It has been one month since Salvador Sobral was announced the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2017; won with his song “Amar Pelos Dois“. This marks the first time Portugal has ever won the competition; therefore the 2018 contest will be the first time they have ever hosted. They recently announced that it will be hosted in the city of Lisbon; they also announced the dates.
That’s correct, the dates for the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 has already been announced, and it isn’t a long wait. The semi-finals will take place on 8 May 2018 and 10 May 2018; with the Grand Final taking place on 12 May 2018.
The announcement was revealed at a press conference, and then later by a promotional video. This video was released on the official Eurovision YouTube Channel.
Watch The Eurovision 2018 Host City Announcement Video Here:
The contest will take place at the MEO Arena in Lisbon. It has hosted some of the biggest music concerts in the country including the MTV Europe Music Awards in 2015. The arena has also hosted 2014-2015 UEFA Futsal Cup, FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup Final 1999, and five WWE shows.
It has a capacity of 20,000 people and has welcomed sold out shows from Britney Spears, Madonna, Justin Bieber, Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, and Kylie Minogue.
During the press conference at RTP HQ, Daniel Duesdado said: “Portugal won a responsibility. We couldn’t miss that responsibility. We needed to do it and do it well… An opportunity for development.”
That is certainly true, and it looks like Portugal has got everything in order, which is a welcomed change considering last year’s problematic organising; even though Ukraine did pull it off in the end. Considering Portugal has waited 54 years to host the competition, could they give us a show we’ll never forget?