Eurovision Song Contest 2018

Eurovision Song Contest 2018
The Eurovision Song Contest 2018 was the 63rd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Lisbon, Portugal, following the country's victory at the with the song "" by Salvador Sobral. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster (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 and Catarina Furtado, and Portuguese-American actress Daniela Ruah, 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 with the song "Toy", performed by Netta and written by Doron Medalie and Stav Beger. Cyprus, Austria, Germany and Italy rounded out the top five, with Cyprus achieving their best result to date. Israel won the public vote, and came third in the jury vote behind Austria and Sweden. Further down the table, the Czech Republic also achieved its best result to date, finishing sixth.
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 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.
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, 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, 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 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 (also called Terreiro do Paço), a large central square open to the Tagus river.
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 (MAAT) in Lisbon's Belém district. This preceded the official Opening Ceremony of the 2018 contest, which took place at the nearby Electricity Museum.
Participating 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.
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. 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 and 2011 editions.
Returning artists
The contest featured two representatives who also previously performed as lead vocalists for the same countries. Alexander Rybak won for Norway in performing "Fairytale" (and also sang entry No. 1500) and Waylon placed second for the Netherlands in as part of The Common Linnets performing "Calm After the Storm".
The contest also featured 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 featured 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 , 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 . SuRie, representing the United Kingdom, backed for Belgium 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.
Other countries
Active EBU members
Active EBU member broadcasters in , and confirmed non-participation prior to the announcement of the participants list by the EBU. Despite hopes expressed by past representatives Sertab Erener (2003 winner), Hadise (2009) and maNga (2010), Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey Bekir Bozdağ and Turkish broadcaster TRT denied any plans for a return of the country.
Associate EBU members
broadcaster Khabar Agency became an associate member of the EBU on 1 January 2016. This opened up the possibility of their participation since 2017, under the condition of a special invitation, as for Australia. The country was not invited in 2017 but broadcast all the shows. Turkvision Song Contest 2014 winner Zhanar Dugalova expressed interest in representing her country at the 2018 contest; however, the country was not invited in 2018 either and it did not appear on the final list of participants.
Non-EBU members
broadcaster RTK, with the support of national broadcasters across the Balkans (except for and ), expressed hopes to become an EBU member in order to debut at the 2018 contest; however, the EBU clarified that this was not possible due to the limited international recognition of Kosovo and the country not being a UN member.
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 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, 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
Lisbon
Monsanto
Monsaraz
Praça do Comércio, Lisbon
Tagus River, Lisbon
Lisbon
Podence
Mafra
Sintra
Albufeira
Viana do Castelo
Lisbon
Calheta
Ílhavo
Óbidos
Eduardo VII Park and Museu da Marioneta, Lisbon
Porto Santo Island
A rooftop bar, Lisbon
Porto
Benagil
Caramulo
Alter do Chão
Vidago
A flea market, Lisbon
Lisbon
Palace of the Marquises of Fronteira, Lisbon
Lisbon
Ericeira
Tagus River
Arouca
Lisbon Oceanarium, Lisbon
Funchal
A winery, Porto
Faial Island
São Miguel Island
Serra da Estrela
Porto
Vila Nova de Milfontes
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 Sílvia Alberto, Filomena Cautela, and Catarina Furtado, together with actress Daniela Ruah. 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 also host the green room.
The Blue Carpet opening ceremony was hosted by actress , radio host , actor/TV host and actor/director . 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, 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, mayor of Kyiv (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 singers Ana Moura and Mariza 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 duo Beatbombers. The interval acts included Salvador Sobral, who performed his new single "Mano a mano" and his Eurovision-winning song "" (the latter in a duet with Brazilian singer Caetano Veloso), and electronic music performances by Branko featuring Sara Tavares, Mayra Andrade and Dino D'Santiago.
Contest overview
Semi-final 1
The first semi-final took place on 8 May 2018 at 20:00 WEST (21:00 CEST).
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 WEST (21:00 CEST). 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, 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 WEST (21:00 CEST). 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.
Spokespersons
The spokespersons announced the 12-point score from their respective country's national jury in the following order:
Tural Asadov
Naviband
John Kennedy O'Connor
OG3NE
Jana Burčeska
Lara Azzopardi
Tamara Gachechiladze
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
Dragana Kosjerina
Hovig
Arsen Grigoryan
Olina Xenopoulou
Nataša Šotra
Barbara Schöneberger
Anna Abreu
Alsou
Letícia Carvalho
Lucy Ayoub
Mateusz Szymkowiak
Eglė Daugėlaitė
Maja Keuc
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.
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-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's performance of her song "Toy", critics of the song accused Netta of 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 buns, as well as Maneki-nekos being shown during the performance.
The topic was debated on British morning show Good Morning Britain on 14 May 2018 in response, with television presenters Trisha Goddard and Piers Morgan defending Netta 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 that Alekseev had performed a Russian-language version of his EuroFest entry "Forever" (as "") in May 2017 in Stavropolbefore 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 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 Czech Republic's performance, Mikolas Josef reportedly sustained injuries to his back while rehearsing and was subsequently hospitalised. Josef subsequently posted an update on his Istagram, 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 also stated that he would, however, "perform no matter what". Josef's performance in the first semi-final on 8 May was slightly altered to accommodate his injuries.
Censorship in the Chinese broadcast
During the Chinese broadcast of the first semi-final on Mango TV, the performances of Albania and Ireland were edited out of the show, along with their snippets in the recap of all 19 entries. Albania was cut due to a ban on television performers displaying tattoos that took effect in January 2018, while Ireland was censored due to its representation of a homosexual couple on-stage. In addition, the LGBT flag and tattoos on other performers were also blurred out from the broadcast. As a result, the EBU 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 final in the country. A spokesperson for the broadcaster's owner 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 that "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, who represented 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 final performance with the previous evening's jury show performance. However, the BBC uploaded the original performance, including the stage invasion, to its 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 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, "Toy" performed by Netta; 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 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 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.
Charts
See also
Eurovision Young Musicians 2018
Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018
Notes
References
External links
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
Obscenity controversies in television
Censorship in China