How to watch 'Eurovision Song Contest,' so you don't miss out on the music and the madness
For years, Americans had to track down clever ways to play voyeur to the pleasures of Eurovision Song Contest, a competition of songwriting that has delighted audiences in Europe since 1956. Whether or not you're hip to the wonders of Eurovision, now is the time to join in the fun. Not only is this competition full of jaw-dropping fashion, strange songs, and sensational spectacle, but it's also easier to watch than ever before thanks to NBC.
How to watch Eurovision
In the U.S., Eurovision Song Contest will be streaming on Peacock. NBC Universal's streaming service picked up the rights to Eurovision Song Contest in 2021, which means Peacock is home to the Semi-finals and Finals from last year, which was full of treasures. But if you want to get caught up on the excitement ahead of the 2022 finals this weekend, you need to treat yourself to the Semi-Finals.
Eurovision 2022: Semi-Finals 1 aired live on May 10, and is now available for replay on demand. Eurovision 2022: Semi-Finals 2 will begin on May 12, 11:55 AM PT/2:55 PM EST, and will be available for replay after airing. The advantage to watching live is you can join the vocal Twitterverse that's reacting in real-time. But the advantage to waiting (aside from the European time zones making the U.S. livestream a bit inconvenient) is that you can fast forward through in-between bits and rewind to rewatch the acts that truly blew your mind. Like Norway's Subwoolfer perhaps?
Keeping to the NBC family, Olympian and Olympics commentator Johnny Weir has been tapped to provide color commentary for American audiences. If you want the stats on how many times a country has entered, made it to the finals, or won, Weir has got you covered. He also gets into the fun by indulging in fierce fashion, dancing, and attempting to imitate instruments on occasion. Yet for all the localized dazzle that Peacock is providing to American audiences, the main event is all about the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 finale in Torino, Italy.
The Eurovision finale will air live on Peacock on Saturday, May 14 at 11:55 AM PT/2:55 PM EST. A total of 25 acts will perform live, each representing a foreign nation, which does include non-European countries like Australia. So, for the cost of your Peacock subscription, you get a front-row seat to the most outrageous and storied song contest the globe has ever seen. Tune in or miss out.