Following the first Eurovision semi-final in Liverpool on Tuesday, 16 more countries will battle it out on Thursday in the second Eurovision qualifier.
Competitors Austria and Australia are favourites to qualify for the Eurovision Grand Final on Saturday ahead of the second round of the semi-finals on Thursday in Liverpool.
These two acts will battle it out for a space in the qualifying top ten alongside 14 other countries including Armenia, Poland, Iceland and Greece.
The winners from the two semi-finals will join the big five: Spain, Italy, Germany, France and the UK as well as last year’s winner Ukraine in Saturday’s final.
Sweden and Finland emerged as fan favourites in the first semi-final, while Eurovision seven-time winner Ireland was eliminated.
The odds shifted for the second semi-final after rehearsals took place in Liverpool on Wednesday.
Austria has entered Teya and Salena with their catchy track ‘Who The Hell is Edgar?’ while synth-metal band Voyager will be representing Australia with their song ‘Voyager’.
Slovenian act, Joker Out, is also expected to make it through. But uncertainty remains further down the participant list.
Beyond the main arena, the city of Liverpool is buzzing with excitement as a huge number of events celebrating Eurovision and Ukrainian culture are taking place both within the fan zone and the city itself.
The mixture of pop and politics has created a unique atmosphere, characterised by a sense of unity for Ukraine and a collective desire to have a good time.
“We’re here at the Solidarity Disco Banquet. We’ve been dancing, we’ve been singing, and while we were doing that, we were also chopping some vegetables, prepping some food and we’re about to sit down and enjoy the food together” said Christina Dmytryk Clark, a Ukrainian choir leader.
“It’s a mixture of food from Liverpool but also food from Ukraine” she concluded.
Thursday’s second semi-final and Saturday’s grand final will both take place in Liverpool at 9 pm CEST.