Netherlands through to Eurovision finals; S10 performing in first half on Saturday

The Netherlands is through to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday. Singer S10 secured a spot with her song De Diepte on Tuesday during the first semifinal in Turin. As expected, Ukraine is also through. According to the betting shops, the war-torn country has the best chance of winning this year. 2.2 million viewers in the Netherlands tuned in to watch the first semifinal, according to Stichting Kijkonderzoek.

Seventeen countries competed for ten places in the final on Tuesday. Switzerland, Armenia, Iceland, Lithuania, Portugal, Norway, Greece, and Moldova also passed. The Netherlands was the last finalist to be announced.

S10 will perform in the first half of the finals in Turin on Saturday. Switzerland, Armenia, Portugal, Norway, and Ukraine will also take to the stage in the first part of the final. Iceland, Lithuania, Greece, and Moldova will perform in the second half.

The second semifinal will take place on Thursday. Eighteen countries, including Finland, Australia, Ireland, Belgium, and Sweden, will compete for ten spots in the final. Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and Great Britain, the "Big Five" countries, have already secured a place in the final.

The Big Five countries have already drawn lots. Spain, France, and Germany will perform in the first half. The host country Italy is ninth in turn. Great Britain takes the stage during the second half. The producers will determine the exact order of the final later.

Thanks to S10, the Netherlands is in the final for the sixth consecutive year. This makes the Netherlands one of the best scoring countries in recent years. Only Sweden and Ukraine have achieved even longer runs. Ukraine even qualified for the finals for the seventeenth year in a row on Tuesday evening. The country, which has participated since 2003, has not missed a single final.

Since Anouk helped the Netherlands out of a deep Eurovision valley in 2013, only Trijntje Oosterhuis failed to reach the final in 2015. Before that,t the Netherlands had a record series of eight missed finals in a row. Since then, the Netherlands has been seriously participating again, with The Common Linnets' second place in 2014 and Duncan Laurence's win in 2019 as highlights.

With De Diepte, the Dutch language will be heard again at the Eurovision Song Contest final for the first time in 24 years. The last time that happened was in 1998 when Edsilia Rombley took fourth place with Hemel en Aarde in Birmingham, UK. Since 1999, countries have been free to determine which language they want to sing on the Eurovision stage.

After the rules changed, the Netherlands only opted for a Dutch entry one other time. In 2010 Sieneke dropped out in the semifinals with the song Ik Ben Verliefd (Sha-la-lie).