Eurovision Song Contest 2017

Eurovision Song Contest 2017
Celebrate Diversity
Dates and venue
Semi-final 1
  • 9 May 2017 (2017-05-09)
Semi-final 2
  • 11 May 2017 (2017-05-11)
Final
  • 13 May 2017 (2017-05-13)
VenueInternational Exhibition Centre
Kyiv, Ukraine
Organisation
OrganiserEuropean Broadcasting Union (EBU)
Executive supervisorJon Ola Sand
Production
Host broadcaster
Directors
  • Troels Lund
  • Alexander Kolb
  • Ladislaus Kiraly
Executive producerPavlo Grytsak
Presenters
Participants
Number of entries42
Number of finalists26
Returning countries Portugal
 Romania
Non-returning countries Bosnia and Herzegovina
 Russia
Participation map
  •      Finalist countries     Countries eliminated in the semi-finals     Countries that participated in the past but not in 2017
Vote
Voting systemEach country awards two sets of 12, 10, 8–1 points to ten songs.
Winning song Portugal
"Amar pelos dois"

The Eurovision Song Contest 2017 was the 62nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It consisted of two semi-finals on 9 and 11 May and a final on 13 May 2017, held at the International Exhibition Centre in Kyiv, Ukraine, and presented by Oleksandr Skichko, Volodymyr Ostapchuk, and Timur Miroshnychenko. It was organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster the Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine (UA:PBC), which staged the event after its legal predecessor, the National Television Company of Ukraine (NTU), had won the 2016 contest for Ukraine with the song "1944" by Jamala. It was the first contest since the inaugural 1956 edition without a female host.

Broadcasters from forty-two countries participated in the contest. Portugal and Romania returned to the contest after a year's absence, while Bosnia and Herzegovina did not participate on financial grounds. Russia had originally planned to participate, but later withdrew after its representative, Julia Samoylova, was banned from entering Ukraine by virtue of having travelled directly from Russia to Crimea, a region that was annexed by Russia in 2014, to give a performance, which is illegal under Ukrainian law.

The winner was Portugal with the song "Amar pelos dois", performed by Salvador Sobral and written by his sister Luísa Sobral. The song won both the jury vote and televote, and Bulgaria, Moldova, Belgium, and Sweden rounded out the top five. This was Portugal's first victory in 53 years of participation, the longest wait for victory by any participating country in Eurovision history. It was also the first winning song entirely performed in a country's native language since "Molitva" for Serbia in 2007. The top three countries – Portugal, Bulgaria and Moldova – all achieved their highest placings in their Eurovision history, while host country Ukraine received its worst placing to date, finishing 24th in the final.

The EBU reported that 182 million viewers watched the contest, 22 million fewer than the 2016 record.