For the diehard Eurofans and analytical types, the running order for the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 is here!
The importance of the running order to success in a grand final is a debatable point (and we will debate you), but it’s hard to deny that it is relevant to some extent. The order is decided by the contest organisers to ensure each act has the opportunity to stand out amongst the others, as well as to improve the overall flow of the show as a whole. To come to a decision, the producers look at the genre of music, whether a song is performed by a solo singer or group, the use of props, the tempo of the song and various other aspects of each act.
The order is:
- Malta
- Albania
- Czech Republic
- Germany
- Russia
- Denmark
- San Marino
- North Macedonia
- Sweden
- Slovenia
- Cyprus
- Netherlands
- Greece
- Israel
- Norway
- United Kingdom
- Iceland
- Estonia
- Belarus
- Azerbaijan
- France
- Italy
- Serbia
- Switzerland
- Australia
- Spain
Performers in the second-half tend to do better in the results, with over 70% of winners in the last 20 years having performed in the second-half.
Australia, the second-favourite to win as of current odds, benefits hugely from this order at 25th. In 2017 and 2018, the runner-up of the Contest performed 25th: could Australia bring it home?
After each Semi-Final, each qualifying act drew in which half of the Grand Final they would perform. As the host country, Israel already drew its exact starting position (14) during the Heads of Delegation meeting in March.
The running order was proposed by Christer Björkman, Contest Producer from the production team of Host Broadcaster KAN, and approved by the EBU’s Executive Supervisor and the Chairman of the Reference Group, the governing body of the contest on behalf of all 41 participating broadcasters.
The Grand Final of the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest takes place Sunday 19 May at 7:00 AM in Tel Aviv, Israel.
