What are the rules of Eurovision? From flags to costumes

Eurovision’s grand final will take place on Saturday, with Olly Alexander of Years and Years competing on behalf of the UK.

But as well as the fun that comes with the annual showing, there are also strict rules which must be adhered to by all countries.

The rules are established by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and are approved by the contest’s governing body, the Reference Group.

So how will it work and what are the rules for the annual contest?

The songs performed at the show are not allowed to have been released and/or publicly performed before a release date, set by the show organisers.

This is done to not give any country an advantage by their song being more well known than any others. If a song is released early, the country can be banned from performing it and must come up with a new entry to compete.

Each song must be a maximum of three minutes long and must have gone through a national selection process by each country.

The stage shows must be kept the exact same as the ones performers do in dress rehearsals, and cannot be changed on the night of the final.

No lip-syncing is allowed, and no live animals are allowed on the stage as part of a performance. Only six artists are allowed on stage for any one country performance.

All artists must be at least 16 years of age to represent their country in the final and no artist can compete for more than one country in any given year.

Nearly everything goes and some have even appeared nude on stage in the past. However, full nudity is banned.

There are however strict rules on what fans can take in to show their support for their favourite acts.

Only flags under a certain size are allowed into the arena and ticket holders have been warned that all prohibited items must be surrendered at the entrance and will not be returned.

Items that will be confiscated include certain belts, bracelets and even selfie sticks. Chairs, backpacks, air horns and laser pens are also on the list of things that are banned.

Fans will be able to bring in hand-held flags but these must be no larger than 5 m x 1 m, and flag sticks have been banned.

The competition is famed for its complex voting procedures, and this year is no different.

Viewers from participating countries will be invited to vote for their favourite songs on the night of the grand finale on Saturday, May 11.

Voting at the 2024 grand final will open just before the first song begins. It will remain open during the performances and up to 40 minutes after the final song is performed.

Fans can vote over the phone, by text, or via the Eurovision app.

Each person can vote up to 20 times but voters will be unable to select their own country’s entry.

The public votes make up 50 per cent of the total vote, with the other half determined by a professional jury in each participating country.

After viewers have cast their votes, a national spokesperson from the participating countries will be called in to present the points of their professional jury, which range from the maximum “douze points” (12) to zero.

After the presentation of the scores from the juries, the public points from all participating countries will be combined, providing one score for each song and a winner will be crowned.