After a two year absence, Eurovision will finally return to our screens on Tuesday 18 May with semi-final one. For many, it will be the highlight of the TV year. Here’s what you can expect and, most importantly, how you can tune in and watch the show.
Watch Eurovision 2021 first semi-final
Time: 21:00 CEST on Tuesday 18 May
Check your local listings for the correct time in your timezone.
Eurovision 2021 semi-final one — YouTube
As has been the case for the past several years, the first semi-final of Eurovision 2021 will be live-streamed on the official Eurovision YouTube channel. This stream will not contain commentary or voting numbers. It is available worldwide except in Australia, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States. Viewers in the first six countries will be easily able to watch the contest via alternative sources listed further down this page. However, there is a new option available for those in the United States.
Eurovision 2021 semi-final one — United States of America (USA)
In a new deal for 2021, American viewers will be able to watch the show live on the Peacock streaming platform. The show will air at 15:00 New York time or 12:00 in Los Angeles.
Alternatively, U.S viewers can try their look with some of the participating broadcasters. For instance, Germany’s ARD/NDR has already published details of a communal viewing experience which will not be geo-blocked. The downside to this option is that you may have to listen to commentary in a language that you do not speak.
Eurovision 2021 on Television and Radio
Of course, Eurovision 2021 will air live on all 39 competing broadcasters — although some countries may air the semi-final in which they are not voting in on delay. As well as TV, many will also stream the shows on their websites. Several will simulcast on radio too. The competing networks are listed below.
Click the links to visit the individual broadcaster website and check their listings.
The contest will also be shown by broadcasters in non-competing countries, including Canada and Kazakhstan.
Eurovision 2021 First semi-final: What to expect
Semi-final one will be hosted by Chantal Janzen, Jan Smit, Edsilia Rombley and Nikkie de Jager (NikkieTutorials) live from the Rotterdam Ahoy in the Netherlands. Sixteen countries will compete for ten spots in the grand final. The running order is:
Semi-final one acts
- Lithuania: The Roop – Discoteque
- Slovenia: Ana Soklič – Amen
- Russia: Manizha – Russian Woman
- Sweden: Tusse – Voices
- Australia: Montaigne – Technicolour (Live-on-Tape performance)
- North Macedonia: Vasil – Here I Stand
- Ireland: Lesley Roy – Maps
- Cyprus: Elena Tsagrinou – El Diablo
- Norway: TIX – Fallen Angel
- Croatia: Albina – Tick-Tock
- Belgium: Hooverphonic – The Wrong Place
- Israel: Eden Alene – Set Me Free
- Romania: ROXEN – Amnesia
- Azerbaijan: Efendi – Mata Hari
- Ukraine: Go_A – Shum
- Malta: Destiny – Je Me Casse
Opening and interval acts
Duncan Laurence will perform as part of the semi-final opening act. Then singer Davina Michelle and actress Thekla Reuten will star in “The Power Of Water” interval act. The interval will feature recordings made on and around the Delta Works, a large scale series of construction projects used to protect swathes of the Netherlands from being lost to the sea. Additionally, a world of water will be created within the Ahoy using augmented reality.
Are you excited for semi-final one? How will you be watching? Let us know below.
This is the first year Australia has geo-blocked the You Tube live streams…not happy
SBS will surely be showing it in tv anyway though?
wait, seriously?
Use a vpn, i do that as an american 🙂
I use touch vpn
Hoped it helped!
Same here in Lithuania. So stupid.
Belgium is going up in the odds.
Eventually, they woke up and put Belgium in the qualifier zone
Asking fellow fans – any good free VPN’s?
most of them offer a free trial period for a week or 14 days. That would probably cover you if you only want it for ESC this next week
Thanks everyone, I’ve found one
Touch VPN is very good and i have used it for 2 years as an american watching eurovision 🙂
HEY!! Is YouTube NL (Netherlands) streaming this contest live? I’m in NYC, I have Two VPNs and I don’t trust NBC; and I know that YouTube in the US is going to block it! >:-P
I think they only did that last year for the finals but I’m not 100% sure
You make fun of people who are triggered when others mention Malta yet here you are dissing Malta in every wiwi article and every chance you get. Sounds like you need a huge mirror (and a hobby)
I’m excited and ready for the evening, enjoyable Eurovision night to all!
I really hate the fact that the Eurovision YouTube live stream is not available for the UK. I always liked to have that running at the same time as, let’s face it, I’d rather watch the interval acts than whatever the BBC have lined up with Scott Mills etc.
It might save budget too, if BBC would just let the show go as it goes without doing something of their own in the middle.
That constant eating on camera was so irritating, it was hard to concentrate on anything else. Please, no eating !
The EBU said that there was also a technical issue with Malta. I guess Destiny managed to overcome the situation at the moment, which might have compromised other aspects of the performance (like choreo, camera angles, etc.). I think it’s fair to give them a 2nd chance.
None of these people below saw the performance or had Destiny’s earpiece in their ears, so they’re just making assumptions and spreading rumours….
Exactly. They are assuming that she did not deserve a second chance because she did not sound bad. That’s not the point. It could effect other things and it wasn’t just the ear-in piece apparently. Looking at YT videos, there were also lightning issues and the pyro effect did not work!
I was in Ahoy yesterday and everyone was very surprised that Malta had a second run, because her first run was perfect. (Especially because Ukraine and Romania were indeed a bit off.) The pyro effects did work in her first run though, but not anymore in the second run.
Might just show how good of an artist Destiny is…
I think it also could be that Destiny and her team declined a second performance, sort of how SuRie declined a second performance after her invasion
I think that there’s way too much favoritism with certain countries this year, and I won’t be naming any names, however, it’s not professional and unfair to other contestants. Point blank.
Definitely a TONNE of favouritism towards certain countries.
I try to be nice as I am furious right now. What is your problem with Destiny‘s weight.? You might think it is a clever remark, but it is just condescending, rude, shallow and totally out of place.
Wait a minute I didn’t say anything about Destiny’s weight and how dare you accuse me of such.
I wasn’t even talking about Destiny in that comment at all.
Calm down and get off your high horse please. Thanks
If you didn‘ mean Destiny I am indeed very sorry and will step down from my high horse. Just saw that you wrote Tonne in capital letters and assumed something. Was fuming for some days because of not very nice commentaries about Destiy. Don‘t get me wrong. If you don‘t like the song, that‘s fine. But there were so many rude remarks about her weight. Well, I jumped to a wrong conclusion and am sorry.
I don’t like the song, but I absolutely appreciate Destiny for being an amazing artist, capable of so much. When I said tonne of countries, I meant the countries in the competition that there is clear favouritism around, not Destiny herself as a person. She’s a stunning girl with an amazing voice. Apology accepted.
Dear Darren, thanks for accepting my apologies. I am all for moderation in comments and then I don’t follow my own rules…….. Once again so sorry. It’s Eurovision time. Yeah. I am so excited and wish you all the best:)))))
I just need Roxen, Lesley, and Albina to go through, PLEASE, and thanks!
My prediction for qualifiers: 1. Malta: Destiny – Je Me Casse 2. Lithuania: The Roop – Discoteque 3. Ukraine: Go_A – Shum 4. Cyprus: Elena Tsagrinou – El Diablo 5. Russia: Manizha – Russian Woman 6. Sweden: Tusse – Voices 7. Belgium: Hooverphonic – The Wrong Place 8. Norway: TIX – Fallen Angel 9. Romania: ROXEN – Amnesia 10. Azerbaijan: Efendi – Mata Hari ——– 11. Ireland: Lesley Roy – Maps 12. Slovenia: Ana Sokli? – Amen 13. Israel: Eden Alene – Set Me Free 14. Croatia: Albina – Tick-Tock 15. Australia: Montaigne – Technicolour 16. North Macedonia: Vasil –… Read more »
I will legit cry if Ireland is 11th lol
After years of NQ (a lot deserved, some undeserved) to finish 11th would rub a lot of salt into big wounds.
Oh for sure.
Don’t think I can handle the drama
I hope Ireland will qualify with all my heart, you’re in my top 10. But the staging I saw in the rehearsal snippet looked really bad to me so i put them as NQ 🙁
Well hopefully tonight will change your mind.
It all came together really well at the jury show, the recap is leaked on Twitter along with Cyprus and North Macedonia
I don’t know why Malta was given the chance to perform twice since she wasn’t out of tune like Romania and for a few seconds Ukraine too. I think Azerbaijan will do better than expected in televoting. I wasn’t 100% satisfied with Cyprus tbh. Malta has a very good song but the staging is not giving me winning vibes. Destiny is awesome ofc. Outfit and boots not at all… I couldn’t find the irish jury rehearsal. Sweden or Australia will get the 10th place, i think maybe Australia depending on who the juries will support the most because both countries… Read more »
Exactly. It seemed unfair that Malta got to perform twice with no noticeable issues. It felt like unnecessary extra help for their act. I read about it also on ESC Daily and an OGAE website and they thought it was weird, too. This is no criticism to Destiny, but you have to admit that the others clearly had issues and had to perform twice. People, please don’t attack me now, it’s all just for fun…
Is the leaked snippet of Romanian performance from Roxen’s first or second try, because she sounds pretty terrible in it.
ITS from the first dress rehearsal at 16 pm
I think it’s from the jury show. If the other videos are also taken during the same show, then it definitely is from the jury show.
I mean Filomena Cautela was amazing too 😉 Petra, Nikkie and Filomena will go down in Eurovision history as the best hosts periodt.
Filomena was awesome but she wasn’t the main host unfortunately.
She is one of the four main hosts.
I would love to see those 3 hosting together. Maybe on the 70th anniversary celebration…
In fairness I don’t think anyone will come near Petra Mede for that crown.
Thinking that EBU is anything but a for-profit corporation is naive.
Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
Really? I was sure they were a charity non-profit!
A corporation of mostly publicly-funded broadcasters, who get by by getting sponsors to help cover the costs of organizing ESC, and broadcast all other events they do annually besides the song contest.
You know you’re probably going to get attacked for these comments don’t you Vanilla? Lol
Brave man, it’s a war zone in here when you mention the M word lol
Melarus?
I love Melarus, got it deep inside
I love Melarus, feel it in my mind
god I was so scared when I heard Roxen went off key first time around and then Kate did the same, though it wasn’t so bad as with Roxen, Kate picked up very fast,
so glad Romania and Ukraine got their fair chance to perform again, especially knowing its jury rehearsal, I didn’t hear any problems with Destiny’ performance but I’m sure they wouldn’t let her sing again if everything was ok
Nervous for tomorrow night, we definitely gonna lose few good entries before grand final
What a shame BBC seems to be blocking the Youtube stream this year and so Rylan and Scott’s excruciating coverage will be forced upon us.
You can use VPN.
The hosts are definitely among the best we’ve had in years
Ofc they played dirty. Amazong how 3 of them had an issue but Efendi that was going after Roxen didn’t. Malta invested too much into this year to let someone else close the show.
Facts are facts america.
Don’t get me wrong. Roxen and Kata had issues that everyone could hear.
Wait. So you didn’t even listen to any coverage by the media or at least listen to the songs over a YT live coverage, yet here you are making a judgement just because Robert said so?!
Why do you even watch the show if you don’t even trust EBU’s decision?
Robert is an integral part of wiwibloggs community and he trusts me. I would take his word too other way around (even though he hates Croatia)
It’s incredibly naive to think the EBU is in anyway unbiased, they have form
Kazakhstan can agree with that.
Didn’t like the wig in Destiny’s head. I am sorry, She is a young girl. And she is having this whole diva persona. And now she is adding a wig to hide her face.
She is an 18 years old girl, she doesn’t need to hide her face and put a fake wig in her hair. She has beautiful long black hair, she has a beautiful face. Why is she doing that to herself?
She wore a wig for the rehearsal. She did not wear a wig for the jury show!
Let’s not forget what ESC is about:having fun, getting entertained and discovering new songs and artists. Whatever happens happens, results are only a number Good luck to all and enjoy your moment!
Man that Roxen performance was horrifying in live stream when technical difficulties made her go out of sync. Glad they fixed the problem quick and offered a second chance.
Hope we don’t have such accidents in live action tomorrow.
I’d take technical difficults on stage over quarantining off stage.
Sure but it affects the artists chances as well. Roxen dropped to 1/380 in first go. Audience might miss the second chance and fell for the wrong impression.
What does a fraction of 1/380 mean?
She’ll be grand tomorrow. She nailed her second attempt.
I felt really bad for her though. But I think she’ll be okay tomorrow
Yes, she deserves so much better.
I’m ready for the downvotes, but I still don’t understand why Malta performed again.
It was also said that Azerbaijan had some small technical issues as well, but, unlike Malta, they were fair to the others.
Also, imo both her hair and outfit make her look much older and doesn’t really fit with the song.
Who says Azerbaijan had technical issues? Im sure they would be the first to stand up for themselves if that was actually the case.
The EBU thinks otherwise!
EBU Statement: Malta, Romania and Ukraine given chance to perform again at 2nd Dress Rehearsal – Eurovision Song Contest
Who are you to decide whether Malta did in fact merit another performance or not? You? If she was not allowed, then the EBU would have said no. Stop spreading these false rumors.
Calm your titties. What false rumours? She said what probably most of us think. We could hear the issues with Ukraine and Romania. What issue was with Malta?
People are just fed up with this favouritism.
Favoritism? Do you seriously believe the EBU would allow a country to perform again because they are showing any preferences? Really?
I couldn’t hear the issues with Ukraine but did not question the validity for a second performance. but if it’s Malta, then all hell breaks loose.
Then go back and listen again because it is obvious where Kate falls behind the track.
I trust the EBU for making the right decision. I’m not one to tell. You don’t need to sound bad or fall behind the track to have technical issues.
Exactly, they were fair and showed sportsmanship, while Malta grabbed the first available opportunity to show themselves even more. It leaves a bad aftertaste regarding to the Malta attitude. Also, Destiny is gorgeous and they shouldn’t hide her with that cheap looking wig.
The Youtube stream at 25 fps is a no go for me.
Lesley nailed her vocal tonight! Honestly proud of her. Glad the staging transitions finally came together. I really think Ireland CAN actually qualify.
Roxen, poor Roxen I’m soo glad she got the second chance, really wasn’t her fault and the technical issue was a mess like. EBU done the right thing here.
Destiny, on point vocally. However the delegation are being shady. Ensuring she performed last, even after Roxen and Go_A got their deserved second chance.
Shady? She also had technical issues. But you wouldn’t know because:
1) you weren’t watching the shiw
2) because Destiny’s was so good to not let it affect her.
If she did not merit a second performance, then EBU would not allow it. Stop spreading false rumors!
https://eurovision.tv/mediacentre/release/ebu-statement-malta-romania-and-ukraine-given-chance-to-perform-again-at-2nd-dress-rehearsal
If malta also had technical difficulties I don’t see a problem. She was a 100% qualifier either way. Im sure AVROTROS wouldn’t let them perform again if there was no reason to.
Sur was vocally on point, as expected she nailed her performance and Wiwibloggs themselves can’t even explain what happened there.
If Destiny had an issue, fine but it wasn’t noticeable and therefore wasn’t going to hurt her chances. But they had to push for her to perform again.
Shouldn’t there be equal consequences for everybody for the same technical issues though?
Let’s say hypothetically that Lesley Roy couldn’t hear herself through her in ears and was just a little bit off key because of that, would it be fair if the EBU said: ‘sorry hun, if you wanted to perform again you should have sung more badly.’
Everybody wants to give their best performance and all 3 countries got prevented from doing that so I think it’s logical they all got to perform another round even though Destiny managed fine the first time.
That’s fair. Not everyone can be SuRie.
Truee, and if they aren’t they can just have another Go_At it 😀
Hopefully there’ll be no more technical difficulties now they’ve double-checked all the Litesound equipment is set to the right Voltaj and Fusedmarc…
(I know, it’s terrible 😀 )
I thought people weren’t allowed watch…
Some people are….
But don’t tell anyone
I won’t tell anyone, but in charge tell me if Malta is hidding from us. The performance is just a bunch more of that we’ve seen on the snippets?
Press were allowed to live stream reactions and you could hear the vocals in the background.
Yes, I think she has some chances to get through, she improved so much. Still it’s not perfect but she has to move so much! Hope Ireland qualifies somehow
I think she was saving herself for the juries.
But I’m proper excited for tomorrow now. The suspense of Semi 1 is legit killing me
Same. I am ready to lose most of my favorites unfortunately ;(
Oh man absolutely! It will be a rollercoaster. This is even harder than the infamous 2018 semi, looking back.
So you’re saying a hard semi is better than a weak semi?
The harder the better Jimmy ;P
That’s not a semi, that’s a grand final 😉
Everyone’s a winner at that stage lol 😉
Sounds like you’ve lifted a few trophies before, Darren
Well I’m not one to blow my own trumpet Jimmy …
Also, ERT is ruining up my chances to watch Eurovision this year as I’ll be working almost in every show and I would be able to watch the stream from YouTube (note that ERTflix doesn’t work well on mobile as I’ve noticed)
Their app works perfectly
maybe you can use a VPN like us Americans have to (except if we want to watch live now with Peacock)? Also, do you have a computer you can pull it up? I used to watch the ERT broadcast on the computer when it wasn’t region blocked here (I’m Greek American).
Hey I don’t know who to send this to but Malta is buying Twitter ads? Posting a picture on how to vote for them ? I know it’s allowed but this is weird, right?
I’ve been getting ads featuring Tix’s music video on Instagram for a couple of days now too. I think countries should really refrain from doing that.
In 2019 they also bought youtube adds. France did it this year, those were ads targeted at specific countries showing Barbara speaking in each country’s language asking them to vote for her.
I’ve also got ads like you described with Barbara. Other countries that appeared in my feed were Malta and Lithuania.
They even know what country we’re in, so yeah… they paid for it.
I got ads from Lesley Roy and Tix.
I think the ads are part of a Google algorithm. They probably paid for it, but it’s all marketing.
I haven’t seen any ads at all. I think it depends on like your YouTube viewing history and people you follow/like/search for on social media
Off topic, but am I the only one who doesn’t understand why Malta got a second chance? Romania had severe technical problems while also Ukraine had several problems, but Malta hadn’t I think any issue that would have as a result to give them a second try
They wanted to perform last so Destiny had to have technical issues too…
Damn that’s very unfair to the other contestants in my opinion. Very big foul from the hosts
I’m so done with the Maltese delegation. I’ve been saying it for months, now they go and prove themselves yet again.
And I’m so done with your comments. You are literally clutching at straws now.
If she did not merit another performance then the EBU would have said so. Easy for you to comment on a live performance when you were just watching it over a YT channel. Destiny was great because she is a professional and did not let it affect her performance, but that doesn’t mean that she did not have technical issues. Stop with the false rumors!
Be done with me then, off ya pop
X
Oh so Roxen and Kate are amateurs because, unlike professional Destiny, it affected their performances?
Not at all. But what I meant was that you don’t necessarily have to sound BAD to have technical issues. I hope we agree on that.
All 3 were justified to perform another time, even though Destiny sounded good the first time round!
So can anyone come and say “I had a techincal issue”? “Yes, yes, I know I sounded impecable but 2 out of 3 girls before me had it so I had it too, trust me.”
Are you being serious? This is not circumstantial evidence. The technical personnel off stage WOULD KNOW if you had technical issues or not, hence that is why they were allowed to perform again!!
Technical personel cannot hear if the music in your ear piece is too low because of crowd cheering, or if your backing vocals are too loud in your ear piece, or if the music was too loud. The only person who can tell that something is wrong with their ear piece are the singers
i agree with you, the ebu would not let malta perform again if there wasn’t some sort of issue
EBU Statement: Malta, Romania and Ukraine given chance to perform again at 2nd Dress Rehearsal – Eurovision Song Contest
I imagine it was the executive supervisor who made the decision, not AVROTROS.