf of Ukraine.
The key features two Liver birds, the symbol of Liverpool, a yellow submarine, a vinyl record symbolizing Liverpool's status as a UNESCO City of Music, the iconic Liver Buildings and the inscription "United by Music". The keys are decorated in the iconic Eurovision colors, created by six independent craftsmen from across Liverpool, and designed by Neil Keating. The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 symbol is 30 cm high and weighs 300 grams.
The draw, in particular, determined in which of the two semifinals the Big Five countries (the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain) and Sweden, the winner of Eurovision 2023, will vote. In the first semi-final, the UK, Germany, and Sweden will cast their votes. France, Italy and Spain will vote on May 9.
In the first semi-final, on May 7, they will compete with a representative from Ukraine for the right to advance to the grand final of the competition:
Participants from the following countries will sing in the second semifinal on May 9:
The order of the participants' performances in the semifinals will be announced later.
It is worth noting that the Eurovision organizers decided to keep the slogan of last year's contest, "United by Music," for the future.
As a reminder, on February 3, it will be announced who will represent Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö, Sweden. The broadcast of the pre-show of the National Selection will start at 17:30, and the final - at 18:00.