Eurovision 2018: What time is the Song Contest tonight and where can I watch it?
Everything you need to know ahead of Saturday night's main event
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Your support makes all the difference.The grand final of this year's Eurovision Song Contest is almost upon us.
The annual pantomime of kitsch will be broadcast live from Lisbon on Saturday night, with Russia returning to the roster after sitting out last year's competition in Ukraine on political grounds.
If you can’t wait for a fresh helping of skid row Cirque de Soleil from the likes of Moldovan gnomes Zdob si Zdub, here's a prep sheet for Eurovision 2018.
Where is Eurovision taking place?
The contest is being staged in Portugal for the first time after Salvador Sobral won for "Amar Pelos Dios" in Kiev last spring.
The pop star accepted his glass microphone with the bold pronouncement that his win represented "a victory for people who make music that actually means something".
The first semi-final was staged on Tuesday and the second is tonight (Thursday 10 May) at the 20,000-seater Altice Arena in Lisbon.
The grand final will take place on Saturday and, like the semis, be hosted by Portuguese TV personalities Filomena Cautela, Sílvia Alberto, Daniela Ruah and Catarina Furtado.
Where can I watch it?
In the UK, the second semi-final will be broadcast on BBC Four at 8pm tonight with on-the-spot reporting from Scott Mills and Rylan Clark-Neal.
The final will air on BBC One at 8pm on Saturday, as is customary, with Graham Norton returning on commentary duties, carrying on in the same deliciously wry manner as his immortal predecessor Sir Terry Wogan ("She can can do extraordinary things with her voice... not pleasant things, but extraordinary").
Mel Giedroyc will meanwhile be covering the results as Ken Bruce does the honours on BBC Radio 2.
Who is representing the UK?
This year British hopes lie with SuRie and her song “Storm”. For those looking for positive omens, she is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in London and has performed as a soloist at the Albert Hall.
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SuRie also has previous form in the contest, having appeared as a backing dancer for 2015's Belgian entry, Loic Nottet, and served as musical director for the same country's 2017 competitor Blanche.
She faces stiff competition from Israeli entrant Netta, however, who is seeking to follow trans icon Dana International in taking home the trophy.
How does the scoring work?
Each participating country has a professional jury whose job it is to rank its top 10 performances, awarding points of 12, 10, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two and one to its next favourites in descending order.
These scores will be revealed during the final by each nation's spokespeople as usual, at which point a second round of votes from members of the public watching live at home will be cast.
These in turn will establish a parallel top 10 on the same basis.
The two sets of scores will then be added together to give a final set of results from that country.
Finally, these are added to the overall league table, meaning the final winner will not be revealed until the very end of the show when all 43 competing countries have submitted their scores, ensuring the tension remains high until the very last moment.
You can watch Eurovision on BBC1 with Graham Norton from 8pm on Saturday 12 May, or tune in on BBC Radio 2 with Ken Bruce from 8pm
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