MALMÖ, Sweden — The Eurovision Grand Final has begun in Malmö, opening with a message from Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, and a montage celebrating host nation Sweden.

Protests over Israel's inclusion in the contest continue outside Malmö Arena. There have also been tensions inside, with fans booing organizers ahead of the broadcast.

In the Grand Final round, audiences can vote for the duration of the performances, shortly before the first song until about 25 to 40 minutes after the last song. 

Each performance is evaluated by a jury of music industry professionals as well as viewers watching the show. Viewers can vote by telephone, text message or through the official Eurovision app. You cannot vote for your own country.

Even if your country isn’t participating, you can still vote for your favorite song. Eurovision allows anyone in the world to vote on its website for a fee of 1 euro ($1.08).

The winner of the Eurovision Song Contest will take home the iconic glass microphone, which Eurovision has given out since 2008.

It's "made of solid transparent glass with sand-blasted and painted detailing," according to Eurovision's website. "The song writers and composers of the winning entry also receive smaller versions of the trophy," Eurovision said.

MALMÖ, Sweden — While the vocals at Eurovision must be performed live onstage, the music you hear in songs is not actually coming from the instruments onstage.

In an interview in Malmö this week, John Stenersen, who plays key harp in Gåte, told NBC News that “it’s kind of weird to see your fingers but the sound doesn’t come from your instrument. But it looks correct. The right timing and everything.”

His bandmate Magnus Børmark, who plays guitar, added, “We’re so physical onstage, and we have all this dancing going on anyway and now we can focus on that. But it has also made us realize the value of the movement and how we synchronize and how our movements actually express our song and how important it is for the total experience of the act.”

MALMÖ, Sweden — Fans can look forward to a performance from last year’s Eurovision winner Loreen, and a reunion for the Swedish pop group Alcazar, known for tracks like “Crying at the Discoteque.”

While the band is not quite as famous as ABBA, it has had chart success over the years in Europe, particularly with its song “Crying at the Discotheque.”

Alcazar has also tried to reach the Eurovision stage before, competing five times in the Swedish selection show Melodifestivalen, but always coming up short. While it has broken up and reformed several times, the current lineup is made up of singers Andreas Lundstedt, Lina Hedlund and Tess Merkel.

Known for its glitz, glamor and eccentricity, the Eurovision Song Contest will attract millions of viewers from across the globe when the Grand Final begins Saturday in Malmö, Sweden.

But a show that has become compulsory annual viewing for many has more humble beginnings as an attempt to heal the wounds of post-World War II Europe, while also achieving the technological marvel of beaming live television pictures into countries across the continent. 

“This was really an experiment in the nascent technology of television,” historian Dean Vuletic told NBC News last month about the competition, which was first held in the picturesque Swiss city of Lugano in 1956 — as TV sets first became a fixture in people’s homes. 

Read the full story here.

The reigning champion of Eurovision is Sweden’s Loreen, who took home her second trophy in 2023 for the song “Tattoo,” more than a decade after she won the 2012 contest with “Euphoria.”

Some of the biggest names in music are among Eurovision’s pantheon of past winners. Céline Dion claimed a Eurovision trophy for Switzerland in 1988 with her song “Ne partez pas sans moi,” while Ireland’s Johnny Logan and the U.K.’s Lulu are among the celebrated artists in their home countries to have brought home trophies.

Recent winners of Eurovision include Duncan Laurence, whose 2019 winning track “Arcade” grew into a viral hit with more than a billion Spotify streams, and the rock band Måneskin, who won Eurovision in 2021 for Italy with “Zitti e buoni,” have become global stars and earned a Grammy nomination last year.

Most Eurovision winners do not find global fame — but some go on to distinguish themselves in other ways outside the contest. Ruslana, who won for Ukraine in 2004 with “Wild Dances,” later became an MP and a leading voice in the country’s pro-European movement, while Russia was reported to have declared Ukraine’s 2016 winner Jamala a wanted woman last year over her advocacy amid the war in Ukraine.

The odds currently favor a Croatia victory, but as with any live performance, anything can happen. The artist from Croatia, Baby Lasagna, will sing “Rim Tim Tagi Dim,” a song about a farm boy who leaves his home in the country for more opportunities in a city.

Israel, Switzerland, France and Ukraine round out the top five countries favored to win it all during Saturday’s Grand Final.

Israel’s participation in Eurovision was the source of boycott calls and protests this week, as pro-Palestinian protesters flocked to Malmö.

Thousands participated in protests on Thursday. On Saturday, crowds of people also began to gather outside Malmö Arena ahead of the Grand Final.

Some protesters carried Palestinian flags.

This year, organizers took steps to minimize the chance of political statements from making it on TV, saying they reserve the right to remove Palestinian flags from those entering the actual arena.