We’ve seen the two semi-finals of Eurovision 2018, with 26 songs making it to the grand final. All countries except Portugal chose either the first half or second half from a fish bowl full of lots.
And tonight, RTP and the EBU have now confirmed the running order. Producers choose the running order to create the most entertaining show possible — apart from host country Portugal, who randomly drew position #8. Part of that means providing a degree of variation in genre and feel, rather than, for instance, giving us six ballads in a row.
We’ll be getting off to a fiery start to the show, with Ukraine’s Mélovin opening with “Under the Ladder”. The closer will be Italy’s powerful “Non mi avete fatto niente”, performed by Ermal Meta and Fabrizio Moro.
Pre-final favourite Eleni Foureira has a superb running order slot, drawing 25th – the penultimate slot.
Eurovision 2018: Grand Final running order
01. Ukraine
02. Spain
03. Slovenia
04. Lithuania
05. Austria
06. Estonia
07. Norway
08. Portugal
Commercial Break
09. United Kingdom
10. Serbia
11. Germany
12. Albania
13. France
14. Czech Republic
15. Denmark
16. Australia
Commercial Break
17. Finland
18. Bulgaria
19. Moldova
20. Sweden
21. Hungary
22. Israel
23. The Netherlands
24. Ireland
25. Cyprus
26. Italy
Does the running order tell us anything?
In previous years, the running order has given an indication of who might have done well in their semi-finals. In 2015, for example, the end of the first half saw Sweden’s Mans Zelmerlow and Belgium’s Loic Nottet perform 11th and 13th, suggesting they had been put on as late as possible to keep them in contention for the win.
France’s Madame Monsieur — who have been a more or less constant top 5 position in the odds — receive the best draw of the first half acts, coming 13th in the running order.
On the other hand, Lithuania’s Ieva Zasimauskaite, who has vaulted up the odds since the first semi-final, is only placed 4th. This might suggest that Ieva did not perform as well as some people expected in the semi-final results.
It might be heartbreak for the #Almaia fans too. Spain’s Amaia y Alfred have been placed in the dreaded #2 position, which infamously has never won Eurovision.
The second half of the draw sees Czech Republic’s Mikolas Josef kick things off in 14th, again suggesting that he might not have done particularly well in his semi-final. Last year, Australia’s Isaiah opened the second half off, having only qualified thanks to the jury votes in his semi-final.
There’s also set to be a particularly intense run of songs from songs 19 through 23, with Moldova, Sweden, Hungary, Israel and The Netherlands all in a row. Could that be good for Ireland’s more simple sound and effective staging, as they follow on after?
Of course, it’s important to note that the running order can’t reveal everything. If all songs that performed poorly in their semi-final were drawn in a particular half, then that might skew the way the order was compiled.
What do you think of the Eurovision 2018 grand final running order? Do you think that favourites Cyprus might have the win sealed? Or could another act still take the crown? Let us know all your thoughts in the comments section below.
I kind of hope we will have a surprise winner! Just imagine riding a mechanical bull while listening to Waylon’s Outlaw in ‘Em! Oh sweet peach pie, I would let ’em drink tequila out of mah hairy Yankee shot! Aaaanyway. I’m totally in love with Eleni’s Fuego, it’s my absolute favorite, and although it would be great if she won, on the other hand I feel it would be quite boring to see Cyprus or Israel win. The appeal of esc is partly in its twists and turns. You never know what can happen!
So from what I can see Cyprus or Bulgaria won their semi (25 – Bulgaria last year, 18 – Russia 2 years ago). Israel in top 3 too. Bulgaria could also be lower than I expect. Hungary was really high (21 – Ukraine 2 years ago).
The way some Cyprus’ fans comment… They’re talking like Eleni already won, well I guess if she’s already the winner then I’m not voting for her, I’m giving my votes to someone who need them more 🙂 Seriously, haven’t you learnt anything from last year’s Italy? Do not crown the favorite too soon, because it’s not over until the last votes are counted 🙂
Stop the fake news!
Italy was not favourite 1/1 or 11/10 one day before the final like Cyprus this year. Italy was favourite for months but one day before the final was portugal the favourite. Nobody has had these odds. Say the truth please. Lorren has 2/1 one day before. Nobody has achieved 1/1 and 11/10 one day before. It’s the clearest victory ever.
Nicosia 2019
Remember what happened 2 years ago? Russia had odds as low as 2/5 or 1/2 just before the grand final, and he didn’t win. That’s just dumb to act like Cyprus has already won the contest. Yes, Eleni is the favorite right now but anything can happen. It for sure isn’t a one-horse race.
Let’s just think for a second. If Fuego wins, can Cyprus host THE contest next year? We’re talking about infrastructure, hotel room capacity, transport, venue, etc. Can Cyprus afford all this? Just a thought.
well, one thing we know for sure if they win is that the arena will be much smaller with less chairs, because altice is the third biggest in europe.
This year we will probably, hopefully, have a surprise winner. I don’t think we can rely on the odds or the youtube figures etc. Rather go back and see how the juries and televoters usually vote. Id be extremely surprised if Cyprus win the jury-vote, Fuego will probably end up around 8-12th in juryvote. Bulgaria, Italy, Ireland and France will be high up here. And in televote Israel and Cyprus will probably compete for the same voters leaving the rest of the field open for Norway (unfortunately), Moldova, Ukraine, Lithuania and Hungary.
This will be very exciting!
I’m starting a new campaign. Get Netta a top 3 spot. She deserves it. Fine you want your Cyprus or Ireland or France to win – thats cool I get it. But let the girl have her glory too. She really worked so so hard and this was your favorite song to win for months all across the board, give her the recognition she’s entitled to!
of course. she is a good girl. i want her 2nd after Fuego of course. Eleni is the best performer and Netta is a kind girl.
Nicosia 2019
But everyone has worked hard for esc, i’m sure of it.. a lot of great songs and performers this year, and they all deserve recognision and ‘glory’. Just let people decide, it’s so hard to predict anything anyway.. goodluck to all
Two tickets for the jury final tonight! https://www.ticketswap.se/listing/eurovision-song-contest-grand-final-jury-show/2137342/ea3c64021a?utm_campaign=manualListingShare&utm_source=ticketswap&utm_medium=facebook
Cyprus was never that close to win the ESC. Let’s help them succeed once at least. They deserve it. Go Cyprus!!
I personally don’t vote to let a country “a first win”.. I vote on the basis of song quality.
Bravo! Cyprus deserves it
Id rather see Bulgaria, Albania or Hungary as first time winners …
definitely hungary, plus another metal song WINS. damn…it’d be amazing, but i kinda dont wanna see ESC leave south europe lol so my vote will also go to france, maybe…
The draw is perfect. The best song in the best place
Nicosia 2019.
Nicosia 2019
I don’t think they will win, but my heart 100 percent votes for Italy 🙂 Don’t think their slot is that great, after very solid (and hyped) Cyprus. A lot of people will already be tired at that time. I think it’s not good to be among the first six or seven performances (obviously a bummer for Spain) but other than that anyone should be able to win. I also agree that a quality act should be able to win from every position, but this year is very strong overall and if many songs are so close to each other,… Read more »
Cyprus only
Nicosia 2019
Hah, I just realised that Australia will be the first upbeat pop song to open the path of upcoming upbeat pop songs in the third half of the Grand Final…. smart move, Bjorkman, smart move.
Australia’s song is awful. It deserves the last place.
NICOSIA 2019
euroope stop voting now. cyrpus is winningggggggg
Just because a song hasn’t won from a certain position doesn’t mean it’s not possible.
Nobody won from spot 21 until Jamala in 2016. elina is well capable of winning the jury vote and doing well with the televote.
Your stats are a little off. The first time 21 countries took part, and so position 21st was used, was in 1987, so a total of 31 contests, not 62. Position 25th was first used in 1993, so 25 contests, not 30. Position 26 was used first in a grand final in 2014, so 4 contests so far, not 30. I think it’s childish to say Sweden is favoured. Sweden consistently sends good songs that score well with the juries at semi finals, therefore they’re given relatively good final starting positions. You’ll note over the last few years that all… Read more »
My prediction approximately:
Top 10: (in no particular order) Ukraine, Estonia, Norway, Germany, France, Bulgaria, Sweden, Israel, The Netherlands, Cyprus
Place 11-19: (in no particular order) Moldova, Italy, Serbia, Austria, Finland, Australia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary
Place 20-26: (in no particular order) Spain, United Kingdom, Lithuania, Albania, Slovenia, Portugal, Ireland
Your big mistakes:
Top 10: Ukraine (it will go down) Netherlands (it will go down)
11-19: Serbia (it will go down), Austria (it will go down)
20-26: Ireland (it will go very up), Lithuania (it will go up)
Agree with 7/10. I’d take Bulgaria, Ukraine and France out of Rhy’s list and replace them with Czech Republic, Australia and Moldova.
Ireland 8/1 now, what a jump!
No matter what happens, win or lose, all of them are winners. All of them should be proud they made it this far but sadly, there could only be one winner. Good luck to all of them.
SWEDEN IS THE WINNER. BYEBYE
I’m so excited, by the looks of the draw, Bulgaria might actually win this!, Let’s hope, Sofia 2019 must happen!
Lol, you can see in the video how Bjorkman IMMEDIATELY puts Cyprus in the 25th before even getting there. I have no words.
He does it well. He is so smart and he knows which is the best song and the only one winner.
Nicosia 2019. That’s for sure
I’ve been to Nicosia and it’s a pretty town but don’t you think that Limassol can be a better option for hosting big events like Eurovision?
Yes!! It would be perfect. Cyprus is the most beautiful place in the world. You will see it next year!!
link to video?
What video?
Oh look, EBU is supporting Sweden again, who would have thought. First they put Sweden in a great position in a very weak semifinal, with other nordic countries to vote for each other. And now sweden is in a great running order in the final. How can a big organisation like EBU be so openly corrupt i this day and age? Shame o EBU.
Last year I waited until late Friday night until after the Jury final and trawled through the internet listening for ”rumours from folks who were there and sure enough word came out that Portugal had won and Italy was 6th …it sounded right so I went to the bookies and bet heavily on Portugal
The easiest ever winner maybe. Nicosia 2019. Go Fuegoooo
Yes it’s very open… Cyprus will be at least 100pts far from the second! Have you seen the odds? Have you seen the videos? Have you seen the running order? There is no chance to win other than Cyprus.
Best ever eurovision perfromance
Countries who benefit most: Estonia (it will stand out), Germany, Albania and France have the best order at the end of the 1st half. Also, Sweden, Hungary and Israel are after 20th position which gives them an advantage. For me, Cyprus has the best position. Second to last is excellent, towards the end. She can only benefit from that. I believe she’s won the 1st semi! P.S.: Last year, Bulgaria performed second to last and they had their best result ever! So I consider it a good sign for Eleni! Go girl!! Countries who benefit less: Spain doesn’t look good… Read more »
So it’s the second year in a row where the country that performed last in Semi Final 2, has to perform 1st in the Grand Final.
Actually 3rd year in a row…
Ireland ?? will win
I am really hoping for a surprise winner this year, just for the sake of it. The likes of Germany, Ireland, Italy, Hungary…
I’ve just updated Hungary Youtube stats like/dislike ratio.
Incredible: people love them !
Its not my kind of music but I’m starting to love this f*cking energy !
Hungary killed the show Yesterday. It will kill some songs Tomorrow.
Not a real potential winner I think, but an atomic song killer for sure !
EBU: “What kind of pyrotechnic effects do you want ?”
Hungary: “ALL !”
That’s precisely it, Hungary is not really my cup of tea and I had them 41st pre-rehearsals. But man, that energy and that staging! I don’t mind them anymore, though I have my other favourites to root for.
They are just screaming like crazy kids. They didn’t deserve to be in final.
When Rybak won in 2009 he was drawn in 2nd half and now that he’s back he’ll be in the 1st half. Interesting 😀
I’ve been thinking. There’s something about the running order bothering me (positions 21.-23., that’s just a wall of noise there, doesn’t make sense to put them in this order).
Here’s what I would prefer:
17. Finland
18. Hungary
19. Moldova
20. Sweden
21. Israel
22. Bulgaria
23. The Netherlands
Doesn’t this look more balanced?
Cannot understand why Spain got such a bad running order. They have a very good song and could have been a dark hourse for me. Performing 2nd just killed all their chances.
Their song is not that good… i have no idea why people say its good is just a normal and not unqiue what so ever love song that will be forgotten in the final and they are gonna finish around 20 – 26 in the final…… like every year with spain
Game is over! NICOSIA 2019
Not at all over yet!
Baby It’s Over https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jBuniWjsgw
Efi we did get it that you support Cyprus from your previous 10 comments (You do not have to keep posting the same thing over and over again). As I said, hold your excitement for Saturday because a lot of favourites on the odds actually end up not getting first place.
Good luck to Cyprus though 🙂
I agree George. But Cyprus is not only a favourite right now. It’s the biggest ever favourite. It’s the easiest ever winner! Look at the odds please 1/1 or 11/10. It’s incredible! All people know that Eleni is the winner!! Amazing time!
I am confused and it’s hard to predict who will win. I am sure it will not be Cyprus, come on peole, it’s a good song, but not a winning material.
I think Ireland can win…who knows.
It’s gonna be an exciting voting!!! Can’t wait.
So open this year must say love France but watched the Germany staging and it really lifts that song.
That’s why I am a little bit concerned for Albania being the sandwitch between Germany and France.
Very open yes….Cyprus will be 100pts far from the second
It could be very exciting as the juries and the Tele could be very different someone 3rd or 4th after jury could push past and win! Might mean someone who can get decent votes from both could do it!
Cyprus only. Who is open?
After last nights performances,
1-3 Estonia, Israel, Cyprus (In no order, i still think they all have a chance to win)
4. Lithuania
The rest, i have no idea, and personally i don’t care, Norway maybe.
I’m affraid UK will finish last again, and could be 0 points again
bottom seems pretty clear from the draw
26. UK
25. Spain
24. Slovenia
23. Denmark
22. Albania
21. Netherlands
20. Serbia
Unfortunately yes. But UK will give 12pts to Eleni and that’s great
The uk will give 12 to eleni HAHAHAHAHHA have you seent how the uk jury voted in the past years?
Algorithm got once again 8 out 0f 10 correct in the second semi. Poland and Latvia did not make it, but Slovenia and Serbia did. Now it suggests a close race between France, Cyprus , Sweden and Israel for the final. The rest (statistically) does not seem to have a chance. 1 France 92.12 2 Cyprus 91.54 3 Sweden 89.42 4 Israel 87.69 5 Bulgaria 70.96 6 Germany 68.85 7 Estonia 65.00 8 Norway 61.54 9 Ireland 60.19 10 Czech Rep 60.19 11 Lithuania 59.81 12 Australia 57.12 13 Italy 54.04 14 Austria 53.27 15 Ukraine 47.50 16 Moldova 45.96… Read more »
Yes very closed race….Cyprus will be 100pts far from 2nd….easy win. France will be 5-10. It s not good.
You need a therapy, honey.
Thanks Nick for putting the time and effort into this ; unfortunately your algorithm is poor at picking up late swings ….I fear Cyprus will win
I suspect that France or Israel will win with the Juries but Cyprus to win the tele vote ; they have peaked at just the right time , while the shine has worn off Israel
Here is the latest update Peter. Actually, it is coming back and forth between France and Cyprus. Chinese ban really pushed up Ireland. I think now its between Cyprus and France, but hard to predict. 1 Cyprus 93.85 2 France 92.12 3 Israel 85.38 4 Sweden 82.50 5 Germany 73.85 6 Bulgaria 71.92 7 Ireland 66.35 8 Estonia 63.85 9 Norway 61.35 10 Lithuania 58.85 11 Australia 58.27 12 Czech Rep 58.08 13 Austria 53.27 14 Italy 52.12 15 Ukraine 47.31 16 Finland 45.96 17 Moldova 44.81 18 Denmark 42.12 19 Portugal 40.00 20 The Netherlands 38.08 21 Spain 33.08… Read more »
I feel confident saying Israel has shot its bolt ; it’s between Cyprus and France ..Cyprus will do badly with the juries , but will likely win the TV vote …although the pop trash dance song vote could be split with Israel giving France an opportunity
we saw your algorithm last time.. not great. sweden will struggle to reach top 7. cyprus israel estonia. france norway will be on top.. ireland could make the surprise and be top 5
He’s about right but he hasn’t picked up the late swing by Cyprus
Actually, the algorithm worked pretty well in the semis. It predicted 8/10 in both semis, and those who did not make it were 9th and 10th. It just did not predict Albania and Slovenia, and who could ever predict those two when they were so low in the betting odds. Remember the 50% of this comes from betting odds, and Slovenia was dead last in the odds. Otherwise it did just fine.
If France wins you should sell your algorithm to a betting outlet
I wrote above how I bet heavily on Portugal last year after picking up a ”rumour” on twitter and Wiwi that Portugal had won the Jury vote easily …it turned out to be right ; it’s hard to keep a secret in todays high tech world ..i’m going to be listening closely tonight after 10 PM
Please let me know 🙂
I am sorry, I am grumpy today, but I am sick of those who throw shade with broken English, Obviously you are not linguistically developed. I would make the same assumption about your mental capacity to understand scientific work. Here we go, I was silent for a month against these attacks. It feels good to let it out.
I agree that Serbia is among the weakest songs, but with the former Yugoslavia only having two entrants in the Grand Final (Serbia and Slovenia), I expect Serbia to receive strong points from Macedonia, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia, and perhaps from neighboring Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria. Don’t forget that Serbia often does well in France and Switzerland with diaspora voting. I do not see Serbia placing last in the Final.
I think nothing, this is not my subjective opinion. This is just based on odds, youtibe views, spotify and i-tunes charts.
May I say I do not understand many Eurofans’ sudden bitterness towards the Cypriot entry. I know that the fans don’t like odds so much and prefer to have an open result that nobody can expect, however you have to admit that this performance was one of the most memorable ones overall. When it came up on my screen I suddenly forgot everything else that I saw that night – Eleni was just so energetic, so well acquainted to the camera and was literally an attention magnet. While watching her perform I felt empowered, I felt I wanted to dance,… Read more »
EBU definitely don’t want to go to Ukraine in 2019.
His pronounciation ruined the song. Send artists who speak -not memorize- English, or sing in your own language. Same goes for Russia and Belarus.
100% agree.
Alekseev’s pronounciation actually improved a lot imo.
This is interesting, watch it, ” Christer Björkman explains about creating the perfect running order for the Grand Final” : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHaXCYoDXzk
And when you watch very carefully and stop the video you can read what I always thought but nobody said, he categorised Albania as POP/ROCK.
He needs to go. And take Jon Ola with him. EBU needs more transparency.
Are you so stupid so you only vote for a song that sings last? give me a break. Some countries draw first half and some second half. He must put them in a order that is not 5 ballads in a row and 5 pop songs in row.
And again. Why did Uktaine and Portugal call him if they dont want his help? Yes and the chairman i norweigan. Whats the problem with that? is it better that a corrupt country is chairman of EBU`?
Plenty more issues than just the running order, such as PR, camera work and staging favouritism the moment delegations arrive. Swedish producers and musicians have become a parasite to the contest. They also favour acts with personal stories and agendas, since they sell more than just random winners. It’s already corrupt.
So you want Sweden and Noway to miss every final and Russia and Azerbaijan being the new chairmans then of EBU? I dont think you would be happier then
No. Since EBU wants to outsource the show’s production to someone else than the host country, they should have open calls every year and make transparent contracts. Multi-annual contracts with the SVT people behind closed doors based on ‘merit’, is just as bad as selling the contest to the highest bidder, e.g. Russia, Azerbaijan. Corruption exists everywhere. And the EBU chairman should have limited tenure, not be chairman for life.
Maybe. But this is the truth. Eurovison is biggest in Malta,Armenia and the scandinavian countries so it would not make sense if we cheated all the time. We love Eurovision to much 🙂
I do very much agree on camera work – Ukraine did a much better job on this last year.
Well, it IS pop/rock tbh.
Yes, that’s what I meant – everybody was talking as if it is distinkt rock.
The strange thing is that Eurovision this year feels in a way like the political elections in 2017. f.e. in Germany there were a lot of people that didn’t know who to vote for and decided at the last minute. With elections it was because of the weak choices – we do it today because we have plenty of good choices but at the moment no clear winner.
I still think that the staging of Melovin’s national selection performance was better and made much more sense.
Yes, I didn’t like the coffin thing either, they shouldn’t change anything imo
I love this running order. Sweden sandwiched between two better and more original uptempos, Cyprus basically closing the show because Italy is a non-event, my bottom 3 (Spain, Ukraine and Czechia) all sabotaged.
You desperately want to believe that.. Sweet
Believe what? That Spain, Ukraine and Czechia got sabotaged? Newsflash, it’s true!
Yes yes Sweden. We are very corrupt with the running order. We are the new Russia. irony.
I actually said Sweden got a bad slot.
For the third straight year , the song closing the second semi I’d opening the Grand final.
The draw is cool except for Cyprus again being given the closing slot and Ireland being used to make the energy low right before her for the contrast.
Israel would now seem low energy compared to Hungary and so would Sweden . They are not winning anymore. Ireland should have been placed around 22nd spot and the current order is pointing towards a Cypriot win. Buck up Iceland and Malta.
Hungary and then Israel. That will be really fun to watch 😀
Hungary might even annihilate Israel, haha
Looks like EBU does not want Israel to win..
Tbh I think Hungary would overshadow anyone after their energetic performance, so smart move to pick equally strong energetic perfomance from Israel 😛
But indeed that spots from 17-26, what a clash, lol. Ireland could benefit from their spot also..
Well, many Eastern European countries are out, so I am preeetty sure that 25th position for Cyprus is there for a very strong reason. And no, not the energetic performance 🙂
Whatever wants Ebu, Cyprus is already the winner. We are looking for the second.
So you only vote for a country who sing 25th? Sorry but EBU cant put all 26 countries in 25th place. Thats common sense. As a watcher i vote for the songs i like. not where they sing.
The running order is a bit disappointing! It is okay that the Ukraine – the host of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2017 – opens the contest but at the 26nd position I would have put Hungary or The Netherlands.
it is not important to order …. if a beautiful song does not matter, it wins for sure
i love your comment:) Exactly. All countries can win. Sweden and Austria sang early. People here complain about EVERYTING. I hate when they say Christer B is corrupt, Jon Ola sand is norweigan and corrupt and Sweden should miss the final every year. None of those 3 are true or very nice to say.
We in scandinavia love Eurovosion 🙁
thx … eurovision is a show not a war between countries
That s right. Cyprus is the winner no matter the 25th position in order running.
no she is not a winner
Queen Eleni will win!!
We are looking for the second now.