RTP has named the venue for this year’s Eurovision Village: Terreiro do Paço.
From May 4 to May 12, Lisbon’s main square, Praça do Comércio, also known as Terreiro do Paço, will host Eurovision Village. Participating artists from the Eurovision Song Contest 2018, as well as local Portuguese talent, will be seen performing at Eurovision Village throughout the nine day celebration. Two giant screens will also be set up at the square, from which the two semi-finals and the grand final of ESC 2018 will be transmitted live. Admission will be free.
Yesterday evening, it was also announced that this year’s EuroClub will be held in a venue at the Cais do Sodré waterfront district.
The hosts for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest will be announced on Monday, January 8. RTP has confirmed that two people will serve as hosts onstage in Altice Arena in May.
This is Portugal’s first time hosting the Eurovision Song Contest, after Salvador Sobral’s win last year in Kiev with the song “Amar Pelos Dois.” The first semi-final will be held on May 8 with the second on May 10. The grand final, which will feature the ten winners of each semi-final, plus the entries of the Big 5 – United Kingdom, Italy, France, Germany – and host country Portugal.
A total of 43 countries will take part in the 2018 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. This includes Russia, as they return to the contest after a year break. The 43 participating countries are:
- Albania
- Armenia
- Australia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- FYR Macedonia
- Germany
- Georgia
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Malta
- Moldova
- Montenegro
- The Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Russia
- San Marino
- Serbia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom
The official slogan for next year’s contest is “All Aboard!”, chosen to represent a celebration of Europe and music. The slogan was inspired by Lisbon’s longstanding history as an important global seaport and the importance of the ocean in Portugal’s history. The ocean has connected Portugal to the rest of the world for centuries, and this connectivity is intended to invite people from across the world to come together to celebrate music and Eurovision.
Source: RTP