[Robert Williams]

The start time for the contest even went as late as 10pm in the late 60s/early 70s. This may be related to the fact that this was around the experimental period from 1968 to 1971 when the UK stayed on GMT+1 all year round, and thus would presumably have been aligned with CET during the winter (the contest was usually broadcast in March in those days, so before when the clocks would otherwise have gone forward) - although frankly it's making my head hurt trying to figure it out for certain!

[AJB39]

Another reason the contest starts at 9pm CET is because the main evening news airs at 8pm CET in many European countries including France and Germany.

[Brekkie]

Their entertainment shows tends to run much later and for longer too. Eurovision is only slightly longer than some regular shows in Germany - they even had an episode of Beat the Star last over 6 hours.

[Andrew]

Yes it all depends on the context of the country’s usual prime time schedule

If it was scheduled unacceptably late I’m sure one or more of the big countries would have tried to push through a change by now

Moving it an hour earlier certainly wouldn’t be a problem here, if it was suggested I doubt the BBC would kick up a fuss.

[ConorW2000]

will be interesting to see if the BBC keeps the Semi Finals on BBC One next year.

the viewing numbers for the semi finals this year were very good.

[Toby brown]

will be interesting to see if the BBC keeps the Semi Finals on BBC One next year.

the viewing numbers for the semi finals this year were very good.

I doubt it they do very well with young people so that's why they are mostly on bbc3 they were only  on BBC one this year because it was in the UK next year it's abroad so it will probably go back to normal

[Kim Wexler’s Ponytail]

It’s probably worth keeping them on One for at least next year to see how how many of the millions of newcomers stick with them. They may never rate as well as the final but compared to the couple of hundred thousand they used to pull in it would be a waste to tuck them away again.

[Newshound47]

Yes it all depends on the context of the country’s usual prime time schedule

If it was scheduled unacceptably late I’m sure one or more of the big countries would have tried to push through a change by now

Moving it an hour earlier certainly wouldn’t be a problem here, if it was suggested I doubt the BBC would kick up a fuss.

I think the Semis could suffer a bit in the ratings if they were 19.00 -21.10 rather than 20.00-22.10.

[Brekkie]

will be interesting to see if the BBC keeps the Semi Finals on BBC One next year.

the viewing numbers for the semi finals this year were very good.

Is 2.4m "very good" nowadays?   I'd have expected closer to 4m myself but I think it is a figure that is enough to justify keeping them on BBC1 - or at least BBC2.   It's far cheaper to fill the 4 hours on BBC3 than BBC1/2.

The main win is airing the semi finals to a wider audience didn't seem to hurt the ratings for the grand final.   BBC3 could perhaps air a spin-off Extra show to air across the week and before the final.

[MorganLamia]

Loving all the videos emerging today of the stage transformations during the postcards.

twitter.com 

I don't know how common of a practice it is, but it's a great idea how they have yellow markings on the floor displays during set-up to show the crew precisely where each prop/piece of staging should be placed, down to the exact shape of each item and even the name. Very efficient and helpful for everyone, I'm sure.