Israel will take part in the first semifinal of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest and will perform during the second half of the show, the European Broadcasting Union announced Monday evening ahead of the competition in Vienna.
The first semifinal will be held on Tuesday, May 12, followed by the second semifinal on Thursday, May 14. The grand final is scheduled for Saturday, May 16, in Austria.
At the start of the allocation draw, the contest’s “Big Four” countries (following Spain’s withdrawal) were drawn. Germany and Italy were placed in the first semifinal, while the United Kingdom, France and the host country, Austria, were placed in the second.
Israel will face off in the first semifinal against Georgia, Portugal (one of the most vocal opponents of Israel’s participation), Croatia, Sweden, Finland, Moldova, Greece, Montenegro, Estonia, San Marino, Poland, Belgium, Lithuania and Serbia.
The countries competing in the second semifinal are Armenia, Romania, Switzerland, Azerbaijan, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Albania, Denmark, Cyprus, Norway, Malta, Australia, Ukraine and Latvia.