The Eurovision Song Contest 2018 was the 63rd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Lisbon,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, following the country's victory at the with the song " Amar pelos dois" by

Salvador Sobral Salvador Thiam Vilar Braamcamp Sobral (; born 28 December 1989) is a Portuguese singer, who won the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 for with the song " Amar pelos dois," written and composed by his sister, Luísa Sobral. In doing so, he gave its ...

. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster

Rádio e Televisão de Portugal Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP) is the public service broadcasting organisation of Portugal. It operates four national television channels and three national radio stations, as well as several satellite and cable offerings. The current co ...

(RTP), the contest was held at the Lisbon Arena, and consisted of two semi-finals on 8 and 10 May, and a final on 12 May 2018. The three live shows were presented by Portuguese television presenters Filomena Cautela,

Sílvia Alberto Sílvia Alberto (born 18 May 1981) is a Portuguese television presenter and actress, currently employed by Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. She began her career in 2000, presenting ''Clube Disney'' on RTP1. She was one of the hosts of the 2018 ...

and

Catarina Furtado Catarina Cardoso Garcia da Fonseca Furtado (born 25 August 1972) is a Portuguese television presenter, actress and UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador. Catarina was born in Lisbon and is a daughter of RTP journalist Joaquim Furtado. Career Throughout ...

and Portuguese-American actress

Daniela Ruah Daniela Sofia Korn Ruah (born December 2, 1983) is an American-Portuguese actress and film director best known for playing NCIS Special Agent Kensi Blye in the CBS police procedural series '' NCIS: Los Angeles''. Early life Ruah was born in Bo ...

, marking the first time that the contest was presented by four hosts. Forty-three countries participated in the contest, equalling the record of the and editions. returned after their absence from the previous edition, and for the first time since , no country that participated in the previous edition withdrew. The winner was

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

with the song "

Toy A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pet ...

", performed by

Netta ''Netta'' is a genus of diving ducks. The name is derived from Greek ''Netta'' "duck". Unlike other diving ducks, the ''Netta'' species are reluctant to dive, and feed more like dabbling ducks. These are gregarious ducks, mainly found on fres ...

and written by Doron Medalie and Stav Beger.

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

rounded out the top five, with Cyprus achieving their best result to date. Further down the table, the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

also achieved their best result to date, finishing sixth.

finished in last place of the final, making it the third time that the host country ranked in the bottom five since . For the first time since the introduction of the semi-finals in ,

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

, and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

all failed to qualify for the final. Also, for the first time since , no countries of the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

region (, and Azerbaijan) participated in the final. The EBU reported that the contest had a worldwide audience of around 186 million viewers, surpassing the 2017 edition by over 4 million.

Location

Venue

The Lisbon Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena built for the

Expo '98 Expo '98 (1998 Lisbon World Exposition) was an official specialised World's Fair held in Lisbon, Portugal from Friday, 22 May to Wednesday, 30 September 1998. The theme of the fair was "The Oceans, a Heritage for the Future", chosen in part to c ...

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 The Parque das Nações (; en, Park of the Nations), colloquially known as Expo (as the site of the 1998 Lisbon World Exposition), is a ''freguesia'' (civil parish) of Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. Located in eastern Lisbon, Parque das Naçõ ...

(Park of Nations) riverside district in the northeast of Lisbon, which was completely renovated to host the 1998

world's fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

. It is connected by

metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urb ...

to the nearby international airport and by train ( Oriente Station) to the rest of the country and Europe.

Bidding phase

On the day of the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 final, it was reported that Portuguese broadcaster

(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 Jon Ola Sand (; born 21 December 1961) is a Norwegian television executive. He was the European Broadcasting Union's Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest from 2011 to 2020. Personal life He is the son of revue writer and actor Bj ...

, 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 the Lisbon Arena 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 Kyiv: *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 Braga ( , ; cel-x-proto, Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality has a resident population of 193,333 inhabitants (in ...

, Espinho, Faro, Gondomar, Guimarães, and

Santa Maria da Feira Santa Maria da Feira () is a city and a municipality in Aveiro District in Portugal, 23 km from central Porto. The population in 2011 was 139,309, The mayor of

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

, 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 The Porto Metropolitan Area ( pt, Área Metropolitana do Porto; abbreviated as AMP) is a metropolitan area in northern Portugal centered on the City of Porto, Portugal's second largest city.Fernanda Paula Oliveira (2009), The metropolitan area, ...

(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 , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

. 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 the 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 the Lisbon Arena is located, as the site for the shows. Key: Host venue

Other sites

The Eurovision Village was the official Eurovision Song Contest fan and sponsors area during the event weeks, where it was possible to watch performances by contest participants and local artists, as well as the live shows broadcast from the main venue. It was located in Lisbon's downtown

Praça do Comércio The Praça do Comércio (; ) is a large, harbour-facing plaza in Portugal's capital, Lisbon, and is one of the largest in Portugal, with an area of 175 by 175 m (574 by 574 ft), that is, 30,600 m2 (329,000 ft2). Facing the Tagus () to the South, ...

(also called ''Terreiro do Paço''), a large central square open to the

Tagus river The Tagus ( ; es, Tajo ; pt, Tejo ; see below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally west with two main south-westward sections, to ...

. The EuroClub was the venue for the official after-parties and private performances by contest participants. Unlike the Eurovision Village, access to the EuroClub was restricted to accredited fans, delegations, and press. It was located at the "Ministerium" club, next to the Eurovision Village. The "Blue Carpet" event, where all the contestants and their delegations are presented before the accredited press and fans, took place on 6 May 2018 at the

Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology The Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology ( pt, Museu de Arte, Arquitetura e Tecnologia) (MAAT) is a museum in Lisbon, Portugal. The Museum MAAT is a cultural project for the city Lisbon that is focused on three areas - Art, Architectur ...

(MAAT) in Lisbon's

Belém Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará) often called Belém of Pará, is a Brazilian city, capital and largest city of the state of Pará in t ...

district. This preceded the official Opening Ceremony of the 2018 contest, which took place at the nearby Electricity Museum.

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 The Lisbon Oceanarium ( pt, Oceanário de Lisboa, ) is an oceanarium in Lisbon, Portugal. It is located in the '' Parque das Nações'', which was the exhibition grounds for the Expo '98. It is one of the largest indoor aquariums in Europe. Arc ...

. Its visual design features oceanic motifs that allude to Lisbon and Portugal's location on the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

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 the marine ecosystem.

Postcards

The postcards, filmed between March and April 2018, involved the act emerging from a door into Portugal to take part in a themed activity, such as mountain biking, making a salad or ''

pastel de nata ''Pastel de nata'' ( (plural: ''pastéis de nata''; , )) is a Portuguese egg custard tart pastry, optionally dusted with cinnamon. Outside Portugal, they are particularly popular in other parts of Western Europe, Asia and former Portuguese colon ...

'', or visiting popular attractions. The location where the activity took place was written in Portuguese at the start of the postcard. At the end of the postcard, the act posed for the camera, the slogan's hashtag appeared on the bottom corner of the screen, and song information was printed onto the country's flag. All the postcards had the same score, composed by Luis Figueredo. * Aveiro *

Grândola Grândola () is a town (''vila'') and municipality in Setúbal District in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 14,826, in an area of 825.94 km2. Included in this municipality is Tróia (part of Carvalhal parish), a peninsula between the At ...

* Lisbon *

Monsanto The Monsanto Company () was an American agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation founded in 1901 and headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Monsanto's best known product is Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide, developed in ...

Monsaraz Monsaraz is a civil parish (''freguesia'') of the municipality of Reguengos de Monsaraz, on the right margin of the Guadiana River in the Portuguese Alentejo region, near its border with Spain. The population in 2011 was 782, in an area of 88.29&n ...

, Lisbon *

Tagus River The Tagus ( ; es, Tajo ; pt, Tejo ; see below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally west with two main south-westward sections, to ...

, Lisbon * Lisbon * * * Podence *

Mafra Mafra is a Czech media group that publishes printed and internet media, headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic. It is a subsidiary of Agrofert holding conglomerate owned by trust of Andrej Babiš, the former Prime Minister of the Czech Repu ...

Sintra Sintra (, ) is a town and municipality in the Greater Lisbon region of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The population of the municipality in 2011 was 377,835, in an area of . Sintra is one of the most urbanized and densely populat ...

Albufeira Albufeira () is a city and seat of its own municipality in the district of Faro, in the southernmost Portuguese region of Algarve. The municipality population in 2021 was 44,158, in an area of . The city proper had a population of 28,645 in 2021 ...

Viana do Castelo Viana do Castelo () is a municipality and seat of the district of Viana do Castelo in the Norte Region of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 88,725, in an area of 319.02 km². The urbanized area of the municipality, comprising the city, ...

* Lisbon * Calheta *

Ílhavo Ílhavo () is a municipality located in the centre of Portugal. The population in 2021 was 39,239, in an area of 73.48 km². The Municipality of Ílhavo includes four parishes and two cities: Gafanha da Nazaré and Ílhavo (City). General ...

* Óbidos *

Eduardo VII Park Eduardo VII Park ( pt, Parque Eduardo VII) is a public park in Lisbon, Portugal. The park occupies an area of to the north of Avenida da Liberdade and Marquis of Pombal Square in Lisbon's city center. The park is named for King Edward VII of th ...

and Museu da Marioneta, Lisbon *

Porto Santo Island Porto Santo Island () is a Portuguese island northeast of Madeira Island in the North Atlantic Ocean; it is the northernmost and easternmost island of the archipelago of Madeira, located in the Atlantic Ocean west of Europe and Africa. The munic ...

* A rooftop bar, Lisbon *

Benagil Benagil is a small Portuguese village on the Atlantic coast in the municipality of Lagoa, Algarve, in Portugal. Up to the late 20th century, the village's economy was based on ocean fishing. Now it is a tourist area with a widely used beach: ''Pr ...

Caramulo Caramulo is a town in Portugal. It is part of the civil parish of Guardão in the municipality of Tondela, Portugal. In Caramulo is housed one of the most important motor vehicle museums in Portugal. Among the exhibits are some very rare cars inc ...

* Alter do Chão *

Vidago Vidago is a village and a former-civil parish in the municipality of Chaves, in the Portuguese district of Vila Real. Until its merger into the parish of Vidago, Arcossó, Selhariz e Vilarinho das Paranheiras., the civil parish administered an ar ...

* A flea market, Lisbon * Lisbon *

Palace of the Marquises of Fronteira The Palace of the Marquesses of Fronteira ( Portuguese: Palácio dos Marqueses de Fronteira) is a Portuguese palace located in Lisbon, Portugal. History The Palace of the Marquesses of Fronteira was built in 1671 as a hunting pavilion to Don J ...

, Lisbon * Lisbon *

Ericeira Ericeira () is a civil parish and seaside community on the western coast of Portugal (in Mafra municipality, about 45km northwest of Lisbon) considered the surfing capital of Europe for being the only European spot among the World Surfing Reserve ...

* Tagus River * Arouca *

, Lisbon *

Funchal Funchal () is the largest city, the municipal seat and the capital of Portugal's Autonomous Region of Madeira, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. The city has a population of 105,795, making it the sixth largest city in Portugal. Because of its high ...

* A

winery A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, ...

, Porto *

Faial Island Faial Island (), also known in English as Fayal, is a Portuguese island of the Central Group (Portuguese: ''Grupo Central'') of the Azores. The Capelinhos Volcano, the westernmost point of the island, may be considered the westernmost point of ...

São Miguel Island São Miguel Island (; Portuguese for "Saint Michael"), nicknamed "The Green Island" (''Ilha Verde''), is the largest and most populous island in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. The island covers and has around 140,000 inhabitants, wi ...

Serra da Estrela Serra da Estrela () is the highest mountain range in Continental Portugal. Together with the Serra da Lousã it is the westernmost constituent range of the Sistema Central and also one of the highest in the system. It includes mainland Portugal's ...

* Porto *

Vila Nova de Milfontes Vila Nova de Milfontes is a town and civil parish (''freguesia'') in the municipality ('' concelho'') of Odemira, in the Alentejo region in Portugal. The population in 2021 was 5,653, in an area of 76.48 km2. History One of the older parish ...

* São Miguel Island

Presenters

RTP and EBU announced on 8 January 2018, that the contest would be hosted for the first time by four female presenters, consisting of RTP hosts

, Filomena Cautela, and

, together with actress

. It was the first time since that the contest did not feature a male presenter, and the second consecutive year that the presenters were all the same gender. It was confirmed on 4 May 2018 that Cautela would host the

green room In show business, the green room is the space in a theatre or similar venue that functions as a waiting room and lounge for performers before, during, and after a performance or show when they are not engaged on stage. Green rooms typically have ...

. The Blue Carpet opening ceremony was hosted by actress Cláudia Semedo, radio host , actor/TV host

Pedro Granger Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for ''Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning " ...

and actor/director Pedro Penim. Granger and Penim moderated the press conferences, as well.

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 CET or cet may refer to: Places * Cet, Albania * Cet, standard astronomical abbreviation for the constellation Cetus * Colchester Town railway station (National Rail code CET), in Colchester, England Arts, entertainment, and media * Comcast En ...

, at the Lisbon City Hall. The thirty-seven semi-finalists were divided over six pots, based on historical voting patterns as calculated by the contest's official televoting partner Digame. The purpose of drawing from different pots was to reduce the chance of "bloc voting" and to increase suspense in the semi-finals. The draw also determined which semi-final each of the six automatic qualifiers – host country Portugal and " Big Five" countries , , , and the – would broadcast and vote in. The ceremony was hosted by contest presenters Sílvia Alberto and Filomena Cautela, and included the passing of the host city insignia from

Vitali Klitschko Vitali Volodymyrovych Klitschko (; uk, Віта́лій Володи́мирович Кличко́ ; born 19 July 1971) is a Ukrainian politician and former professional boxer who serves as mayor of Kyiv Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyi ...

(host city of the previous contest) to Fernando Medina, 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 featured Portuguese

fado Fado (; "destiny, fate") is a music genre that can be traced to the 1820s in Lisbon, Portugal, but probably has much earlier origins. Fado historian and scholar Rui Vieira Nery states that "the only reliable information on the history of fado was ...

singers

Ana Moura Ana Cláudia Moura Pereira (born 17 September 1979), known as Ana Moura, is a Portuguese fado singer. An internationally recognized singer, she was the youngest fadista to be nominated for a Dutch Edison Award. Early life and career Ana Mo ...

and

Mariza Marisa dos Reis Nunes ComIH (born 16 December 1973), known professionally as Mariza (), is a Portuguese fado singer. Mariza was born in Lourenço Marques, Portuguese Mozambique, to a Portuguese father, José Brandão Nunes, and a Mozambican ...

performing "Fado Loucura" and "Barco Negro", respectively, which was followed by a parade of flags introducing the 26 finalist participants, with live music by Portuguese

scratching Scratching, sometimes referred to as scrubbing, is a DJ and turntablist technique of moving a vinyl record back and forth on a turntable to produce percussive or rhythmic sounds. A crossfader on a DJ mixer may be used to fade between two record ...

duo Beatbombers. The interval acts included

, who performed his new single "Mano a mano" and his Eurovision-winning song " Amar pelos dois" (the latter in a duet with Brazilian singer

Caetano Veloso Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso (; born 7 August 1942) is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicalismo, which encomp ...

), and

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroa ...

performances by Branko featuring Sara Tavares, Mayra Andrade and Dino D'Santiago.

Participating countries

It was initially announced on 7 November 2017 that forty-two countries would participate in the contest. confirmed their return after their absence the previous edition, while 's participation was provisionally blocked by the EBU due to unpaid debts by its national broadcaster

MRT MRT may refer to: Transport Rapid Transit Systems * Mass Rapid Transit (disambiguation) * MRT (Singapore) or Mass Rapid Transit, Singapore * MRT (Bangkok) or Metropolitan Rapid Transit, Thailand * Manila Metro Rail Transit System, Philippine ...

. However, ten days later, it was 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 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and 2011 editions.

Returning artists

The contest featured two representatives who also previously performed as lead vocalists for the same countries.

Alexander Rybak Alexander Igorevich Rybak (russian: Александр Игоревич Рыбак) or Alyaxandr Iharavich Rybak ( be, Аляксандр Ігаравіч Рыбак; born 13 May 1986) is a Belarusian-Norwegian singer-composer, violinist, pian ...

won for

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

in performing "

Fairytale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful beings. In most cul ...

" (and also sang entry No. 1500) and Waylon placed second for the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in as part of

The Common Linnets The Common Linnets are a Dutch band that was formed in 2013. The band originally consisted of friends Ilse DeLange and Waylon. DeLange has stated that the group is a platform for Dutch artists to make country, Americana, and bluegrass music, an ...

performing "

Calm After the Storm "Calm After the Storm" is a song by Dutch country rock duo The Common Linnets ( Ilse DeLange and Waylon). It was chosen internally to represent the Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Denmark. In the contest it placed second with ...

". The contest also featured

Jessica Mauboy Jessica Hilda Mauboy (born 4 August 1989) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. Born and raised in Darwin, Northern Territory, she rose to fame in 2006 on the fourth season of ''Australian Idol'', where she was runner-up and subseq ...

, representing Australia, after taking part in 2014 as the interval act for the second semi-final, performing "

Sea of Flags "Sea of Flags" is a song by Australian recording artist Jessica Mauboy. It was written by Mauboy, Ilan Kidron and Stuart Crichton who also served as producer of the track. The song was performed live by Mauboy on 8 May 2014 at its debut during t ...

". In addition, the contest featured four lead singers previously participating as backing vocalists, two of them for the same countries.

Lea Sirk Lea Sirk (born 1 September 1989) is a Slovenian singer, who represented her country in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2018. Biography She started her musical education at the age of five in Koper, Slovenia. Between 2001 and 2007, Lea participa ...

backed for

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

in 2014 and off-stage in , and

Equinox A solar equinox is a moment in time when the Sun crosses the Earth's equator, which is to say, appears directly above the equator, rather than north or south of the equator. On the day of the equinox, the Sun appears to rise "due east" and se ...

member Vlado Mihailov backed for

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

in 2017.

Cesár Sampson Cesár Sampson (born 18 August 1983) is an Austrian singer, songwriter, producer, dancer and model. He was also a social worker and fitness coach. He represented Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song " Nobody but You", winnin ...

, representing

, backed for Bulgaria in 2016 (also as a dancer) and off-stage in . SuRie, representing the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, backed for

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

in (also as a dancer) and was the musical director again for Belgium in 2017. Sara Tavares, who performed in the interval act, was the representative from Portugal in the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest, with the song " Chamar a música" reaching 8th place.

Semi-final 1

The first semi-final took place on 8 May 2018 at 20:00

WEST West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

(21:00

CEST CEST or cest may refer to: * Central European Summer Time (UTC+2), daylight saving time observed in the central European time zone * Cognitive-Experiential Self-Theory * Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer, a subset of Magnetization transfer in ...

). Nineteen countries participated in the first semi-final. Those countries, plus , , and the voted in this semi-final. The highlighted countries qualified for the final.

Semi-final 2

The second semi-final took place on 10 May 2018 at 20:00

(21:00

). Eighteen countries participated in the second semi-final. Those countries, plus , and voted in this semi-final. The highlighted countries qualified for the final. With the approval from the Reference Group, Italy broadcast and voted in the second semi-final following a request from Italian broadcaster

RAI RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...

, as the date of the first semi-final coincided with the scheduled final of the fifth season of '' The Voice of Italy''.

Final

The final took place on 12 May 2018 at 20:00

(21:00

). Twenty-six countries participated in the final, with all 43 participating countries eligible to vote. The running order for the final was revealed after the press conference of the second semi-final qualifiers on 10 May.

Detailed voting results

Semi-final 1

12 points

Below is a summary of the maximum 12 points awarded by each country's professional jury and televote in the first semi-final. Countries in bold gave the maximum 24 points (12 points apiece from professional jury and televoting) to the specified entrant.

Semi-final 2

12 points

Below is a summary of the maximum 12 points awarded by each country's professional jury and televote in the second semi-final. Countries in bold gave the maximum 24 points (12 points apiece from professional jury and televoting) to the specified entrant.

Final

12 points

Below is a summary of the maximum 12 points awarded by each country's professional jury and televote in the final. Countries in bold gave the maximum 24 points (12 points apiece from professional jury and televoting) to the specified entrant.

Spokespersons

The spokespersons announced the 12-point score from their respective country's national jury in the following order: # # Tural Asadov #

Naviband Naviband (stylysed as NAVIBAND, until late 2016 also called NAVI) is a Belarusian band from Minsk. The band was founded a duo between vocalist and guitarist Arciom Lukjanienka and vocalist and keyboardist Ksienija Žuk, later also featured guitar ...

John Kennedy O'Connor John Kennedy O'Connor (born 1964) is a television and radio broadcaster, author and entertainment commentator. He was born in North London, but is a naturalized citizen of the United States. He has written, reported and broadcast for numerous m ...

O'G3NE OG3NE ( ) is a Dutch three-piece music group. The group is made up of sisters Lisa, Amy, and Shelley Vol, the latter two of the three being fraternal twins. In 2007, they represented the Netherlands in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2007 wit ...

Jana Burčeska Jana Burčeska ( mk, Јана Бурческа, ; born 6 July 1993) is a Macedonian singer. She represented Macedonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Ukraine, with the song " Dance Alone". Burčeska first came to prominence in her native c ...

# Lara Azzopardi #

Tamara Gachechiladze Tamara "Tako" Milanova (; ka, თამარა "თაქო" მილანოვა, ; born 17 March 1983) is a Georgian singer, songwriter and actress. She represented Georgia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017, with the song "Keep the ...

# Nieves Álvarez # Kati Bellowitsch # Ulla Essendrop # Mel Giedroyc # Felix Sandman # Dagmāra Legante # Andri Xhahu # Uršula Tolj # Nicky Byrne # Sonia Argint-Ionescu # # Edda Sif Pálsdóttir # Djulieta Ardovan # Danira Boukhriss # Aleksander Walmann and Jowst # Élodie Gossuin # Giulia Valentina Palermo # Ricardo Gonçalves # # # Hovig Demirjian, Hovig # Arsen Grigoryan (singer, born 1982), Arsen Grigoryan # # Olina Xenopoulou # # Nataša Šotra # Barbara Schöneberger # Anna Abreu # Alsou # Letícia Carvalho # Lucy Ayoub # Mateusz Szymkowiak # Eglė Daugėlaitė # Maja Keuc #

Other countries

Eligibility for participation in the Eurovision Song Contest requires a national broadcaster with European Broadcasting Union#Members, active EBU membership, or a special invitation from the EBU as in the case of Australia.

Active EBU members

* – 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. * – Steve Schmit, the Director of Programming at the Luxembourgish broadcaster (RTL Télé Lëtzebuerg, 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 . * – 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. * – On 12 July 2017, Sertab Erener, who won for Turkey in Eurovision Song Contest 2003, 2003, announced on an Instagram live chat that Turkey would return and wished luck to the next representative. Manga (band), maNga, the Eurovision Song Contest 2010, 2010 Turkish representatives, and Hadise, the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, 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 Bozdağ, 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

* – 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 Eurovision 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 (Kazakhstan), 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

* – 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 and Herzegovina, 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. * – On 1 September 2017, 1 FL TV, the national broadcaster of the Liechtenstein, Principality of Liechtenstein confirmed that the country would not debut in 2018. However, on 4 November 2017, 1 FL TV announced that they are planning a debut in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2019.

Broadcasts

The European Broadcasting Union provided international live streams of both semi-finals and the grand final through their official YouTube channel with no commentary. The live streams were Geo-blocking, geo-blocked to viewers in Bolivia, Canada, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, United States, Uruguay and Venezuela due to rights limitations. Countries may add commentary from commentators working on-location or remotely at the broadcaster. Commentators can add insight to the participating entries and the provision of voting information.

Incidents

Accusations of cultural appropriation

Following eventual winner Netta Barzilai's performance of her song "

", critics of the song accused Barzilai of Cultural appropriation, culturally appropriating Japanese culture, with several users taking to social media to call the performance "offensive". The accusations were made after she wore a kimono and Bun (hairstyle), buns, as well as Maneki-nekos being shown during the performance. The topic was debated on British morning show Good Morning Britain (2014 TV programme), Good Morning Britain on 14 May 2018 in response, with television presenters Trisha Goddard and Piers Morgan defending Barzilai by stating that she was simply implementing elements of Japanese culture due to her own appreciation of it. English journalist Rebecca Reid disagreed, arguing "It's not a beautiful, loving representation of real Japanese culture. It's a costume".

Belarusian song submission

On 10 January 2018, it had emerged on Russian social media site VK (social networking website), VK that Ukrainian singer Alekseev (singer), Alekseev had performed a Russian language, Russian-language version of his Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018, ''EuroFest'' entry "Forever (Alekseev song), 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 National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus, BTRC following a melodic revamp of the song, and went on to win the selection, thus earning the right to represent Belarus in the contest. 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 would opt to sing that version of the song in May. A few weeks after that announcement, on 28 March 2018, Alekseev premiered a new version of his entry with a lighter intro and additional choir at the end of the track. He also confirmed that this version would be the one performed in Lisbon.

Czech rehearsal injuries

On 29 April 2018, during the first rehearsal of the

's performance, singer Mikolas Josef reportedly sustained injuries to his back while rehearsing and was subsequently taken to hospital. The singer updated his fans on Instagram, stating "I can confirm that I got injured during the rehearsal and the situation got worse after several hours. I can't even walk now. Got back from the first hospital and I am now heading to another one". He stated that he would, however, "perform no matter what". Josef performed in the first semi-final on 8 May with a slightly altered performance, owing to his injuries, and ultimately finished sixth in the final, achieving the Czech Republic's best result to date. He was also the second Czech contestant to qualify for the final, the other being Gabriela Gunčíková in .

China’s Mango TV censorship

During the Chinese broadcast of the first semi-final on Mango TV, the performances of Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018, Albania and Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018, Ireland were edited out of the show, along with their snippets in the recap of all 19 entries. Albania was skipped due to a ban on television performers displaying tattoos that took effect in January 2018, while Ireland was LGBT rights in China, censored due to its representation of a homosexual couple on-stage. In addition, the Rainbow flag (LGBT movement), LGBT flag and tattoos on other performers were also blurred out from the broadcast. As a result, the EBU has terminated its partnership with Mango TV, citing that censorship "is not in line with the EBU's values of universality and inclusivity and its proud tradition of celebrating diversity through music," which led to a ban on televising the second semi-final and the grand final in the country. A spokesperson for the broadcaster's owner Hunan Broadcasting System, Hunan TV said they "weren't aware" of the edits made to the programme. Ireland's representative, Ryan O'Shaughnessy told the BBC in an interview, "they haven't taken this lightly and I think it's a move in the right direction, so I'm happy about it."

United Kingdom stage invasion

The performance of SuRie, representing the United Kingdom, in the final was disrupted by a man who rushed onto the stage and grabbed her microphone, reportedly shouting "For the Nazis of the UK media, we demand freedom! War is not peace." The man, later identified as 'Dr ACactivism', a political activist from London, climbed into a camera run to get access to the stage. SuRie was able to complete her performance, and after the song the broadcast cut to an unscheduled interview in the green room. The EBU offered SuRie and her team the opportunity to perform again, but she declined. SuRie later revealed that she had suffered several bruises on her right hand. Shortly after the live broadcast on YouTube, the final was taken down and reuploaded in its entirety, with SuRie's interrupted performance edited out and substituted with her jury show performance from the previous evening. The official reupload also retains the unscheduled green room interview with the Ukrainian delegation that followed the stage invasion. The official DVD release also replaces the interrupted grand final performance with the previous evening's jury show performance. However, the British national broadcaster BBC uploaded the original Saturday performance, including the stage invasion, to their YouTube channel.

Other awards

In addition to the main winner's trophy, the Marcel Bezençon Awards and the Barbara Dex Award were contested during the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest. The OGAE, "General Organisation of Eurovision Fans" voting poll also took place before the contest.

Marcel Bezençon Awards

The Marcel Bezençon Awards, organised since 2002 by Sweden's then-Head of Delegation and 1992 representative Christer Björkman, and 1984 winner Herreys, Richard Herrey, honours songs in the contest's final. The awards are divided into three categories: Artistic Award, Composers Award, and Press Award. The winners were revealed shortly before the Eurovision final on 12 May.

OGAE

OGAE, an organisation of over forty Eurovision Song Contest fan clubs across Europe and beyond, conducts an annual voting poll first held in 2002 as the Marcel Bezençon Fan Award. After all votes were cast, the top-ranked entry in the 2018 poll was also the winner of the contest, "

" performed by

; the top five results are shown below.

Barbara Dex Award

The Barbara Dex Award is a humorous fan award given to the worst dressed artist each year. Named after Barbara Dex, Belgium's representative who came last in the 1993 contest, wearing her self-designed dress, the award was handed by the fansite House of Eurovision from 1997 to 2016 and is being carried out by the fansite ''Songfestival.be'' since 2017.

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 Music download, digitally on 6 April 2018 and physically on 20 April 2018.Eurovision Song Contest Lisbon 2018
Amazon (company), Amazon. The album features all 43 participating entries, including the semi-finalists that failed to qualify for the grand final.

Charts

Notes

References

External links

* * {{Eurovision Song Contest Eurovision Song Contest 2018, Eurovision Song Contest by year, 2018 Music festivals in Portugal 2018 in Portugal 2018 song contests May 2018 events in Portugal Events in Lisbon Music in Lisbon Censorship of broadcasting Obscenity controversies in music Television controversies

Location

Venue

Bidding phase

Other sites

Format

Visual design

Postcards

Presenters

Semi-final allocation draw

Opening and interval acts

Participating countries

Returning artists

Semi-final 1

Semi-final 2

Final

Detailed voting results

Semi-final 1

12 points

Semi-final 2

12 points

Final

12 points

Spokespersons

Other countries

Active EBU members

Associate EBU members

Non-EBU members

Broadcasts

Incidents

Accusations of cultural appropriation

Belarusian song submission

Czech rehearsal injuries

China’s Mango TV censorship

United Kingdom stage invasion

Other awards

Marcel Bezençon Awards

OGAE

Barbara Dex Award

Official album

Charts

See also

Notes

References

External links