The Flag Parade or Parade of Nations is a prelude to the Contest's Grand Final. First held in 2013, it forms part of the show's opening act.
Variations[]
The Flag Parade is used to introduce all finalists of the Contest in their running order. Exceptions where the host country entered last are the 2017 and 2018 contests.
Year | Format |
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2013 | The parade was marched along an overhead bridge. A song titled "We Write the Story" by Avicii with ABBA members Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson served as the background music during the parade. This also marks the only parade where countries were not announced individually. |
2014 | Countries were announced in English, French, and the national language of the respective countries with their flag projected on the LED screen behind them. |
2015 | Participants would make their way from the Green Room to the stage, via a "bridge" created within the standing section of the arena. The countries were announced by Conchita Wurst, the host for the Green Room. |
2016 | A house music medley comprising of songs from popular Swedish house musicians such as the Swedish House Mafia and Avicii served as the background music. In a fashion show setting, models wearing hand-folded paper costumes walked down the "runway" and posed as each finalist's flag was projected onto the model's costume to introduce the artist.
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2017 | The countries were announced by Pavlo Shylko, who was a presenter for the 2005 Contest. Each artist emerged from a projection of their flag. |
2018 | Flagbearers were dressed in a style typical of sailors. A live music remix by scratching beatboxers served as the background music. |
2019 | The opening act involved Executive Supervisor Jon Ola Sand as an air traffic controller with Netta Barzilai "landing an airplane carrying the finalists", where they would all "disembark" in an airport setting. Dancers dressed as flight attendants carrying light-up flags swung them to create enough "energy" to light up the roof of the venue in the flag of each finalist. The countries were announced in the format of "Welcome (in the national language of the respective countries), <country> (in English)". |
2021 | A remix of "Venus" by Shocking Blue was created by DJ Pieter Gabriel as the background music. Augmented reality projected each finalist's flag and country name on stage. |
2022 | The sun was lit up in the colors of each finalist's flag as the artists emerged from either side carrying the flag of their respective countries. Each country's name was projected via augmented reality against the waterfall in front of the stage. |
2023 | Each artist walks out from center stage carrying the flag of their respective countries, accompanied by a mix of British pop music and updated versions of past Ukrainian Eurovision entries.
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2024 | The artists walk out carrying the flag of their respective countries to a mix of Swedish pop music.
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