YouTube Serves As Live Streaming Home For Eurovision Song Contest

Each year, European nations (and Australia) send their best young musicians to the Eurovision Song Contest, a continent-wide competition that has occurred each year since 1956. Eurovision carries a fair amount of prestige; previous winners have included ABBA and Celine Dion, whose victories in the competition led to successful mainstream careers.

This year’s Eurovision festivities are currently underway, and the easiest way for viewers to check out the semifinals and finals can be found on YouTube. On Eurovision’s official channel, which has tallied more than a billion views to date, the ultimate two rounds on the competition will be streamed live.

Eurovision is split into two semifinals, each of which will be live streamed on YouTube. The first will be broadcast from 4-6 PM EST on May 19th, and the second will occur during the same time period on the 21st. The top seven competitors will compete in the final, which will be streamed live on May 23rd between 4-7:35 PM EST

In addition to the live streams, the Eurovision channel contains a lot of other videos related to the annual contest. Among other offerings, viewers can check out behind-the-scenes features, playlists showcasing the competitors, and teasers for the upcoming stream.

YouTube is a logical home for Eurovision, since some of this year’s contestants, such as Estonian entrant Elina Born, run their own channels on the site. Tune in beginning today if you want to see which musician ultimately takes the title; the streams will be available in all but four countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and China) around the world.