Earlier this week LRT the national broadcaster of Lithuania, announced the Heat 1 running order for the first eleven acts competing in Pabandom iš Naujo! 2022. Now LRT has announced more details of the national final format. This includes an eight act Final on Saturday February 12.
Pabandom iš Naujo! 2022
Last month LRT confirmed the full list of 36 participants taking part in Pabandom iš Naujo! 2022. All 36 acts will participate in one of three Heats. Due to Basas Pegasus moving from Heat 1 to Heat 2 for unforeseen circumstances, this will create uneven Heats. From each Heat, six acts will advance to the Semi-Finals.
During the two Semi-Finals, the 18 remaining acts are divided into two groups of nine. Whereby 4 acts from each will advance to the eight act Final. Thus an increase on last year, which had six acts in the Final. Throughout the national final a combination of 50% jury voting and 50% public voting will determine the results. Although voting lines stay open throughout the broadcast, the results are only shown on screen at the end. So that the audience cannot be influenced.
Meanwhile the funds raised from the votes will go towards the Eurovision 2022 staging budget. As well as this, LRT announced that €54,000 was allocated evenly amongst the artists. However it is for participation only, not for royalties to songwriters or composers.
Schedule of shows:
Below is the complete schedule for Pabandom iš Naujo! 2022 :
- First Heat – January 8
- Second Heat – January 15
- Third Heat – January 22
- Semi-Final 1 – January 29
- Semi-Final 2 – February 5
- Final – February 12
Over the next six weeks Giedrius Masalskis, Ieva Stasiulevičiūtė and Richardas Jonaitis will be hosting the show. Tune in to Heat 1 this Saturday January 8 on LRT at 7pm (GMT), 8pm (CET), 9pm (EET), 6am (AEDT) here.
Lithuania in the Eurovision Song Contest
Lithuania debuted at the contest in 1994. Their first entrant, Ovidijus Vyšniauskas with the song ‘Lopšinė mylimai‘, finished last with nil points. However, this didn’t deter them from continuing; they have participated every year since 2004.
The Semi-Final era has seen some mixed results. With Lithuania’s best finish coming in 2006 with LT United’s ‘We Are The Winners‘. Despite the title, LT United could only manage 6th. Overall, Lithuania have qualified in 10 out of 17 attempts since the introduction of the Semi-Finals.
Vilnius’ The Roop won the ticket to represent Lithuania at the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with ‘On Fire‘. The group came out on top in a very competitive 8-act Final – winning both the jury and the televote by a considerable margin.
Although not automatically re-selected for 2021, The Roop were granted an invitation to the final from the Lithuanian broadcaster. With ‘Discoteque’, they almost doubled their total votes from 2020 with a landslide 68,000 lead on second-place Gebrasy and received top scores from the whole jury.
They opened the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest by performing ‘Discoteque’ first in Semi-Final one; the first Eurovision performance since Miki’s ‘La Venda‘, which closed the 2019 Grand Final. They ultimately placed 8th with 220 points, Lithuania’s highest placing since 2006.
Will you be watching Pabandom iš Naujo! 2022? Let us know! Be sure to stay updated by following @ESCXTRA on Twitter, @escxtra on Instagram and liking our Facebook page for the latest updates! Also, be sure to follow us on Spotify for the latest music from your favourite Eurovision acts. As well as YouTube to see our reactions to the news in the run up to the 2022 contest in Turin!