How to Watch and Stream Eurovision 2023 Semi-Finals and Finals in the US

It’s that time of year again: the continent of Europe is about to unite for one week through a shared love of song, dance, and spectacle.

Eurovision 2023 is upon us, and for the third year in a row, it’s easier than ever for Americans to tune in from across the pond.

You might’ve heard about the song contest through the Netflix original movie Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, which starred Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams. Maybe you watched American Song Contest, NBC’s attempt at recreating the magic of Eurovision right here in the States.

But even if you’ve never heard of the Eurovision Song Contest until now, you’ve likely listened to the music of some winners who achieved international fame.

ABBA won the contest for Sweden in 1974 with “Waterloo,” and international superstar Céline Dion is also a Eurovision champ. A pre-Grease Olivia Newton-John also represented the UK on the ESC stage at the same contest ABBA won. More recently, Italian rock band Måneskin, who won the 2021 contest, became known worldwide, even performing in America on Saturday Night Live following their victory.

The 2023 Eurovision Song Contest kicks off soon, so read on for everything you need to know about streaming Eurovision in the United States and all the info on how it works.

What Is Eurovision?

The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual international song competition organized by the European Broadcasting Union.

Each year, the broadcasting union of each participating country chooses a new song as their entry for that year’s contest, whether through an internal search, a locally held mini-song competition, or any other means they decide. Each original song must be three minutes or less and performed live by a soloist or a group of up to six people over the age of 16.

After two semi-finals, the field is narrowed down for a grand final. Each entry is performed live on stage, and every participating country also gets an opportunity to showcase local culture and landmarks via previously recorded clip packages that introduce each performer.

Each country’s performance is then voted on, and a winner is crowned.

Anything can happen at Eurovision, but we know this: each year, the countries will find a way to one-up themselves with more outrageous performances.

Eurovision 2023 Schedule:

The 2023 Eurovision Song Contest has three live portions: two semi-finals and the grand final. Fifteen countries will participate in semi-final 1, with 16 performing in semi-final 2. Ten countries from each semi-final will then qualify for the grand final alongside the pre-qualified host country (Ukraine) and the “Big Five” countries that made the greatest financial contribution to the European Broadcasting Union this year.

The Eurovision 2023 schedule is as follows:

• Semi-final 1: Tuesday, May 9 at 3 p.m. ET/noon PT — feat. Norway, Malta, Serbia, Latvia, Portugal, Ireland, Croatia, Switzerland, Israel, Moldova, Sweden, Azerbaijan, Czechia, Netherlands, Finland
• Semi-final 2: Thursday, May 11 at 3 p.m. ET/noon PT — feat. Denmark, Armenia, Romania, Estonia, Belgium, Cyprus, Iceland, Greece, Poland, Slovenia, Georgia, San Marina, Austria, Albania, Lithuania, Australia
• The Grand Final: Saturday, May 13 at 3 p.m. ET/noon PT — feat. France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and 20 TBD countries

How to Watch and Stream Eurovision 2023:

Viewers in the United States can stream Eurovision 2023 exclusively on Peacock. The streamer will broadcast both semi-finals and the grand final live with additional commentary from Olympian Johnny Weir.

Peacock starts at $5/month for ad-supported streaming or $10/month for ad-free streaming and local live NBC. You’ll be able to stream Eurovision live with either Peacock plan.

Where Is Eurovision 2023 Taking Place?

Typically, Eurovision occurs in the country that won the previous year’s contest. The 2022 winner was Ukraine, but due to regional safety concerns, this year’s contest will be held in Liverpool, England. The BBC will be broadcasting the contest on behalf of the Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine.

All three live shows of Eurovision 2023 will be broadcast from Liverpool Arena.

Who Is Hosting Eurovision 2023?

The three live shows will be hosted by British singer Alesha Dixon, Ukrainian singer Julia Sanina, and Ted Lasso‘s Hannah Waddingham. Additionally, British television presenter Graham Norton will join the trio for Saturday’s final.

How Are Eurovision Winners Chosen?

The winners of the Eurovision Song Contest are chosen using a positional, or ranked, voting system. Each voting body awards 12 points to their favorite act, 10 to their second, and 8-1 to the subsequent vote-getters.

This year, 37 participating countries make up the voting body, and each country awards 12, 10, 8-1 twice; a professional voting jury awards one set, while a country-wide televote awards the second.

Additionally, non-participating countries (aka the rest of the world) can televote — these points are aggregated and awarded as one set of points.

Voting is as dramatic as some of the performances on stage. The jury reveals their votes first, country by country, and then televote totals are revealed in reverse order. This means that a country firmly atop the leaderboard following the jury votes could slip several positions quickly, no leads are safe, and no one has truly won until the last votes are read.

Following these live reveals, the country with the most points is crowned the winner.

Who Are The Eurovision 2023 Front Runners?

Eurovision is not a sport, but it’s treated as such, down to oddsmakers creating betting odds on the winner. The top five odds-on favorites this year, in order, are:

1. “Tattoo” by Loreen (Sweden)
2. “Cha Cha Cha” by Käärijä (Finland)
3. “Heart of Steel” by TVORCHI (Ukraine)
4. “Évidemment” by La Zarra (France)
5. “EAEA” by Blanca Paloma (Spain)