Eurovision Song Festival 17

Semi-finals dates
 Semi-final 2 date
 Final date
 Venue
 Presenter(s)
 Conductor
 Director
 Executive supervisor
 Host broadcaster
 Number of entries
 Debuting countries
 Returning countries
 Voting system
 Null points
 Winning song

The Eurovision Song Festival 17 was the seventeeth edition of the Eurovision Song Festival. The contest was held in the Ondrej Nepela Arena in Bratislava, Slovakia following the victory of DJ Blyatman and Lera Valeryanka with the song "Beton" in the Eurovision Song Festival 16. It was the second time that Slovakia hosted the Eurovision Song Festival, as it also hosted the first edition of the contest. The contest was organised by the European Broadcasting Organisation (EBO) in cooperation with host broadcaster Rozhlas a televízia Slovenska (RTVS) and the contest consisted of two semi-finals on 19 and 21 September, and the final on 23 September. The live shows were hosted by singers Kristína, Mária Čírová, and Tina.

A total of 46 countries participated in the contest. Austria, Malta, and Portugal all returned after a break of four, three, and one edition respectively.

## Location

The Eurovision Song Festival 17 was held in the Ondrej Nepela Arena, Slovakia, following the country's victory at the 16th edition of the contest with the song "Beton", performed by DJ Blyatman and Lera Valeryanka. It was the second time Slovakia hosted the Eurovision Song Festival, as the country did host the Eurovision Song Festival 1 in the Samsung Aréna in Bratislava.

### Selection of the host city

Just after the victory of DJ Blyatman and Lera Valeryanka at the 16th edition of the contest, RTVS launched a bidding competition for cities to apply if they wished to host the Eurovision Song Festival. Eventually, four cities submitted a successful bid to host the contest and the city presented three different venues. On the 12th of January, it was announced that Bratislava would host the contest.
  †   Host venue
  ‡   Shortlisted

## Format

### Semi-final allocation draw

For the third time in the history of the Eurovision Song Festival, a semi-final allocation draw was used to divide the participating countries in multiple pots, in order to guarantee a fair voting process. Besides the fact that semi-finalists were now allocated in different pots, the members of the big 6 were divided between the two semi-finals as well, as from this edition on members of the big 6 vote along the semi-finalists. This measure was put into place to increase interest in the semi-finals from tv-viewers from the big 6 countries. Host country Slovakia, Spain and Finland were allocated to vote in the first semi-final, while Georgia, Israel and Turkey were allocated to vote in the second semi-final.

### Postcards

The postcards form short introduction videos to each of the individual participants, while also showcasing beautiful spots of the host nation. Each postcard is approximately 30 seconds long. The postcards for the 17th edition of the Eurovision Song Festival were filmed between August and September, in order to show Slovakian cities, cultural spots, and nature during summer. The postcards featured mostly aerial shots of interesting tourist hotspots of the country. At every location, the artist sang a small part of their song acapela. The following locations were used for each participating country:

## Participating countries

On 12 January 2023, the EBO announced that a total of 46 countries would take part in the contest. Austria, Malta and Portugal returned, while Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia withdrew.

### Semi-final 1

The first semi-final took place on 19 September 2023 at 21:00 (CEST). A total of twenty countries participated in the first semi-final. Those countries plus host country Slovakia, Spain and Finland voted in this semi-final. The highlighted countries qualified for the final.

### Semi-final 2

The second semi-final took place on 21 September 2023 at 21:00 (CEST). A total of twenty countries participated in the first semi-final. Those countries plus Georgia, Israel and Turkey voted in this semi-final. The highlighted countries qualified for the final.

### Final

The final took place on 23 September 2023 at 21:00 (CEST). Twenty-six countries participated in the final, with all forty-six participating countries eligible to vote.

## Scoreboard

### Semi-final 1

#### 12 points

12 points awarded by juries

12 points awarded by televoting

### Semi-final 2

#### 12 points

12 points awarded by juries

12 points awarded by televoting

### Final

#### 12 points

12 points awarded by juries

12 points awarded by televoting

## Other countries

Eligibility for potential participating in the Eurovision Song Festival requires a national broadcaster with active EBO membership that would be able to broadcast the contest via the Eurovision network. The EBO issued an invitation to participate in the contest to all active members.

* Austria - After an absence of four editions, Austria announced its comeback by launching an open call for singers to submit their songs to the broadcaster on January 1, 2023.
* Belarus - The EBO announced that both Belarus and Russia would not be able to continuously compete in the contest since no broadcaster in the country which is not state-controlled meets the EBO criteria. This meant that both countries were forced to withdraw from the contest.
* Kazakhstan - The Kazakh broadcaster Khabar TV announced that the country would not take part this edition, with the broadcaster evaluating the country's results in the last few editions. The broadcaster however announced that it would seek to re-enter the contest as soon as possible.
* Kosovo - Following the cancellation of Eurofestival 1, a show similar to the Eurovision Song Festival but then for smaller countries, RTK voiced its hope to eventually appear on the stage of the Eurovision Song Festival. The EBO denied that Kosovo would be able to enter in the near future, but that 'the door for the country's participation is not closed definitively.'
* Lebanon - Following the country's first ever non-qualification and the ongoing humanitarian and financial crisis in the country, several prominent figures within the country called for the broadcaster to withdraw. The country appeared on the final list of participating countries, however.
* Malta - The country appeared on the final list of participating countries published on January 12, 2023, meaning that it would return to the contest after a break of three editions. Shortly after, the Maltese broadcaster confirmed it was in discussions with Britney Spears to represent the country, since the broadcaster wanted to come back to the contest in a 'spectacular way.' Eventually, Britney Spears declined the offer to compete for Malta and Kylie Minogue was selected instead.
* Portugal - RTP, the Portugese broadcaster, announced that it would return to the contest in December 2022. A new delegation was put together and the broadcaster announced that it aimed to launch a national final to select the Portugese entry.
* Russia - The EBO announced that both Belarus and Russia would not be able to continuously compete in the contest since no broadcaster in the country which is not state-controlled meets the EBO criteria. This meant that both countries were forced to withdraw from the contest.

## Other awards

### Best male vocals

In this category, music professionals could vote for the entry which featured the strongest male vocals.

 2
 3

### Best female vocals

In this category, music professionals could vote for the entry which featured the strongest female vocals.

 2
 3

### Best composition

In this category, music professionals could vote for the entry which was both lyrically and musically the best composed.

 2
 3

### Biggest surprise

In this category, music specialists could vote for the entry with the most (positively) surprising result.

 2
 3