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Better the Devil You Know! Fun stats facts of Eurovision 2023’s semi final allocation draw

February 5, 2023

Rylan and AJ Odudu allocation draw 2023

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On Tuesday, the semi final allocation draw of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 occurred at St George’s Hall in Liverpool, hosted by AJ Odudu and Rylan. We now know where each semi finalist will perform. With all these random draws occurring and the excitement on where each country will be performing, let’s dive into some stats surrounding these years allocation draw.

1) This is the only SECOND time that Croatia, Ireland and Portugal has been drawn on the 1st half of the first Semi Final

That’s right! Despite the semi final allocation draw occurring annually since 2008, Croatia, Ireland and Portugal have only been drawn in the first half of Semi Final 1 once before.

For Croatia, this occurred in 2013, when Klapa s Mora performed fourth in Semi Final 1 with the song Mižerja.

For Ireland, it was 2020 when this last happened, which eventually carried over to 2021. Lesley Roy performed for Ireland in 2021 with the song Maps.

The most successful act came from Portugal, where the 2017 winner Salvador Sobral performed 9th out of the 18 acts in Semi Final 1 with Amar Pelos Dois.

2) This is the FIRST TIME that Malta will perform in the 1st half of the First Semi Final

This is only time that Malta has been drawn in the first half of the First Semi Final. Comparatively, the Mediterranean Island nation has been drawn in the first half of the Second Semi Final 6 times, with the 2022 representative Emma Muscat represented the country with I Am What I Am.

3) This is the SECOND time that the Netherlands and Switzerland will performed in the 2nd half of the First Semi Final

Only once before has the first two winners of the contest have participated in the 2nd half of the first semi final! 

The last time that the Netherlands has participated in the 2nd half of Semi Final 1 was back in 2014, where The Common Linnets won their semi final and then eventually second place in the final with the song Calm After the Storm.

Likewise, the last time Switzerland has performed in the 2nd half of the first semi final was in 2018, where Zibbz performed Stones performed in the 17th slot in the first semi final, failing to qualify. 

4) This is the FIRST time that Sweden will performed in the 2nd half of the First Semi Final

Yes indeed! This is the first time that Sweden has performed in the 2nd Half of the First Semi Final. However this is not the first time that Sweden has performed the 2nd half of a Semi Final. This has happened 5 times, one with their most successful entries performing in the 2nd half came from Måns Zelmerlöw in 2015, where he performed in slot 13 in the second semi final with the song Heroes, qualifying easily and eventually winning this years edition of the contest with 365 points.

5) This is the SECOND time that Armenia and Greece will perform in the 1st half of the Second Semi Final

This is only the second time is that these two countries have performed in the 1st half of the second semi final. Surprisingly, the last time this has happened for these two countries was very recent.

The last time that Armenia performed in the 1st Half of the Second Semi Final was in 2019, when Srbuk opened the 2nd Semi Final with the song Walking Out, failing to qualify.

For Greece, the 2020/2021 Stefania was the last representative to perform in the 1st Half in the Second Semi Final with the song Last Dance, qualifying for the final and finishing in 10th place in the final.

6) This is the SECOND time that San Marino will perform in the 2nd half of the Second Semi Final

This is only the second time that the most serene republic  have performed in the 2nd half of the second semi final. As with the previous 2 countries mentioned, the last time this has happened for these two countries was fairly recent.

For San Marino, the last time they were drawn to perform in the second half was back in 2017, where eventually Valentina Monetta performed for the 4th time for the country alongside Jimmy Wilson with the song Spirit of the Night, failing to qualify and placing last in that semi final.

7) This is the FIRST time that Austria and Australia have drawn in the 2nd Half of the Second Semi Final

These two countries with similar names will make their debut in the 2nd half in the second semi final. However, both these countries have both been drawn as the last spot of the first semi final of Semi Final 2 before, being very close to the second half.

For Austria, they performed 9th out of 18 songs in Semi Final 2 of 2019, where Paenda performed her song Limits, failing to qualify and placing 17th with 21 points.

Australia performed 10th out of 18 songs in 2016, where Dami Im performed the legendary hit Sound of Silence. Hold on, if they performed in 10th out of 18, wouldn’t they be in the 2nd half? Well, yes. However, if we cast our minds back to 2016, there were originally 19 countries in that semi final, with 10 songs drawn in the first half and 9 in the second half with Australia being drawn in the first. However, Romania were disqualified from that years competition, leaving only 18 songs in the semi final.

8) This is the SIXTH time that Georgia and Slovenia will perform in the 2nd Half of the Second Semi Final

Looking at the other end of the spectrum, 2023 will be the 6th time that both Georgia and Slovenia will perform in the 2nd half in the second semi final.

The last time that Georgia performed in the 2nd half of the second semi final was in 2021, where Tornike Kipiani performed You in 10th out of 17 countries.

For Slovenia, the last time they have performed in the 2nd half of the second semi final was in 2018, where Lea Sirk performed Hvala Ne! in the penultimate slot in the 2nd semi final. In fact, that was the third time that Slovenia performed in the penultimate slot of the Second Semi Final, with the previous times being 2014 and 2015, with Tinkara Kovač and Maraaya.

What other stats facts do you know about the semi final allocation draw? Tell us in the comments below!

 

PHOTO – BBC

VIDEOS – EBU/EUROVISION SONG CONTEST

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