There are just days to go until the final of the Eurovision Song Contest - and it's been confirmed who will be the UK's spokesperson, who will hand out those all-important points.
Dame Joanna Lumley will this year announce the Eurovision Song Contest results for the UK. The Absolutely Fabulous actress, 78, will reveal what points the UK national jury gave to the other contestants during the competition’s grand finale next week in Malmo, Sweden.
Dame Joanna said: "Good evening Malmo, it’s Joanna here. I am delighted to be announcing the jury vote for the UK at this year’s Eurovision. It’s such a fabulous honour to give the iconic 'douze points'."
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She was revealed as the UK’s Eurovision spokesperson on BBC One’s The One Show by Eurovision commentator Graham Norton on Friday (May 3).
The public votes are combined with the professional jury in each participating country to decide who should be crowned the winner. The points from the jury, made up of five members who are from an artistic background relevant to the competition, range from the maximum "douze points" (12) to zero.
After the presentation of the scores, the public points from all participating countries are combined, providing one score for each song.
Dame Joanna follows in the footsteps of comedian and Doctor Who star Catherine Tate, Britain’s Got Talent star Amanda Holden, TV chef Nigella Lawson, comedian Mel Giedroyc and Pointless star Richard Osman.
Years & Years singer Olly Alexander will perform his dance-infused track Dizzy on behalf of the UK for Eurovision audiences on Tuesday. Alexander is already through to the final along with France, Germany, Italy and Spain – as well as last year’s winner Sweden.
This is the first time the “big five” countries and the host country will perform their songs in full during the semi-finals. The 15 countries competing in the first semi-final are Cyprus, Serbia, Lithuania, Ireland, Ukraine, Poland, Croatia, Iceland, Slovenia, Finland, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Australia, Portugal and Luxembourg.
On Thursday (May 9), 16 countries including Malta, Albania, Greece, Switzerland, Czechia, Austria, Denmark, Armenia, Latvia, San Marino, Georgia, Belgium, Estonia, Israel, Norway and Netherlands will perform. Viewers will then decide who goes through from the other countries to the final this year.
Eurovision’s grand final will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from 8pm on Saturday May 11.
