It’s October and the days are getting darker and drawing shorter (unless you’re lucky enough to live in Australia). But for every Eurovision fan in Europe the encroaching darkness is actually good news, as it signals that national selection season for Eurovision 2018 will kick off in the months ahead. And today Portugal’s RTP decided to give us more to cheer about, as it revealed details of the Eurovision Song Contest in Lisbon.
Portugal calling
RTP, Portugal’s Eurovision broadcaster, airs a show called A Voz do Cidadao, which translates as “Voice of the Citizen”. It regularly discusses matters of public interest and today’s episode turned to the song contest — one of the largest events Lisbon has on its upcoming agenda.
Carla Bugalho, Portugal’s head of delegation and next year’s associate executive producer, said that 43 countries will compete in Lisbon. She did not, however, reveal the precise list of countries and confirmations.
Daniel Deusdado, RTP’s head of programs, reiterated the broadcaster’s position that Eurovision doesn’t have to break the bank.
“Like we said before, countless times, we will try to make the cheapest Eurovision ever.”
Eurovision 2018 postcards
This year’s postcards will be funded by Portugal’s tourism board. They’ll fly in all of the contestants and will film them in different parts of Portugal prior to the event. At Eurovision 2012 Azerbaijan showcased different parts of the country. But Portugal will be giving the contestants a much more central role in that, filming their reaction to a variety of local settings.
Altice Arena
Officials also made clear that they will start preparing Altice Arena on April 1. They’ll have around one month to finish the work before the first delegation and press arrive in Lisbon.
We’ve also pulled out the arena calendar and noticed that officials will need to dismantle the stage rather quickly, as Sam Smith will perform in the same arena on 18 May as part of his European tour.
Eurovision 2018 volunteers
Last but not least, RTP will soon start the process of recruiting volunteers. And we can not wait for this, as volunteers have been a highlight of our time at Eurovision in recent years.
What do you think of today’s news? Are you excited about Portugal’s vision of the postcards? Which countries will we see on stage in Lisbon? Let us know in the comments box below!
I’d love to see again something like in 1985, where the postcards showed the composers of each song, so you could see the faces behind it.
They can make “the cheapest Eurovision ever” or omething close to it if they already have the preexisting infrastructure, if they plan so they don’t have to do and redo things, and if there’s as little corruption as possible. I hope that’s the case for Portugal. Ah, and of they spend on what’s actually gonna be used (case in point: the ramp from 2016). I like the idea of highlighting Portugal’s tourist spots in the postcards, as long as the artists are involved and it doesn’t feel like an obnoxious ad. Countries have to get something in return for their… Read more »
they should do postcards with Portugal’s beautiful places and traditions, not everyone knows a lot abvout the country or been there. Use the show to boost your tourism!
Sweden didn’t spend much in 2016 and their show was excellent with high technology. Sweden 2013 was poor though so i hope Portugal opts for the path Sweden 2016 paved. Big arena with high technology.
To be honest I would like to see a more modern concept for the postcards, something with a stronger message. Portugal has had so much tourism the last years that it doesn’t really need much publicity for its attractions. But of course how you do is key… Hopefully they will be a bit innovative.
Portugal has taken this seriously! That’s hopefull!
My first impression is that we’ll have the same countries as last year (42) plus Russia. We’ll see.
About the postcards, I like the idea of showcasing different parts of the country, but it is similar to 2015 indeed. I’m not sure whether or not we’ll see them host again, so that’s the opportunity to discover the beauty of Portugal.
Daniel Deusdado, RTP’s head of programs, reiterated the broadcaster’s position that Eurovision doesn’t have to break the bank – “Like we said before, countless times, we will try to make the cheapest Eurovision ever.”
If Ukraine would have said that………but if Portugal says it…then it means they have everything under control, right?
Italy 1991 will not be made fun anymore. Portugal 2018 will set a new low with the cheapest esc ever. I don’t blame the country itself, but their idea that if The Sobrals had won with minimalistic act, it means that next year everybody must be like them.
That was almost 30 years ago… You can not compare… Anyway cheapest doesn’t mean lack of quality. Norway did it with a modest budget as well. Frankly I find that a ver good attitude for a country like Portugal.
esc fan, hun, take your medication.
It’s easy to take what is said very literally. I interpret this as allowing the host broadcaster to deliver a well-produced show without going over the prescribed budget, securing deals that make the most financial/cost-effective sense to put the contest together. Of course, a great deal of transparency is needed to show RTP’s capability to deliver. Quality over quantity is the rule of thumb in this case. A modern contest need not to be made with more money than what is needed. Didn’t Sweden go underbudget back in 2016? If SVT managed to produce a quality show without going over… Read more »
I have the feeling that in many cases the super big budgets had something to do with bad administration and improvisation, not just with having bigger and better things.
If Russia ends up sending an artist other than Julia Samoylova to Portugal, it will prove that she was nothing but a pawn in the hands of the scheming minds there.
I don’t care if the broadcaster this year is RTR and not Channel One Russia: assuming Julia is eager, willing and ready to go there in 2018, any other outcome, with the exception of non-participation, will be hypocritical and disingenuous.
Andorra, Luxembourg and Morooco.
Monaco, Liechtenstein and Kazakhstan!
Vatican City!!! *blush*
I can’t wait for the national selection season to begin!!
RTP is so much more organised than Ukraine’s broadcaster was. Like, we even get updates!
Ukraine is apparently the most corrupt nation in Europe.
So the Eurovision 2018 postcards will basically be the same as the ones in 2015?
No, the postcards will only be filmed in Portugal
Well obviously the postcards are going to be filmed in Portugal but will they involve the artists participating in some kind of activity just like the 2015 postcards?
Yes, but in 2015 they also filmed in their own countries, then in Austria
My thoughts exactly. In 2015 the artists went across Austria, did activities and reacted. I hope it will be different enough though..
I really don’t understand why they don’t let Kazakhstan join the competition, they have been broadcasting Eurovision for years, plus geographically they also have some territories in Europe.
Australia is technically permanent because they keep getting invited every year.
Yes, I suppose it’s permanent until the year that it stops. Technically.
Not here for them as it would mean another 24 free points for Russia
Most likely it will be 24 points for Azerbaijan and 20 for Russia.
i wish kazakhstan would debut :’( maybe there’s still hope, i’d gladly trade moldova for kazakhstan woops
We all know the countries.
That’s an expensive way to make the postcards, but it’s great to show a bit of the country to the people.
I was expecting something with the sea though, like messages in bottle.
It’s probably cheaper to fly in all of the acts for a couple of days, rather than send a team to 42 different countries to film the postcards.
Yes 43 countries, until they disqualify a country again xD
Portugal has no bad blood with any country so don’t worry.
Glad to see they’re going down the Austria 2015 route and showcasing the country alongside the contestants.
So probably Macedonia won’t dance alone next year, and Moldova as well.
Carla Bugalho also confirmed that Russia would return.
If Kazakhstan just could finally debut next year, we could have a new record of 44 participating countries.
No, Miss Bugalho did not confim Russia’s comeback. She said 43 countries will be in Lisbon. She didn’t list or mention any country.
To be fair, unless something changes between now and May, Russia already confirmed their participation earlier in the year.
Portugal and Russia have a good relationship, of course they’re gonna go.