The Eurovision Song Contest 2018 will be the 63rd edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It will take place for the first time in Portugal following the country's first victory at the 2017 contest in Kiev, Ukraine with the song "Amar pelos dois", performed by Salvador Sobral. The contest will be held at the Altice Arena in Lisbon and will consist of two semi-finals on 8 and 10 May and a final on 12 May 2018. The three live shows will be hosted by Filomena Cautela, Sílvia Alberto, Daniela Ruah and Catarina Furtado.
Forty-three countries will participate in the contest, equalling the record of the 2008 and 2011 editions. Russia will return after their absence from the previous edition, and for the first time since 2011, no country will be withdrawing from the contest.
Video Eurovision Song Contest 2018
Location
The contest will take place for the first time in Portugal, following the country's victory in the 2017 edition with the song "Amar pelos dois", performed by Salvador Sobral.
Bidding phase and host city selection
On the day of the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 final, it was reported that Portuguese broadcaster Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP) would accept the challenge of organising the 2018 contest in case of a victory. Following Sobral's triumph, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU)'s Executive Supervisor for the Eurovision Song Contest, Jon Ola Sand, issued the hosting invitation to RTP during the winner's press conference. The following day, the director-general of RTP, Nuno Artur Silva, confirmed that the broadcaster would organise the contest in 2018 and mentioned MEO Arena (later renamed Altice Arena) in Lisbon as a likely venue to host the contest. On 15 May 2017, RTP appeared to have confirmed Lisbon as the host city, but clarified the following day that no final decision had been taken regarding both the host city and venue.
The basic requirements to select a host city were set out in a document presented by the EBU to RTP following their win in Kiev:
- A suitable venue that can accommodate around 10,000 spectators.
- An international press centre for 1,500 journalists with adequate facilities for all the delegates.
- A good distribution of hotel rooms, at different price categories, able to accommodate at least 2,000 delegates, accredited journalists and spectators.
- An efficient transport infrastructure, including a nearby international airport with readily available connections with the city, venue and hotels.
Besides Lisbon, other cities signalled their interest in bidding to host the 2018 contest: Braga, Espinho, Faro, Gondomar, Guimarães, and Santa Maria da Feira. The mayor of Porto, Rui Moreira, declared he would not be interested in "spending millions of euros" to host the contest, but he would support a bid from the Metropolitan Area of Porto (Espinho, Gondomar and Santa Maria da Feira).
On 13 June 2017, RTP representatives met with the Eurovision Song Contest Reference Group at the EBU headquarters in Geneva. During the meeting, RTP officials attended a workshop covering several topics related with hosting the Eurovision Song Contest and learned from the experience of the Ukrainian broadcaster UA:PBC. They also had the opportunity to present their first plans for the 2018 contest, including multiple proposals for host city and venue.
On 25 July 2017, the EBU and RTP announced that Lisbon had been selected as the host city, overcoming confirmed bids from Braga, Gondomar, Guimarães and Santa Maria da Feira. In addition, RTP indicated the Parque das Nações, where Altice Arena is located, as the site for the shows.
Key: Host venue
Venue
The Altice Arena in Lisbon is a multi-purpose indoor arena built for the Expo '98 and has a capacity of 20,000 attendees, making it the largest indoor venue in Portugal and among the largest in Europe. It is located in the Parque das Nações (Park of Nations) riverside district in the northeast of Lisbon, which was completely renovated to host the 1998 world's fair. It is connected by metro to the nearby international airport and by train (Oriente Station) to the rest of the country and Europe.
Other sites
The Eurovision Village is the official Eurovision Song Contest fan and sponsors area during the event weeks, where it is possible to watch performances by artists and DJs, as well as the live shows broadcast from the main venue. It will be located in Lisbon's downtown Praça do Comércio (also called Terreiro do Paço), a large central square open to the Tagus river, and will open to the public on 4 May 2018.
The EuroClub is the venue for the official after-parties and private performances by contest participants. Unlike the Eurovision Village, access to the EuroClub is restricted to accredited fans, delegations and press. It will be located close to the Eurovision Village, and will run from 6-12 May.
The "Blue Carpet" event, where all the contestants and their delegations are presented before the press, fans and public, will take place on 6 May 2018 at the Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology (MAAT) in Lisbon's Belém district. This will precede the official Opening Ceremony of the 2018 contest, which will take place at the nearby Electricity Museum.
Maps Eurovision Song Contest 2018
Format
Visual design
The theme for the contest, All Aboard!, was unveiled on 7 November 2017 in a press conference held at the Lisbon Oceanarium. Its visual design features oceanic motifs that allude to Lisbon and Portugal's location on the Atlantic coast and to the country's seafaring history. Alongside the main emblem, which depicts a stylised seashell, twelve supplemental emblems were designed to symbolise different aspects of a marine ecosystem. The contest's Executive Supervisor Jon Ola Sand remarked that the theme and logos "resonate with Lisbon's history and underscore Eurovision's core values, including diversity, very well. The Ocean connects all of us and its variety can provide good inspiration for each of the participating broadcasters that we look forward to seeing in Lisbon next May."
Presenters
On 8 January 2018, RTP and EBU announced that the contest would be hosted for the first time by four female presenters, consisting of RTP hosts Sílvia Alberto, Filomena Cautela and Catarina Furtado, together with actress Daniela Ruah. It will be the first time since 2015 that the contest does not feature a male presenter, and the second consecutive year that the presenters are all the same gender.
The Blue Carpet opening ceremony will be hosted by actress Cláudia Semedo, radio host Inês Lopes Gonçalves, actor/TV host Pedro Granger and actor/director Pedro Penim. Granger and Penim will also moderate the press conferences.
Semi-final allocation draw
The draw to determine the allocation of the participating countries into their respective semi-finals took place on 29 January 2018 at 13:00 CET, at Lisbon's City Hall. The thirty-seven semi-finalists had been allocated into six pots, based on historical voting patterns as calculated by the contest's official televoting partner Digame. Drawing from different pots helps to reduce the chance of so-called "bloc voting" and increase suspense in the semi-finals. The draw also determined which semi-final would be broadcast and voted by each of the six automatic finalist countries (hosts Portugal and Big Five countries France, Germany, Italy, Spain and United Kingdom). The ceremony was hosted by contest presenters Sílvia Alberto and Filomena Cautela, and included the passing of a Eurovision insignia from Vitali Klitschko, the Mayor of Kiev (host city of the previous contest), to Fernando Medina, the Mayor of Lisbon.
Opening and interval acts
RTP released the first details regarding the opening and interval acts for the final on 12 March 2018. The opening act of the final will feature a duet performance by Portuguese fado singers Mariza and Ana Moura, which will precede a parade of flags introducing the finalist countries, with live music by Portuguese scratching duo Beatbombers. The interval acts in the final will include Salvador Sobral, who will perform "Amar pelos dois" and a new single, as well as a duet with Brazilian musician Caetano Veloso, and electronic music performances by Branko featuring Sara Tavares, Mayra Andrade and Dino D'Santiago.
Participating countries
The EBU announced on 7 November 2017 that forty-two countries would participate in the contest. Russia confirmed their return after withdrawing from the previous edition, while Macedonia's participation was provisionally blocked by the EBU due to unpaid debts by its national broadcaster. However, ten days later, the EBU announced that Macedonia would be allowed to enter the contest, raising the number of participating countries to forty-three, equaling the highest number of participants with the 2008 and 2011 editions.
Returning artists
The contest will feature two representatives who also previously performed as lead vocalists for the same countries. Alexander Rybak won for Norway in 2009 performing "Fairytale" and Waylon placed second for the Netherlands in 2014 as part of The Common Linnets performing "Calm After the Storm".
The contest will also feature Jessica Mauboy, representing Australia, after taking part in 2014 as the interval act for the second semi-final, performing "Sea of Flags". In addition, the contest will feature four lead singers previously participating as backing vocalists, two of them for the same countries. Lea Sirk backed for Slovenia in 2014 and off-stage in 2016, and Equinox member Vlado Mihailov backed for Bulgaria in 2017. Cesár Sampson, representing Austria, backed for Bulgaria in 2016 (also as a dancer) and off-stage in 2017. SuRie, representing United Kingdom, backed for Belgium in 2015 (also as a dancer) and was the musical director again for Belgium in 2017.
Semi-final 1
Nineteen countries will participate in the first semi-final. Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom will vote in this semi-final.
- 1.^ A version with some lines in Lithuanian was sung in the national selection show and in pre-party held in Tel Aviv, but the official video and lyrics are entirely in English. It was confirmed that the end of the song will be sung in Lithuanian in the contest.
- 2.^ Contains a sentence repeated twice in Hebrew.
- 3.^ Although the lyrics are in English, the Spanish title 'Fuego' is repeated throughout the song.
Semi-final 2
Eighteen countries will participate in the second semi-final. France, Germany and Italy will vote in this semi-final.
With the approval from the Reference Group, Italy will broadcast and vote in the second semi-final following a request from the broadcaster RAI, as the date of the first semi-final coincides with the scheduled final of the fifth season of The Voice of Italy.
- 4.^ Contains some phrases in the Torlakian dialect.
- 5.^ Contains a phrase repeated twice in Icelandic.
- 6.^ Although the title is in English, the song itself is entirely in the Georgian language.
Final
Twenty-six countries will participate in the final, with all 43 participating countries eligible to vote.
- 7.^ "O jardim" features uncredited vocals from Portuguese singer Isaura.
Other countries
Eligibility for participation in the Eurovision Song Contest requires a national broadcaster with active EBU membership, or a special invitation from the EBU as in the case of Australia.
Active EBU members
- Andorra - The Director General of Ràdio i Televisió d'Andorra (RTVA) announced on 14 May 2017 that Andorra would not participate in the contest, due to financial difficulties and the restructuring of the company.
- Bosnia and Herzegovina - On 18 September 2017, BHRT confirmed that Bosnia and Herzegovina would not return to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2018.
- Luxembourg - Steve Schmit, the Director of Programming at the Luxembourgish broadcaster (RTL), explained last year the reasons against participating in the Eurovision Song Contest. He also underlined that Luxembourg's chance for success in the contest is limited: "I believe that (with) the enlargement of Eurovision, the days (of victory) are gone. With the new voting system, it is very unlikely that Luxembourg is successful. Small countries are somewhat more troubled now". Luxembourg last participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1993.
- Monaco - On 31 August 2017, Monegasque broadcaster TMC confirmed that Monaco would not participate in the 2018 contest.
- Slovakia - Eríka Rusnáková, press spokesperson of the Slovak broadcaster Radio and Television of Slovakia (RTVS), confirmed on 11 September 2017 to Czech Eurovision website Eurocontest.cz that the country would not participate in the 2018 contest.
- Turkey - On 12 July 2017, Sertab Erener, who won for Turkey in 2003, announced on an Instagram live chat that Turkey would return and wished luck to the next representative. maNga, the 2010 Turkish representatives and Hadise, the 2009 Turkish Representative, also expressed their interests for Turkey returning to the contest. Despite these statements, on 7 August 2017, the Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey, Bekir Bozda?, issued a statement saying that there were no plans for a return. The same day, TRT confirmed their non-participation in the 2018 contest.
Associate EBU members
- Kazakhstan - Khabar Agency became an associate member of the EBU on 1 January 2016, opening up the possibility of future participation. They broadcast all the shows in 2017. Furthermore, the winner of the Turkvision Song Contest 2014, Zhanar Dugalova, said she would be interested in representing Kazakhstan in the contest. However, on 25 September, Khabar Agency told Esctoday that: "We have no information about Kazakshtan's participation in Eurovison 2018 yet", maintaining the possibility of the country being invited by the EBU, as it is entirely at the EBU's discretion to extend an invitation like in the case of Australia. The EBU however, chose not to invite Kazakhstan, as seen in the list of participants. On 22 December 2017, it was claimed that Channel 31 had finalised negotiations with the EBU, allowing Kazakhstan to debut in 2019, however, on 23 December 2017, the EBU told Esctoday that: "Channel 31 Kazakhstan has indeed expressed interest in becoming a Member of the EBU and hence participate in the Eurovision Song Contest. However, since Channel 31 is outside the European Broadcasting Area and is also not a member of the Council of Europe, it is not eligible to become an active Member of the EBU".
Non-EBU members
- Kosovo - Kosovar media reported that RTK was hopeful that they would debut in the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest in Portugal. In an article published by RTK the Director of Television at the Kosovar broadcaster stated that he had received the support of national broadcasters across the Balkans to participate in the competition. However, both Bosnia & Herzegovina and Serbia had opposed such participation. The EBU then sent a letter to RTK explaining that Kosovo cannot participate in the ESC, because it is not a UN member and it is not a fully recognised state.
- Liechtenstein - On 1 September 2017, 1 FL TV, the national broadcaster of the Principality of Liechtenstein confirmed that the country will not debut at the upcoming Eurovision edition in Lisbon. However, on 4 November 2017, 1 FL TV announced that they are planning a debut in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2019.
Commentators and spokespersons
Spokespersons
- Belgium - Danira Boukhriss Terkessidis
- Cyprus - Hovig (Cypriot representative in 2017)
- France - Élodie Gossuin
- Georgia - Tamara Gachechiladze (Georgian representative in 2017)
- Germany - Barbara Schöneberger
- Greece - Olina Xenopoulou
- Israel - Lucy Ayoub
- Italy - Giulia Valentina Palermo
- Poland - Marcelina Zawadzka
- Slovenia - Maja Keuc (Slovenian representative in 2011)
- Spain - Nieves Álvarez
- Sweden - Felix Sandman
- Switzerland - Letícia Carvalho
- United Kingdom - Mel Giedroyc
Commentators
Most countries will send commentators to Lisbon or comment from their own country, in order to add insight to the participants and, if necessary, the provision of voting information.
Non-participating countries
- China - No commentary, with subtitles in Chinese (Hunan TV, all shows, delayed to 12pm local time)
- United States - Ross Mathews and Shangela (Logo TV, final)
Incidents
Belarusian song submission
On 10 January 2018, it had emerged on Russian networking site VK that Ukrainian singer Alekseev had performed a Russian-language version of his EuroFest entry "Forever" (as Navsegda) in May 2017 in Stavropol - before 1 September 2017, the submission deadline set by the EBU, potentially violating the rules of the contest. Six artists threatened to withdraw from the selection if it were allowed to compete, with Sofi Lapina actually doing so. Alekseev was ultimately allowed to compete by BTRC following a melodic revamp of the song, and went on to win the selection, thus representing Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. However, on 23 February 2018, it was reported that the EBU had given Alekseev permission to perform his original English-language version of the song at the contest, and he will opt to sing that version of the song in May. Few weeks after that announcement, on 28 March 2018 Alekseev premiered a new official version of his Eurovision entry with a lighter intro and additional choir at the end of the track. He also confirmed that this version will be the one performed in Lisbon.
Other awards
The Marcel Bezençon Awards, the OGAE voting poll and the Barbara Dex Awards are awards that will be contested by the entries competing at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018, in addition to the main winner's trophy.
Marcel Bezençon Awards
The Marcel Bezençon Awards were first handed out during the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 in Tallinn, Estonia, honouring the best competing songs in the final. Founded by Christer Björkman (Sweden's representative in the Eurovision Song Contest 1992 and the current Head of Delegation for Sweden) and Richard Herrey (a member of the Herreys and the Eurovision Song Contest 1984 winner from Sweden), the awards are named after the creator of the annual competition, Marcel Bezençon. The awards are divided into three categories: Press Award, Artistic Award, and Composer Award. The winners are revealed shortly before the Eurovision final.
OGAE
Organisation Générale des Amateurs de l'Eurovision (more commonly known as OGAE) is an international organisation that was founded in 1984 in Savonlinna, Finland by Jari-Pekka Koikkalainen. The organisation consists of a network of over 40 Eurovision Song Contest fan clubs across Europe and beyond, and is a non-governmental, non-political, and non-profit company. In what has become an annual tradition for the OGAE fan clubs, a voting poll will run prior to the main Eurovision Song Contest allowing members from over 40 clubs to vote for their favourite songs of the contest.
*Table reflects the 2018 voting results from 41 out of 44 OGAE clubs.
Barbara Dex Award
The Barbara Dex Award is a fan award originally awarded by House of Eurovision from 1997 to 2016, and since 2017 by songfestival.be. This is a humorous award given to the worst dressed artist each year in the contest, and was named after the Belgian artist, Barbara Dex, who came last in the 1993, in which she wore her own self designed dress.
Official album
Eurovision Song Contest: Lisbon 2018 is the official compilation album of the contest, put together by the European Broadcasting Union and released by Universal Music Group digitally on 6 April 2018 and physically on 20 April 2018. The album features all 43 participating entries, including the semi-finalists that failed to qualify for the grand final.
See also
- Eurovision Asia Song Contest 2018
- Eurovision Young Musicians 2018
- Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018
References
External links
- Official website
Source of article : Wikipedia
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