150 days left until the Grand Final of Eurovision 2018!

The 2018 Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Lisbon, Portugal, following Salvador Sobral's victory in Kyiv earlier this year. There are just 150 days until the Grand Final takes place on Saturday 12th May!

What has happened so far?

The slogan and theme artwork for Eurovision 2018, All Aboard, was released in November and just last week we revealed the first impression of what the stage in Lisbon will look like. Inspired by the hull of a ship, it is said to reflect Portugal's history and culture. 43 countries will participate in Eurovision 2018, equaling the record set in Belgrade in 2008 and Düsseldorf in 2011. 

Which acts have been chosen?

Belgium was the first country to select their artist. Laura Groeseneken will represent her country Lisbon in May. Saara Aalto will represent Finland. She participated in the The Voice Finland and in X Factor UK and she finished second in both contests. 

The third country to confirm their artist was Azerbaijan, Aisel was chosen by İctimai Television to fly the Azeri flag in Portugal. Waylon is the first male artist to have been announced for 2018, he will represent The Netherlands for the second time after finishing second in the Grand Final in 2014 as part of The Common Linnets.

Austria announced that Cesár Sampson will represent the country in 2018. He was part of the Vienna-based collective of producers that lead Bulgaria to their historical fourth and second places in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2016 and 2017 respectively.

Finally just this week Australia announced that Jessica Mauboy will represent the country at the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest! In 2014, Jessica was invited to perform as an interval act at the Eurovision Song Contest in Copenhagen, Denmark. This time, she’s competing for Australia and a shot at Eurovision glory!  

Coming soon: More tickets!

The first wave of tickets for Eurovision 2018 sold out in minutes. If you didn't manage to get yours then don't worry - there will be another wave of tickets available for the Grand Final in December! Keep an eye on the ticket page for more details!

The first country to hold a national selection for Eurovision 2018 will be Albania, the final will take place on Saturday 23rd December. In January the Semi-Final Allocation Draw will take place in Lisbon and the countdown to Lisbon 2018 will have started!