When is the Eurovision 2022 final? Date, who is UK entrant Sam Ryder, is Ukraine competing - how to watch live

Eurovision 2022 is just around the corner, and the final line-up of the annual Europop extravaganza has been locked it.

After the concert was cancelled in 2020, the competition was held in Rotterdam, Netherlands, in 2021, and Italy's rock band Maneskin won with their song ’Zitti E Buoni.’

This year's Song Contest is being conducted in the country that won previous year's competition, as is customary.

Here is everything you need to know about it.

When is Eurovision 2022?

As is customary for the Contest, the grand final will be preceded by two semi-finals, which will determine which performers will play at the main event.

The first of the two semi-finals was held on Tuesday 10 May, the second on 12 May.

The Grand Final will feature 25 countries progressing from the semis: 10 from the first semi-final, 10 from the second semi-final, and the “Big 5” countries.

When is the final?

The final will be held on Saturday 14 May 2022.

It - as well as the live semi-final shows - will be hosted by Alessandro Cattelan, an Italian television presenter who fronted the Italian version of The X Factor from 2011 to 2020.

He’ll be joined by singer Laura Pausini, and Lebanese-British singer Mika, famous for his song, ‘Grace Kelly’.

How can I watch it?

Live coverage of the Eurovision 2022 semi-finals will be available in the UK through BBC Three for the first time since 2015; Scott Mills and Rylan Clark will be on commentary duty, overseeing proceedings and bringing viewers back in the UK all the action.

As for the grand final itself, the BBC will be broadcasting live coverage of the event, as they have done in previous years.

The live final will be broadcast on BBC One, BBC iPlayer, BBC Radio 2 and BBC Sounds on Saturday 14 May.

Who is the UK’s entry?

Sam Ryder, a TikTok sensation, has been named the UK's entrant for the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest.

According to the BBC, Ryder rose to stardom by covering songs on TikTok during lockdown, and now has 12 million followers, making him the most followed UK music artist on the app.

Surprisingly, oddsmakers reckon the UK has a good chance of doing well at this year’s Contest - he is currently tied for second with Sweden...

With the latest odds of a British Eurovision victory set at 6/1, could 2022 finally be the year we don’t hear the dreaded phrase, “nil points?”

Who is competing?

A total of 35 countries competed in the two semi-finals, which took place on 10 and 12 May.

From this list, 20 countries booked their place Saturday’s final.

Those countries are:

• Switzerland
• Armenia
• Iceland
• Lithuania
• Portugal
• Norway
• Greece
• Ukraine
• Moldova
• Netherlands
• Belgium
• Czech Republic
• Azerbaijan
• Poland
• Finland
• Estonia
• Australia
• Sweden
• Romania
• Serbia

Alongside the full 20 qualified countries, the ‘Big Five’ group will also perform in the grand final, bringing the total performers in the final to 25.

Russia will not be participating in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest following its invasion of Ukraine.

The ‘Big Five’ refers to a group of countries who are the largest financial contributors to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).

These countries are the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy.

The EBU said in a statement that the inclusion of a Russian entry would bring the contest into “disrepute”.

Russia had not yet announced its act for 2022. It won in 2008 with Dima Bilan singing ‘Believe’, and in turn hosted the 2009 contest in Moscow.