What is the Eurovision 2024 Grand Final running order, and who will face the dreaded ‘cursed slot’?

British singer Oliver Alexander Thornton aka Olly Alexander representing the United Kingdom with the song "Dizzy" performs during the dress-rehearsal on the eve of the final of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) 2024 on May 10, 2024 at the Malmo Arena in Malmo, Sweden. (Photo by Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP)

There are a lot of superstitions associated with Eurovision 2024. One of the most famous of them is about the Grand Final running order – called the “Curse of the Number Two”.

The curse is due to the fact that no country that has performed second in the running order in the final has ever won Eurovision. Spooky.

In fact, according to The Mirror, nine acts who performed second in the final have ended up in last place – and three of those got ‘Nul points’.

So, who will be in this doomed slot for the Eurovision 2024 final? The running order was decided in the early hours following Thursday night’s semi-final, so all can now be revealed.

Spoiler alert: bad news for Ukraine, they’re going to be the second country on stage. But maybe they’ll be the country that finally breaks the “Curse of the Number Two”?

Note that there will be no number five in the running order following the disqualification of The Netherlands’ act Joost ahead of Saturday’s final following an incident backstage. Eurovision organisers have confirmed that acts will still perform alongside their original running order number.

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Grand Final Running Order

1. 🇸🇪 Sweden | Marcus & Martinus – “Unforgettable”

Eurovision 2024 hosts Sweden are placing their hopes on twins Twins Marcus & Martinus, who rose to fame as one of Scandinavia’s biggest pop sensations after winning Norway’s ‘Junior MGP’ in 2012.

2. 🇺🇦 Ukraine | alyona alyona & Jerry Heil – “Teresa & Maria”

Second in the Eurovision final running order 2024 are Alyona and Alyone & Jerry Heil – who will aim to become Ukraine’s fourth winning Eurovision entry with their track “Teresa & Marias”.

The song addresses the strength of women amid Ukraine’s ongoing war with Russia, with the duo stating: “On behalf of women, we are talking about the importance of unity for significant actions and victories. And even though we, as Ukrainians, wrote this song about Ukraine, everyone can recognise themselves in the lyrics.

3. 🇩🇪 Germany | ISAAK – “Always On The Run”

Isaak Guderian, known as Isaak, began his career as a street musician, going on to star in the German version of The X Factor, singing a cover of the Oasis song “Wonderwall”. Isaak went on to win the contest Show Your Talent in 2021. He’s third in the Eurovision final running order 2024.

4. 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | TALI – “Fighter”

23-year-old singer Tali will be the first act to represent Luxembourg at Eurovision in more than three decades with her track “Fighter”.

Luxembourg disappeared from the contest’s radar for a staggering thirty years. The primary culprit was actually the ever-increasing financial burden of participation, according to insiders. Other reasons cited including waning public interest in the event.

However, it seems that Luxembourg have managed to find some cash down the back of their sofa: on 12 May 2023, as the final of the 2023 contest loomed (marking the 30th anniversary of Luxembourg’s last entry and the 40th anniversary of its last victory) RTL revealed that Luxembourg would return to the contest in 2024.

6. 🇮🇱 Israel | Eden Golan – “Hurricane”

Eden Golan will be attempting to become the fifth Israeli act to win Eurovision, with previous winners for Israel including Netta in 2018 and trailblazing trans artist Dana International in 1998.

7. 🇱🇹 Lithuania | Silvester Belt – “Luktelk”

Silvester Belt is no stranger to a competition, having taken part in Lithuanian singing competitons Aš – superhitas and The X Factor. Describing queer icon Troye Sivan as his “all-time inspiration”, Silvester Belt will be performing electro pop single “Luktelk” at this year’s Eurovision.

8. 🇪🇸 Spain  | Nebulossa – “ZORRA”

Synth-pop duo Nebulossa will be representing Spain this year with the song “Zorra”. The song name itself was subject to controversy in the run-up to Eurovision, translating to “vixen” and often used as a misogynistic insult. The song, with themes of women’s empowerment, aims to reappropriate the slur, which was allowed to be included in the lyrics by the European Broadcasting Union.

9. 🇪🇪 Estonia | 5MIINUST x Puuluup – “(nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (küll) midagi”

Hip-hop group 5Miinust and folk duo Puuluup will be representing Estonia with the song “(Nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (küll) midagi”, reportedly breaking the record for longest song title in Eurovision.

10. 🇮🇪 Ireland | Bambie Thug – “Doomsday Blue”

Bambie Thug performing at Eurovision semi-finals
Bambie Thug says that the EBU forced them to remove Pro-Palestinian messages from their outfit. (Getty)

All eyes have been on this headline grabbing, non-binary star lately. They found time to chat to PinkNews and explained why the historic non-binary representation at this year’s competition is “important – especially now”.

Bambie Thug also claimed that the European Broadcasting Union made them remove messages in solidarity with Palestine shortly before their semi-final performance.

Bambie Thug is a self-described “Ouija-pop” singer; and people are speculating that they’re trying to “hex” viewers – or possibly just an individual – with their catchy entry “Doomsday Blue”.

11. 🇱🇻 Latvia | Dons – “Hollow’

Latvia has gone for a classic ballad for its entry this year, with singer-songwriter Dons singing the song “Hollow”. According to the singer, “Hollow” explores the feeling of being held “hostage to your own insecurities, demons, inner feelings, relationships, and views”.

12. 🇬🇷 Greece | Marina Satti – “ZARI”

Marina Satti will represent Greece in Eurovision 2024, 50 years to the day since the country first participated.

Her song-writing style combines the Greek, Arabic and Balkan musical traditions that she grew up around, having released her first full-length album, Yenna, in 2022. She’s singing “Zari” in Eurovision 2024.

13. 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | Olly Alexander – “Dizzy”

Olly Alexander Eurovision 2024
Olly Alexander will represent Britain at the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest. (Christine Olsson/Getty)

UK entrant Olly Alexander is another performer who has been generating a lot of column inches online lately. He’s experiencing one of the biggest weeks of his career to date as the UK’s 2024 Eurovision Song Contest entrant – and he plans to make it “as gay as possible”.

He also faced a setback in the semi-finals when he had a “slight wardrobe malfunction”, explaining: “my mic pack fell off and [I] had to improvise but that’s fine, it’s live TV, it happens!”

He revealed his planned song on 1 March 2024. In the track, Olly Alexander has a simple request: he wants to be taken by the hand and spun around “in a moment that never ends”. You can read our review here.

Olly Alexander is thirteenth in the Eurovision final running order 2024.

14. 🇳🇴 Norway | Gåte – “Ulveham”

Folk-rock band Gåte won Norway’s national selection competition Melodi Grand Prix 2024.

The group is an established name in Norway and consists of members Gunnhild Sundli, Magnus Børmark, Jon Even Schärer, Mats Paulsen, and John Stenersen.

15. 🇮🇹 Italy  | Angelina Mango – ‘La Noia”

After rock band Måneskin shot to fame after winning for Italy in 2021, the country has some big shoes to fill. Thankfully, chart-topping Angelina Mango could bag that coveted “douze points” with her single “La noia”.

16. 🇷🇸 Serbia | TEYA DORA – “RAMONDA”

Serbian singer-songwriter Teya Dora will be representing the country with the song “Ramonda”, named after the flower Natalie’s ramonda.

The flower is seen to represent the Serbian people’s struggles and victory during World War One, due to its ability to revive itself even after it’s completely dried out.

17. 🇫🇮 Finland | Windows95man – “No Rules!”

Windows95man, an alter ego of Finnish DJ Teemu Keisteri, is made for Eurovision. His performance sees him wear a retro Windows95 t-shirt and scandalously short jorts as he dances with pyrotechnics attached to his hips. Windows95man has teamed up as a duo with Henri Piispanen who dominates singing their effortlessly catchy, upbeat track “No Rules.”

18. 🇵🇹 Portugal | iolanda – “Grito”

“Grito” was written by Iolanda Costa alongside Alberto Hernández. In a recent interview she explained that she wrote the song after being invited to participate in Festival da Canção 2024, and described it as “a scream of self defence and trusting in yourself”.

19. 🇦🇲 Armenia | LADANIVA – “Jako”

Ladaniva have dropped the video energetic song Jako, ahead of their trip to Malmö in May. The duo is made up of Armenian vocalist Jaklin Baghdasaryan and French multi-instrumentalist Louis Thomas.

20. 🇨🇾 Cyprus | Silia Kapsis – “Liar”

Although born and raised in Australia, Kapsis is of both Cypriot and Greek descent and has appeared on The Jennifer Hudson Show and various Nickelodeon programmes.

She wrote her debut single, “Who Am I?” at the age of 12, which she released in 2022, followed by “No Boys Allowed” and “Disco Dancer”.

21. 🇨🇭 Switzerland | Nemo – “The Code”

Nemo in a pink coat and white skirt performing.
Switzerland’s Eurovision entrant Nemo rehearsing. (Alma Bengtsson/EBU)

“The Code”, by Swiss singer Nemo, is described as a song that explores their experience coming out as non-binary, with the singer explaining that they didn’t “feel like a man or a woman… I had to break a few codes”.

Eurovision betting odds currently suggest the 24-year-old Swiss musician is one of the favourites to win the grand final – even before their semi-final appearance.

22. 🇸🇮 Slovenia | Raiven – “Veronika”

Combining pop and opera to create a unique sound, Raiven is a mezzo-soprano singer, as well as an author, songwriter and harpist. She’s represented Slovenia three times at Eurovision, singing “Črno Bel” in 2016, “Zažarim” in 2017, and “Kaos” in 2019.

23. 🇭🇷 Croatia | Baby Lasagna – “Rim Tim Tagi Dim”

Croatia will be represented by Baby Lasagna – a project by musician Marko Purišić – with the song “Rim Tim Tagi Dim”, a track representing a young person’s journey from Croatia in search of a bright future in another country.

24. 🇬🇪 Georgia | Nutsa Buzaladze – “Firefighter”

Nutsa Buzaladze is no stranger to competition: She finished in the top 12 in American Idol in 2023, performing “Can’t Get You Out Of My Head” with none other than Aussie pop queen Kylie.

25. 🇫🇷 France | Slimane – “Mon Amour”

Slimane started performing in the piano bars of Paris’ Pigalle district, and went on to win The Voice France in 2016. He’s since sold two million albums, and secured five Nouvelle Radio des Jeunes music awards and a Victoire de la Musique.

26. 🇦🇹 Austria | Kaleen – “We Will Rave”

Last but not least, we have Austria’s Kaleen, who is the final act in the Eurovision final running order 2024. Pop star and professional dancer Kaleen will be competing on behalf of Austria. Presenting a techno-inspired pop track, “Games”, she’s elated to “show the world” what she can do.

You can watch every single video for each Eurovision final running order 2024 song here.

The Eurovision 2024 live final will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Saturday 11th May at 8pm.