Georgia launches Eurovision Song Contest challenge

Four young musicians representing Georgia will take to the stage in Stockholm to represent their home country in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016.

Nika Kocharov and the Young Georgian Lolitaz will represent Georgia in the competition's second semi-final in Sweden's capital tomorrow.

The annual competition unveiled its first finalists on May 10 following the first semi-final that involved performers from 18 countries.

After each country performed, their acts received votes from 21 countries. Results from the polls were combined with the judges’ ruling, thus narrowing the finalists to 10.

The same situation will happen for the second group of semi-finalists, including Georgia.

Georgia’s musical act will be among a second group of 18 artists and bands who are all vying to become one of the shortlisted bands after performing on Thursday, May 12.

Nika Kocharov and the Young Georgian Lolitaz held their first rehearsal for the show last week and spoke about their entry, a song named Midnight Gold.

See Nika Kocharov and the Young Georgian Lolitaz rehearse for their Eurovision Song Contest:

The contest features three live shows; two semi-finals and one grand final run in a weekly schedule.

The Eurovision Grand Final will be held on Saturday May 14 – two days after the second semi-final takes place.

The musical event involves 42 representatives from the European Broadcasting Union, an alliance of public media outlets.

Nika Kocharov and the Young Georgian Lolitaz are the contest's entries from the Georgian Public Broadcaster after they were selected as the country's representatives last year.

Artists and bands from Georgia have participated in Eurovision nine times, with singer Nina Sublatti finishing 11th among 27 finalists in 2015.

This year's show is hosted at the Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden. Photo by Andres Putting/ European Broadcasting Union.

According to the rules, the show's hosts (Sweden for this year's contest) and representatives from the competition's "big five" countries - Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy and France - are guaranteed a place in the grand final while the remaining contestants must compete for the remaining spots.

Established in 1956, this year's Eurovision contest celebrates its 61st edition and is being held at the Globe Arena in Stockholm.

The competition is broadcast around the world and watched by about 180 million viewers every year, including the thousands who visit the live shows in the host country.

The full list of participants for this year's Eurovision Song Contest can be viewed on the official website here.