Forty-three countries will be represented at the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan. This year’s Contest will take place between May 22 and May 26, with thirty-seven of the following nations taking part in the semi-finals on May 22 and May 24:
- Albania
- Armenia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Bosnia & Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- FYR Macedonia
- Georgia
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Malta
- Moldova
- Montenegro
- The Netherlands
- Norway
- Portugal
- Romania
- Russia
- San Marino
- Serbia
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Turkey
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom
As in previous years, The Big Five and last year’s winner, have already secured their places in the Final on May 26 (Azerbaijan, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom).
So, who’s in and who’s out?
Poland is out, at least for the time being. The reason is finances. Poland is co-hosting the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, and together with it broadcast of the Summer Olympics, the country feels unable to participate. Also missing are previous regulars, Andorra, the Czech Republic and long-time participants from days gone by, Monaco.
Montenegro returns after an absence of three years and previous absentees, Italy, Austria and Hungary have decided to hang around following their respective good results in 2011.
Songs so far
Four countries have already selected their songs for the Contest:
Albania, France, Macedonia and Switzerland, while another eight nations have chosen their singers. More about the latter in following posts.
Semi-final draw
The draw to determine in which semi-final the thirty-seven semi-finalists will participate takes place on January, 25 and this will whittle the number of competitors down to 20 for the Final on May 26. The running order for each semi-final will be decided upon in March.
That’s it, folks!
