The longest qualification streaks following Eurovision 2022

Image Source: EBU/SARAH LOUISE BENNETT

Going into Eurovision 2022, Ukraine was the only country who had a 100% qualifying record since the semi-final system was introduced in 2004.

And as we all know, this record continued with Kalush Orchestra's win for Ukraine at this year's competition in Turin with 'Stefania'.

So what are the current longest qualifying streaks?

We took a look:

1. Ukraine - 12 qualifications (2004 to 2022)

Ukraine have had to qualify through to the Grand Final on 12 occasions. Although they missed the competition in 2015 and 2019, in every year that Ukraine has competed they have made it through to the Grand Final.

They also made the Grand Final automatically on three occasions - in 2003 when there were no semi-finals, twice as host and once as a Top 10 the year before.

The closest they have come to missing out is when 'Be My Guest' finished 8th in semi-final 2 in 2012.

2. Sweden - 9 qualifications (2011 to 2022)

After Sweden's Anna Bergendahl failed to qualify in 2010, Sweden has gone on to make the Grand Final on every occasion, including two wins in 2012 and 2015.

Excluding 2013 and 2016 where they automatically qualified due to being the host country, Sweden finished in the Top 3 of every semi-final between 2011 and 2019. This record was broken by Tusse in 2021 who finished in seventh place in semi-final 1.

But Sweden were back to form this year with Cornelia Jakobs winning semi-final 2 and going on to finish fourth in the Grand Final.

3. Norway - 5 qualifications (2017 to 2022)

After a somewhat surprising non-qualification in 2016, Norway has made the final five times in a row including three Top 10 finishes.

Subwoolfer's qualification this year means Norway has bettered their streak of four qualifications in a row between 2012-2015. In fact they have an enviable qualification record, only failing to make the Grand Final on three occasions since 2004.

3. The Netherlands - 5 qualifications (2016 to 2022)

Although we don't count 2021's 'Birth of a New Age' as it didn't have to qualify, the Dutch still hold their five qualifications in a row ranging from Douwe Bob's 'Slow Down' in 2016 to S10's 'De diepte' this year. Can they keep it going in 2023?

5. Serbia - 4 qualifications (2018 to 2022)

After missing out on the 2017 Grand Final by finishing 11th in their semi-final, Serbia has now qualified four years running. Their best result in this streak was Konstrakta's 5th place with 'In corpore sano'.

6. Iceland - 3 qualifications (2019 to 2022)

Iceland ended a four year non-qualification streak when Hatari finished 10th at Eurovision in 2019. Daði og Gagnamagnið did even better in 2021 finishing in 4th place. This was a remarkable achievement considering the group were forced to use their rehearsal footage in both the semi-final and final due to a group member testing positive to COVID.

This year the streak just managed to continue when Systur finished in 10th place in semi-final 1 and went on to finish 23rd in the Grand Final.

6. Switzerland - 3 qualifications (2019 to 2022)

Switzerland is another country whose recent fortunes at Eurovision have dramatically turned around. After failing to qualify four years running, they achieved a 4th place in 2019 (Luca Hanni) and a 3rd place in 2021 (Gjon's Tears). This was followed up by Marius Bear's 17th place in this year's Grand Final...can they make it four in a row in 2023?

6. Greece - 3 qualifications (2019 to 2022)

After failing to qualify in 2018, Greece have now made the Grand Final for three years in a row including two Top 10 finishes in 2021 and 2022. This years' 8th place by Amanda Georgiadi Tenfjord's 'Die Together' was their best result since 2013 and proves they are a force to be reckoned with.

6. Azerbaijan - 3 qualifications (2019 to 2022)

Azerbaijan scraped in to the final this year with Nadir Rustamli's 'Fade to Black' finishing in 10th place in semi-final 2. This makes a three year qualification streak for Azerbaijan who have only ever failed to qualify once since they first entered the competition in 2008. In 2018, Aisel finished in 11th place in semi-final 1 with 'X My Heart', breaking a nine qualifications in a row streak which included their win in 2011.

And the winning streak ends for...

Unfortunately Cyprus, Bulgaria, Albania and Israel all ended their three year or more winning streaks with their non-qualifications this year.

2022 marks the first year that Cyprus and Bulgaria have not qualified since 2013 although Cyprus did not compete in 2014 and Bulgaria took a break from 2014-15 and again in 2019.

Albania last failed to qualify in 2017 whilst Israel's last non-qualification was in 2014, although they were an automatic qualifier as the host nation in 2019.

On the other end of the scale these nations are struggling:

Georgia - 5 non-qualifications (2017 to 2022)

Since qualifying for the 2016 Grand Final with 'Midnight Gold', the Georgians have missed out on every occasion thereafter. They were unlucky finishing 11th in 2017 with 'Keep the Faith' but also saw a last place in the semi-final in 2018 and a second-last in 2021. This year sadly saw no improvement with Circus Mircus' 'Lock Me In' coming in last place in the second semi-final.

Latvia - 5 non-qualifications (2017 to 2022)

After Justs with 'Heartbeats' made the Grand Final in 2016, it's been heartbreak for Latvia. Laura Rizzotto did come close in 2018 with 'Funny Girl' but they've also had two last places in the semi-final with Triana Park and Samanta Tina. 2022 saw disappointment again for Latvia with 'Eat Your Salad' by Citi Zeni finishing 14th in the first semi-final.

Montenegro - 5 non-qualifications (2016 to 2022)

Montenegro took a break in 2021 but this year's non-qualification by Vladana saw a continuation of five non-qualifications in a row. Their last appearance in the Grand Final was in 2015 when Knez finished 13th with 'Adio', their best ever result in the competition.

Croatia - 4 non-qualifications (2018 to 2022)

Croatia's last Grand Final qualification was Jacques Houdek with 'My Friend' in 2017 however Albina did come agonizingly close in 2021. She finished in unlucky 11th place in the first semi-final by a mere five points. Sadly for Croatia, the tradition continued this year with Mia Dimšić also finishing in 11th place in semi-final 1 although this time the margin was 28 points. How unlucky can a country be? Hopefully their fortunes turn around in 2023.

On three non-qualifiers each is Austria and Ireland with neither country qualifying for the Grand Final since 2018.

And the losing streak ends for...

Neither Poland or Romania had qualified for the Grand Final since 2017 but fortunes changed for both countries this year. Poland's Ochman finished 12th with 'River' after placing sixth in the second semi-final. Romania's WRS qualified to the final in 9th place from semi-final 2 and ultimately finished in 18th place.

Will some of these top nations drop out and can some of these struggling nations make it back to the Grand Final? All will be revealed in 2023!