The Coronation was but the warm-up event.
Lovely to see you all, and the band left the stage.
37 countries will be competing from the outset.
Swedish entry Loreen is the hot favorite going into the Contest.John Phillips/Getty Images
Enjoy samples from all the contenders here…
The favorite going into this years competition is the Swedish entry Tattoo sung by Loreen.
She is a previous winner of the competition from 2012.
Russia will not be taking part in the Contest for the second year running.
Her lawyer said the voting process was flawed, but failed to have the result overturned.
Organizers will be hoping that the global audience for this years Contest will bounce back on last year.
The exclusion of biggest market Russia will account for part of that drop.
It will be available in the US on Peacock.
Other broadcasters include RTBF in Belgium, Canal 13 SPA in Chile and MKRTV in North Macedonia.
