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The Road to Lisbon: 100 days until the Grand Final of Eurovision 2018!

01 February 2018 at 14:47 CET
The Eurovision Village will be located in Praça do Comércio in Lisbon in 2018 RTP
There are just 100 days to go until the Grand Final of the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest. Portugal is hosting the competition for the first time ever. What can you expect from the coming months?

Earlier this week the Semi-Final Allocation and Host City Insignia Exchange took place in Lisbon. During the ceremony, the Mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, handed over the Host City Insignia to Fernando Medina, Mayor of Lisbon. The Portuguese capital is now officially the Host City of the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest!

Before the Semi-Final Allocation Draw took place, the Reference Group, the governing body of the Eurovision Song Contest, met again in Lisbon. Various aspects of the organisation of the competition were discussed; finances, tickets, accreditation and of course the Event Weeks.

The voice of choice

Over the coming weeks various national selections for the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest will take place. On Saturday Malta will choose its song for Lisbon and on Sunday it'll be Switzerland's turn. The deadline to submit entries is mid-March, which is also when the Head of Delegation meeting is due to take place in Lisbon. The postcards for the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest will also be filmed with the artists as and when they are chosen. 

The Head of Delegation meeting is a two-day event, where the Host Broadcaster, the EBU and their partners brief the each participating delegation on what the three shows in May will roughly look like. Delegations provide instructions to the Host Broadcaster on how to stage their entries. The so-called 'look and feel' for each act is crucial in conveying the essential messages of the songs.

Springing into April 

In April various preview party events take place including the official Eurovision Song Contest pre-party, Eurovision In Concert. The events are an opportunity for the performers to perfect their routines and for the media and fans to get to know the acts. At the end of April all 43 delegations will land in Lisbon and the rehearsals for the Eurovision Song Contest will get under way!