Eurovision Song Contest 2021: Everything you need to know
What time is it on? Who’s representing Ireland? And what about this year’s controversies?
about 3 hours ago
Ed Power
Eurovision 2021: Destiny rehearses Malta’s entry, Je Me Casse, at the Ahoy Arena, in Rotterdam. Photograph: Patrick Van Emst/Pool/EPA
Life is about to get a little sparklier as the Eurovision Song Contest returns after Covid forced the cancellation of last year’s event. This is, of course, a very different Eurovision from the seven at which Irish singers – Dana, Johnny Logan and Linda Martin among them – triumphed.
Spanning the continent and beyond – Australia has been a contestant since 2015 – Eurovision features 39 countries and a dizzying variety of styles. Pop, rock, power ballads and Ed Sheeran-type bloke folk will all be in the mix as 200 million viewers tune in.