A supergiants

A-type supergiants are the primary targets for the quantitative spectroscopy of individual stars in nearby galaxies because of their intrinsic brightness. An overview is given on the non-LTE techniques required for their analysis. Applications concentrate on placing observational constraints on evolutionary models for massive stars and their host galaxies by detailed abundance analyses. Results from high-resolution studies of A-type supergiants in Local Group galaxies and from intermediate-resolution multi-object spectroscopy of supergiants far beyond the Local Group are summarised.