Preparations are underway for the Eurovision Song Contest 2018.
Lisbon, the capital city of Portugal, is gearing up to host this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. According to the mayor of Lisbon, Fernando Medina, the authorities are looking into providing extra security in the city, as well as more transport services. Mr Medina said:
[There will] be measures appropriate to an event of this nature and on this scale.
He went on to mention that “exceptional traffic measures” are being planned together with the PSP police, and extra bus services will be available. He also mentioned that there will be an open-air village set up in Praça do Comércio for “about 15 days”.
The majority of participating countries have already selected their songs and artists. Only three national final shows remain this weekend, those being Melodifestivalen (Sweden), Melodi Grand Prix (Norway), and Eurovizijos (Lithuania). We are also waiting on song releases from Israel, Macedonia, Georgia, Russia and Bulgaria.
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!”, and was 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: theportugalnews.com
