The Eurovision Song Contest 2021 was held on May 18, May 20 (Semi-Finals) and May 22 (Grand Final).

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  • Italy won. The rockband Måneskin came fourth with the jury's, but the televoters awarded their title Zitti e buoni with the highest number of points. After the festival the band gained a worldwide audience with their winning song, and with some other songs they had recorded before.
  • France was second and Switzerland third.
  • This was a first: the audience gave zero points to four countries - The Netherlands, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom. The latter also got zero points from the jury's, so the country ended last in the list.
  • There were 39 contestants. For various reasons (see below) Armenia and Belarus dropped out.
  • Because of the COVID-19 pandemic the audience was smaller than during other years. In addition, every country was asked to send in a ‘live on tape’ performance in which they mimic their performance in Rotterdam. These tapes were supposed to be used when a contestant fell ill, or when a country was unable to travel to Rotterdam (as was the case for Australia).
  • One of the members of the Icelandic delegation tested positive on COVID19, so the band couldn't perform. In stead a recording of the rehearsals was used. The country landed a neat fourth spot.
  • Also Duncan Laurence, the 2019 winner, was tested positive after the first semi final. Therefore he was not allowed to perform in the final, and couldn't hand the trophy to his successors.
  • On March 11 the European Broadcasting Union rejected the entry by Belarus because it was deemed too political. The band Galasy ZMesta (which translates to ’The voice of reason’) had shown support for dictator Lukashenko in the past. The lyrics they sang could also be interpreted in that context. On March 26 it became clear that the replacement song was rejected too, which officially brought an end to Belarus’s participation for this contest. And the coming years' as well, since the countries EBU membership was cancelled.
  • Armenia withdrew. Officially because there wasn’t enough time to prepare a good entry. Unofficially it is speculated that the weaponized conflict with Azerbaijan was the reason for the decision.
  • The EBU made a radical change this year, which might remain a one-time decision: backing vocals (the number of which can be as high as the artist wants) were allowed to be pre-recorded. So there was no need for a live choir anymore, although this was still allowed.