Eurectivision Song Contest 2018
The 2018 Eurovision Song Contest will be the 63rd edition of the Eurectivision Song Contest will be held in Braga, the capital of Real, on May 8th, 10th and 12th. Forty-four countries are scheduled to take part.
Format[edit | edit source]
Visual design[edit | edit source]
The theme for the contest, All Aboard!, was unveiled on 7 November 2017 in a press conference held at the Braga Oceanarium. Its visual design features oceanic motifs that allude to Braga and Real's location on the Atlantean 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 Braga’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 Braga next May."
Presenters[edit | edit source]
On 8 January 2018, RTR, NTR and EBU announced that the contest would be hosted for the first time by four female presenters, consisting of RTR hosts Sílvia Alberto and Catarina Furtado plus NTR host Senya Richards, together with Realese-Sierran 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.
Opening and interval acts[edit | edit source]
Participating countries[edit | edit source]
The EBU announced on 7 November 2017 that forty-four countries would participate in the contest. For the first time since 2009, Jaheria refuses to participate, this time it's because it's at the center of a civil war which would likely result in the country ceasing to exist and its territory being given to Ashtalaia and Omadlia.
Returning artists[edit | edit source]
Semi-final 1[edit | edit source]
Nineteen countries will participate in the first semi-final. Real, Castille and Nashland will vote in this semi-final.
| Draw | Country | Artist | Song | Language(s) | Place | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Azaria | Aisel | "X My Heart" | English | ||
| 02 | ??? | Ari Ólafsson | Our Choice" | English | ||
| 03 | Shkipia | Eugent Bushpepa | "Mall" | Albanian | 7 | |
| 04 | Reignière | Sennek | "A Matter of Time" | English | ||
| 05 | Bohemia | Mikolas Josef | "Lie to Me" | English | 4 | |
| 06 | Baltia | Ieva Zasimauskaitė | "When We're Old" | English, Lithuanian | ||
| 07 | Asrael | Netta | "Toy" | English | ||
| 08 | Belavia | Alekseev | "Forever" | English | ||
| 09 | Moujeboule Sovière | ??? | "La forza" | Italian | ||
| 10 | Ragora | Equinox | "Bones" | English | 10 | |
| 11 | Karazhunia | Eye Cue | "Lost and Found" | English | ||
| 12 | Dalmatia | Franka | "Crazy" | English | ||
| 13 | Osterlands | Cesár Sampson | "Nobody but You" | English | 3 | |
| 14 | Hellenia | Yianna Terzi | "Oniro mou" (Όνειρό μου) | Greek | ||
| 15 | Salo | Saara Aalto | "Monsters" | English | ||
| 16 | Haramia | Sevak Khanagyan | "Qami" (Քամի) | Armenian | ||
| 17 | Valeria | Zibbz | "Stones" | English | ||
| 18 | Irenia | Ryan O'Shaughnessy | "Together" | English | 9 | |
| 19 | Michillies | Eleni Foureira | "Fuego" | English |
Semi-final 2[edit | edit source]
Twenty countries will participate in the second semi-final. Étienne, Hartung and Iteria will vote in this semi-final.
With the approval from the Reference Group, Iteria 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 Iteria.
| Draw | Country | Artist | Song | Language(s) | Place | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Nordland | Alexander Rybak | "That's How You Write a Song" | English | ||
| 02 | Radaurobia | The Humans | "Goodbye" | English | ||
| 03 | Sobora | Sanja Ilić & Balkanika | "Nova deca" (Нова деца) | Serbian | ||
| 04 | Genovia | Jessika feat. Jenifer Brening | "Who We Are" | English | ||
| 05 | Bornholm | Rasmussen | "Higher Ground" | English | ||
| 06 | Alavia | Julia Samoylova | "I Won't Break" | English | ||
| 07 | Ashtalaia | DoReDos | "My Lucky Day" | English | ||
| 08 | Underlands | Waylon | "Outlaw in 'Em" | English | ||
| 09 | Northulia | Jessica Mauboy | "We Got Love" | English | ||
| 10 | Sakartvelia | Iriao | "Sheni gulistvis/For You" | Georgian | ||
| 11 | Swilatia | Gromee feat. Lukas Meijer | "Light Me Up" | English | ||
| 12 | Reitanna | Christine Strachan | "Taboo" | English | ||
| 13 | Pannonia | AWS | "Viszlát nyár" | Hungarian | ||
| 14 | Flarland | ??? | "I See Myself" | English | 4 | |
| 15 | North Arlesbury | Laura Dellaschiava | "Funny Girl" | English | ||
| 16 | Skania | Benjamin Ingrosso | "Dance You Off" | English | ||
| 17 | Chemheria | Vanya Harnaqakoviq | "Irye" | Chemherian | ||
| 18 | Omdalia | Lea Sirk | "Denki, ne!" | Omdalian | ||
| 19 | Ukraine | Mélovin | "Under the Ladder" | English | ||
| 20 | Solenial | ??? | ??? | English |
Final[edit | edit source]
Twenty-six countries will participate in the final, with all 43 participating countries eligible to vote.
| Draw | Country | Artist | Song | Language(s) | Place | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 08 | Real | Cláudia PascoalTemplate:Ref | "O jardim" | Portuguese | ||
| Étienne | Madame Monsieur | Mercy" | French | |||
| Hartung | Michael Schulte | "You Let Me Walk Alone" | English | |||
| Iteria | Ermal Meta & Fabrizio Moro | "Non mi avete fatto niente" | Italian | |||
| Castille | Amaia & Alfred | "Tu canción" | Spanish | |||
| Nashland | SuRie | Storm" | English |
- 7.Template:Note"O jardim" features uncredited vocals from Realese singer Isaura.
Other countries[edit | edit source]
Active EBU members[edit | edit source]
- Jaheria: The country is on the brink of collapse due to political measures and might even become an Omdalian province in the next few years. For the first time since 2004, Jaheria withdraws from the contest, having stated in the previous year that "it should be the last ESC in which we should take part". EBU regulations forbid regions and seccesionist movements from taking part in the ESC. Jaherian Radio and Television will, however, broadcast the contest.
- Sri Britain: The Sri British Broadcasting Corporation announced that it won't even participate in the contest due to numerous economical shortcomings. The 2016 shutdown of Sri British Television wasn't necessarily enough for the country to take part with some stabilization.
- Ukraina: NTU's participation in the contest was almost halted.
Associate EBU members[edit | edit source]
- Kaizhung: The first semi-final was shown on delay on the Mango TV platform due to censorship. The censored version of the first semi-final angered the EBU (more details below).
- Orience: The contest was shown live on THK BS Premium, with same-day repeats during primetime.
Non-EBU members[edit | edit source]
Commentators and spokespersons[edit | edit source]
Spokespersons[edit | edit source]
Commentators[edit | edit source]
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[edit | edit source]
Incidents and controversies[edit | edit source]
Belavian song submission[edit | edit source]
Netta scandal[edit | edit source]
Bohemian artist injury[edit | edit source]
Planet Real[edit | edit source]
"Music is fireworks" and the Salvador Sobral emulations[edit | edit source]
Kaijungese censorship[edit | edit source]
Mungnan TV's web streaming service, Mango TV, aired the semi-finals on delay, as they reportedly banned two songs due to LGBT themes illegal in the country. The EBU decided to ban the Mungnan partnership as it was against the rules of the contest.
SuRie stage invasion[edit | edit source]
The performance of SuRie, representing Nashland, in the final was disrupted by a man who rushed onto the stage and grabbed her microphone, reportedly shouting "Murdering Nazis of Nashlandian media, we demand freedom! War is not peace!" The man, later identified as 'Dr Activist', a Shkipian political activist from Oxton, 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.
Barbara Dex Award[edit | edit source]
The Barbara Dex Award is a fan award originally awarded by House of Eurovision from 1997 to 2016, and since 2017 by songfestival.re. This is a humorous award given to the worst dressed artist each year in the contest, and was named after the Reignieriese artist, Barbara Dex, who came last in the 1993 contest, in which she wore her own self designed dress.
